Inter-profile correlation of the Chinese loess/paleosol sequences during Marine Oxygen Isotope Stage 5 and indications of pedogenesis

Low-field magnetic susceptibility has been widely used to determine the pedostratigraphy of the Chinese loess/paleosol sequences. However, uncertainties remain in correlating between the loess magnetic susceptibility and the marine oxygen isotope records because susceptibility variations are affected by both global and local paleoclimatic changes. To provide a more sound paleoclimatic interpretation of magnetic susceptibility variations, age models across Marine Oxygen Isotope Stage (MIS) 5 for the Jiuzhoutai (JZT) and Yuanbao (YB) sections, western Chinese Loess Plateau, were constructed through an integrated approach by linking the major pedostratigraphic boundaries of the loess profiles to the SPECMAP oxygen isotope curve, and by correlating relative magnetic paleointensity records with both the SINT800 global paleointensity stack from marine sediments and ³⁶Cl records from the GRIP ice core. Results indicate good correlation of SIRM_60 mT (a residual remanence of saturation isothermal remanent magnetization after a 60 mT alternating field demagnetization) variations between these two sites, which agree well with fluctuations in subtropical Atlantic sea surface temperatures. All cooling events recorded by ice-core and Atlantic marine sediments within MIS5 have counterparts in SIRM_60 mT. SIRM_60 mT is partially controlled by the degree of low-temperature oxidation, which is strongly temperature dependent. However, strong pedogenesis can decrease SIRM_60 mT due to further oxidation of partially oxidized magnetites above some critical points. Therefore, we propose that SIRM_60 mT is best suited to record paleotemperature changes in loess profiles from the western Chinese Loess Plateau, where pedogenesis is the weakest. Furthermore, by inter-profile correlation between the YB and JZT sections, we note that the seemingly uniform sub-paleosol unit with a broad susceptibility peak (previously assigned to MIS5c) between ∼34.4 and ∼37.4 m in the YB profile actually consists of two independent units (lower part of S1L1/MIS5b and S1S2/MIS5c). This indicates that susceptibility values can be strongly affected by local factors (e.g., mainly precipitation). Therefore, beside the simplistic traditional paleoclimatic interpretation of variations in loess susceptibility involving only cold/dry and warm/humid scenarios, cold/humid and warm/dry scenarios should also be considered.     

Holocene climate variations from Zhuyeze terminal lake records in East Asian monsoon margin in arid northern China

Zhuyeze palaeolake is a terminal lake situated in the arid northern China in the East Asian monsoon margin. In order to examine the Holocene palaeoclimatic change in the East Asian monsoon margin, Qingtu Lake section (QTL) from Zhuyeze palaeolake is sampled in high resolution. Palaeoclimatic proxies such as grain size, carbonate, TOC, C/N and δ¹³C of organic matter, were analyzed; eleven ¹⁴C samples and six optically stimulated luminescence (OSL) samples were dated to provide chronological control. We also investigated the geomorphic features of lake shorelines in this area. The results show that the climate was warm and dry in early-Holocene (9.5-7.0 cal ka BP), cool and humid in mid-Holocene (7.0-4.8 cal ka BP), and increasingly drier in late-Holocene (since 4.8 cal ka BP). Comparisons of our records with other records in adjacent areas, as well as with the records in the Asian monsoon areas, suggested that changes in effective moisture was synchronous in East Asian monsoon marginal zone (i.e. the pattern of dry early-Holocene, humid mid-Holocene, and aridity-increasing late-Holocene), and that the moisture optimum during the Holocene was out-of-phase between Asian monsoon margin and Asian monsoonal dominated region, possibly due to the high temperature at that time.     

