Timing, duration, and transitions of the last interglacial Asian monsoon

Daoxian Yuan; Hai Cheng; R Lawrence Edwards; Carolyn A Dykoski; Megan J Kelly; Meiliang Zhang; Jiaming Qing; Yushi Lin; Yongjin Wang; Jiangyin Wu; Jeffery A Dorale; Zhisheng An; Yanjun Cai

doi:10.1126/science.1091220

Timing, duration, and transitions of the last interglacial Asian monsoon

Science. 2004 Apr 23;304(5670):575-8. doi: 10.1126/science.1091220.

Authors

Daoxian Yuan¹, Hai Cheng, R Lawrence Edwards, Carolyn A Dykoski, Megan J Kelly, Meiliang Zhang, Jiaming Qing, Yushi Lin, Yongjin Wang, Jiangyin Wu, Jeffery A Dorale, Zhisheng An, Yanjun Cai

Affiliation

¹ Karst Dynamics Laboratory, Ministry of Land and Resources, 40 Qixing Road, Guilin 541004, China.

PMID: 15105497
DOI: 10.1126/science.1091220

Abstract

Thorium-230 ages and oxygen isotope ratios of stalagmites from Dongge Cave, China, characterize the Asian Monsoon and low-latitude precipitation over the past 160,000 years. Numerous abrupt changes in 18O/16O values result from changes in tropical and subtropical precipitation driven by insolation and millennial-scale circulation shifts. The Last Interglacial Monsoon lasted 9.7 +/- 1.1 thousand years, beginning with an abrupt (less than 200 years) drop in 18O/16O values 129.3 +/- 0.9 thousand years ago and ending with an abrupt (less than 300 years) rise in 18O/16O values 119.6 +/- 0.6 thousand years ago. The start coincides with insolation rise and measures of full interglacial conditions, indicating that insolation triggered the final rise to full interglacial conditions.