Northward extent of East Asian monsoon covaries with intensity on orbital and millennial timescales

• DOI: 10.1073/pnas.1616708114
• Publication Date: 2017-02-07T02:05:30Z
• Authors: Yonaton Goldsmith; Wallace S. Broecker; Hai Xu; Pratigya J. Polissar; Peter B. deMenocal; Naomi Porat; Jianghu Lan; Peng Cheng; Weijian Zhou; Zhisheng An
• Keywords: Intensity; East Asian Monsoon

The magnitude, rate, and extent of past future East Asian monsoon (EAM) rainfall fluctuations remain unresolved. Here, late Pleistocene-Holocene EAM intensity is reconstructed using a well-dated northeastern China closed-basin lake area record located at the modern northwestern fringe EAM. northern alternated rapidly between wet dry periods on time scales centuries. Lake levels were 60 m higher than present during early middle Holocene, requiring twofold increase in annual rainfall, which, based distribution, requires ∼400 km northward expansion/migration highly correlated with both southern Chinese cave deposit isotope records, supporting "intensity based" interpretations these deposits as opposed to an alternative "water vapor sourcing" interpretation. These results indicate that covary orbital millennial timescales. termination conditions 5.5 ka BP (∼35 drop) triggered large cultural collapse Early Neolithic cultures north China, possibly promoted emergence complex societies Late Neolithic.