Landscape development in response to climatic change during Oxygen Isotope Stage 5 in the southern Siberian loess region

Two high-resolution loess-palaeosol sections from the Ob Loess Plateau (Iskitim) and the Minusinsk Basin (Kurtak 33) provide new detailed information on the last interglacial climate variations and landscape development in the parkland-steppe zone of southern Siberia. The complete last interglacial sensu lato (130-74 ka BP) records of the two sites, documented by magnetic susceptibility, grain-size, CaCO ₃ and organic carbon content as proxy climatic data, and supplemented by thin-section studies, indicate several short warm and very cold intervals correlated with OIS 5e-5a. A strongly continental warm climate culminated around the peak of the last interglacial sensu stricto (OIS 5e) and cooler conditions occurred during the following interstadial stages (OIS 5c and 5a), corresponding to shifts in palaeolandscape development with gradual replacement of parkland-steppe and mixed southern taiga by boreal forest. During stadial stages (OIS 5d and 5b), the palaeolandscape was transformed into a cold arid periglacial tundra-steppe. Evidence for a major cooling in Siberia during OIS 5d, corroborating the palaeolimnological record from Lake Baikal, is provided by deep frost-wedge casts distorting the OIS 5e chernozemic palaeosol, suggesting formation of permafrost shortly after the last interglacial climatic optimum. The pedosedimentary record, reflecting the effects of syndepositional pedogenic processes, attests to a dynamic climate pulsation during the last interglacial stage.     

3 Ma以来轨道尺度东亚冬季风演化的模拟研究

轨道尺度东亚冬季风变率对认识第四纪东亚环境演化和北半球冰盖演化具有重要的作用。文章利用德国波茨坦气候影响研究所的中等复杂程度地球系统模式(CLIMBER-2)对过去3 Ma气候和环境的模拟结果,探讨了轨道尺度东亚冬季风演化特征及其变化机制。采用两种指数反映东亚冬季风强度,分别指示中纬度西风强度(EAWMU)和东亚北风强度(EAWMV)。CLIMBER-2较好地模拟出了3 Ma以来地球冰期-间冰期旋回特征,以及第四纪以来全球变冷趋势。东亚冬季风在过去3 Ma以来呈现逐渐增强的趋势,EAWMV和EAWMU分别在约2.6 Ma和约1.5 Ma突然增强。EAWMV(EAWMU)在约2.2 Ma(约1.5 Ma)之前主要以20 ka岁差周期为主导,约2.2~1.0 Ma(约1.5~1.0 Ma)的转型期以41 ka倾角周期和20 ka岁差周期为主导,约1.0 Ma之后则均出现100 ka、41 ka和20 ka这3个轨道周期特征,并以100 ka偏心率周期为主导。在约2.2 Ma(约1.5 Ma)之前,EAWMV(EAWMU)主要受控于太阳辐射的直接强迫作用,北半球冰盖的作用相对较弱,在此之后北半球冰盖起主导作用,太阳辐射的直接强迫作用相对较弱。因此,第四纪东亚冬季风与北半球冰盖存在复杂的耦合关系,当冰盖规模较小时,它们的关系很弱;反之,当冰盖规模较大时,它们的联系加强。

     

Sub-millennial scale variations in East Asian monsoon systems recorded by dust deposits from the north-western Chinese Loess Plateau

Previous work has demonstrated that magnetic properties and sediment particle size of Chinese loess deposits provide information on past behaviour of Chinese summer and winter monsoons, respectively (Heller and Evans, 1995; Derbyshire et al, 1997). It has been suggested that the East Asian winter monsoon system in particular is teleconnected on earth orbital and sub-orbital timescales to climatic states and events in high northern latitudes, especially northern hemisphere ice volume and Heinrich events, (Porter and An, 1995; Chen et al., 1997). However, the majority of this research has been performed around the central part of the Chinese Loess Plateau where the rate of dust accumulation is relatively low, thus limiting the potential resolution of palaeoclimatic records. Here we present a high resolution (5mm / ~20 yr interval) magnetic susceptibility record from an thick loess deposit located at Caoxian in the north-western part of the Loess Plateau. The record spans the “Lateglacial” (last glacial / interglacial transition) and when placed on a palaeomagnetic chronology shows a relationship with the GISP2 proxy air temperature record from Greenland (Grootes et al., 1993; Meese et al., 1994; Stuiver et al 1995). The results demonstrate that several Lateglacial climatic fluctuations previously reported in the North Atlantic region and in Europe are also recorded in China. In addition, the apparent absence of a signal corresponding to the Bølling Interstadial in China during the early deglaciation suggests that, at certain times, the apparent North Atlantic — Asian monsoon teleconnection may have collapsed. The demonstrated ability of the loess deposits to resolve sub-millennial scale climate variations points to their potential as a previously unexplored archive for very high-resolution studies of terrestrial climate.     

11万年来河西走廊东部黄土沉积记录的百年分辨率东亚冬季风变化

在河西走廊东段的祁连山北麓与腾格里沙漠交接地带发育的较大范围的黄土堆积为探讨东亚夏季风西北缘的古季风演化提供了不可多得的天然素材。本研究利用甘肃武威沙沟剖面32.2 m的黄土-古土壤序列作为研究对象,开展了光释光测年和高分辨率的岩石磁学、环境磁学和全岩粒度分析,重建了该地区11万年来的古季风演化历史,并探讨了其驱动机制。结果表明：1)该剖面11万年来连续沉积的黄土-古土壤序列与邻近古浪剖面同期地层的全岩粒度表现出完全的可比性,二者的沉积速率均达30 cm/ka以上,记录了东亚夏季风西北缘千百年分辨率的气候快速变化特征;2)磁粒度参数Mrs/Ms和Hcr/Hc与中值粒径间良好的线性相关表明,研究区黄土磁学特征主要受控于冬季风强度主导的"wind vigor"模式;3)全岩粒度和磁粒度参数均记录了完整的Dansgaard-Oeschger旋回和Heinrich事件,表明北半球高纬气候对黄土高原西北边缘气候的深远影响和中-高纬北半球气候显著的遥相关过程,而由北大西洋经向翻转环流强弱所引起的北极海冰变化可能是导致东亚冬季风强度变化的最直接原因。     

近千年东亚夏季风演变*

在分析东亚地区夏季海平面气压场与中国东部6区域干湿指数关系的基础上,重建了公元960—2000年近千年东亚地区夏季海平面气压场的格点资料,并对重建效果进行了检验。同时,依据重建的海平面气压场资料定义了近千年东亚夏季风强度指数,探讨了近千年东亚夏季风的变化特征。结果表明：（1）重建的近千年东亚地区的海平面气压场具有一定的可信度,它为研究更长时间尺度的东亚夏季风变化特征提供了基础;（2）东亚夏季风指数存在60～70 a、30～40 a、10～20 a的显著周期变化;（3）近千年东亚夏季风的强度指数主要经历过9次明显的趋势突变。其中,13世纪30年代东亚夏季风的强度指数经历了最显著的振动。     

Pattern of abrupt climatic fluctuation in the East Asian Monsoon during the Last Glacial: Evidence from Chinese loess records

Records of two loess sections located in mid-eastern and western margins of the East Asian Monsoon area captured 20 Dansgaard-Oescher events and six Heinrich events. All these suggested that the climate in the East Asian Monsoon area fluctuated rapidly on millennial to century timescales during the whole Last Glacial. We found that these loess-based events of rapid climate fluctuations were generally synchronous with those of GRIP records, but that there were differences between the Shagou loess section in the west and the Wangguan loess section in the east: the former was more sensitive to climate change than the latter. Compared with earlier studies on loess records covering the Last Glacial from neighboring areas, we discovered that the magnitude of Dansgaard-Oeschger cycles decreased gradually from west to east and we suggest that it resulted from the combined effect of the Westerlies and the East Asian Monsoon.     

Synchronism of Holocene East Asian monsoon variations and North Atlantic drift-ice tracers

Eighteen radiocarbon-dated eolian and paleosol profiles within a 1500-km-long belt along the arid to semi-arid transition zone of north-central China record variations in the extent and strength of the East Asian summer monsoon during the Holocene. Dated paleosols and peat layers represent intervals when the zone was dominated by a mild, moist summer monsoon climate that favored pedogenesis and peat accumulation. Brief intervals of enhanced eolian activity that resulted in the deposition of loess and eolian sand were times when strengthened winter monsoon conditions produced a colder, drier climate. The monsoon variations correlate closely with variations in North Atlantic drift-ice tracers that represent episodic advection of drift ice and cold polar surface water southward and eastward into warmer subpolar water. The correspondence of these records over the full span of Holocene time implies a close relationship between North Atlantic climate and the monsoon climate of central China.     

Highstands during Marine Isotope Stage 5: evidence from the Ironshore Formation of Grand Cayman,British West Indies

The Ironshore Formation on Grand Cayman is formed of six unconformity-bounded packages (units A–F). Units A, B, C, and D, known from the subsurface in the northeastern part of Grand Cayman, formed during Marine Isotope Stages (MIS) 11(?), 9, 7, and 5e, respectively. Unconformities at the tops of units A, B, and C are highlighted by terra rossa and/or calcrete layers. Strata in core obtained from wells drilled in George Town Harbour and exposed on the west part of Grand Cayman belong to unit D, and the newly defined units E and F. Corals from unit E yielded Th/U ages of ∼104 ka whereas conch shells from unit F gave ages of ∼84 ka. Unit E equates to MIS 5c whereas unit F developed during MIS 5a.Th/U dating of corals and conchs from the Ironshore Formation on the western part of Grand Cayman shows that unit D formed during the MIS 5e highstand whereas units E and F developed in association with highstands at 95–110 ka (MIS 5c) and 73–87 ka (MIS 5a). Unit E, ∼5 m thick in the offshore cores, is poorly represented in onshore exposures. Unit F, which unconformably overlies unit D at most localities, is formed largely of fossil-poor, cross-bedded ooid grainstones. The unconformity at the top of unit D, a marine erosional surface with up to 2.5 m relief, is not characterized by terra rossa or calcrete in the offshore cores or onshore exposures. Unit D formed with a highstand of +6 m asl, whereas units E and F developed when sea level was +2 to +5 asl and +3 to +6 m asl, respectively. Thus, the highstands associated with MIS 5e, 5c, and 5a were at similar elevations.     

我国季风边缘区湖泊沉积记录的全新世亚洲夏季风衰退事件

亚洲夏季风是全球季风系统的重要组成部分,亚洲夏季风的变化对其控制区域自然生态系统的多样性和生态平衡,以及社会经济发展有重要的影响。本文选择位于现代亚洲夏季风边缘区对季风变化响应敏感的湖泊达连海为研究对象,基于陆生植物残体和全有机质的AMS ¹⁴C定年建立了钻孔顶部24.6 m沉积物的年代框架,利用粒度指标重建了全新世研究区水文变化过程以及亚洲夏季风衰退事件序列。结果显示,沉积物中存在数层砂层,代表了湖泊低水位时期,进而指示了亚洲夏季风衰退事件。这些事件处在11.6~11.3 cal.ka B.P.、10.4~9.5 cal.ka B.P.、6.4~6.0 cal.ka B.P.、4.6~4.4 cal.ka B.P.、3.7~3.4 cal.ka B.P.、3.1~2.9 cal.ka B.P.以及2.0~0.9 cal.ka B.P.,可以发现中晚全新世以来亚洲夏季风衰退事件发生的频率显著增加。进一步与北半球高纬地区与低纬地区的气候突变事件记录对比显示,全新世百年-千年时间尺度上亚洲夏季风强度的变化与低纬ENSO活动存在密切的联系。

     

Methane emission from northern wetlands in Europe during Oxygen Isotope Stage 3

Interstadials during the last glacial show a rapid rise of the atmospheric methane concentration at the onset of climatic warming. This is explained by reaction of (northern) wetlands to climate change, or by catastrophic release of methane from sea floor methane clathrates. The wetland hypothesis usually assumes expansion of wetlands, which is a slow process and difficult to reconcile with the rapid rise of the atmospheric methane concentration. Here it is demonstrated by modeling that wetland methane fluxes may have reacted rapidly on climatic warming by its direct effect on methane production, without the assumption of wetland expansion. A bottom-up modeling of methane fluxes in northern Europe during Oxygen Isotope Stage 3 is presented. This study combines paleodata on wetland ecology, climate model output, a process-based methane flux model, and GIS-based modeling of wetland areal distribution. The resulting methane flux during interstadials is twice as high as during stadials. This is attributed to higher bacterial metabolic rates, a longer frost-free period, and a higher ecosystem primary production providing more substrate for methanogenesis.     

Zr/Rb ratio in the Chinese loess sequences and its implication for changes in the East Asian winter monsoon strength

The long-term dust accumulation sequences on the Chinese Loess Plateau (CLP) provide a valuable opportunity to study the evolution of East Asian winter monsoon strength. Grain size of bulk samples of loess deposits, though widely used, is a modified measure of the strength of winter monsoon wind due to modification by post-depositional weathering and pedogenesis. This study proposes a new and reliable geochemical climate proxy that records the variability of the East Asian winter monsoon on the CLP. Six loess-paleosol sections on the Plateau were selected for measuring concentrations of the trace elements Zr and Rb as well as grain size. Variations of the Zr/Rb ratio in all the sections encompassing the last 130 ka display a generally similar pattern to that of mean grain size of bulk samples (MGSB). Though a positive correlation exists between the Zr/Rb ratio and MGSB, the correlation coefficient decreases in southern and eastern sections where intense pedogenesis occurred in the relatively warm and humid climates. Long-term Zr/Rb variation in the Lingtai section exhibits amplitudes and frequencies similar to those in MGSB and the mean grain size of quartz particles (MGSQ, accepted as a more reliable proxy than MGSB) in the upper loess-paleosol sequence over the past 2.6 Ma. However, for the underlying Red Clay formation, in the interval from about 7-2.6 Ma B.P., the MGSB record is relatively stable, whereas both the Zr/Rb ratio and MGSQ show distinct variability and display amplitudes similar to those observed in the overlying loess-paleosol sequence. These results demonstrate that the Zr/Rb ratio reflects original eolian grain size and may serve as a reliable index of the strength of East Asian winter monsoon winds.     

East Asian monsoon instability at the stage 5a/4 transition

The physics involved in the abrupt climate changes of the late Quaternary have eluded paleoclimatologists for many years. More paleoclimatic records characteristic of different elements of the global climate system are needed for better understanding of the cause-feedback relationships in the system. The East Asian monsoon is an important part of the global climate system and the mechanical links between the East Asian monsoon and other climatic elements around the world may hold a key to our knowledge of abrupt climate changes in East Asia and probably over a larger part of the globe. Previous studies have detected millennial-scale winter monsoon oscillations during the last glaciation and probably also during the last interglaciation in loess sequences across China. However, less attention has been paid to the abrupt summer monsoon changes and the stage 5a/ 4 transition, an important period for the evolution of the East Asian monsoon when the global climate shifted towards the last glaciation. Here we report on two loess sections from eastern China which were dated using a thermoluminescence (TL) technique. The pedogenic and other sediment parameters suggest that the summer monsoon experienced a two-step abrupt retreat at the stage 5a/4 transition. The variations in the proxies for the winter monsoon are synchronized with the summer monsoon proxies during this brief interval, implying a direct and immediate link between high latitude and low latitude mechanisms. These changes may be correlated with similar climatic oscillations observed in the North Atlantic, Europe and Antarctica, raising the possibility that the forcing factors that induced these changes are global in extent.     

同步变化的东亚季风和印度季风:来自年层石笋氧同位素的证据

印度季风和东亚季风是亚洲季风的两个子系统.现代器测数据和地质历史重建记录均证明两个季风在季节和轨道尺度上具有相同的特征.然而,在年一年代际尺度上,两者的相互关系尚不清楚.笔者通过比较两个分别来自印度季风区(阿曼Defore洞)和东亚季风区(中国和尚洞)的超高分辨石笋氧同位素序列,研究780 a以来印度和东亚季风变化及其相互作用.阿曼石笋氧同位素记录印度季风的变化,而和尚洞石笋δ18 O则是东亚季风变化的指示器.笔者发现,在年代际尺度上阿曼石笋和中国石笋具有相同的氧同位素组成变化特征,同时反映了亚洲季风的强弱变化,表明了印度季风和东亚季风变化是同步的.     

珠江三角洲MIS 5间冰期海平面波动新证据

珠江三角洲第四系广泛发育沉积间断,致使该区域的古环境重建仍然存在诸多疑问,特别是对全新统以下的沉积旋回发育时代及其反映的海平面变化历史等争议尚大。近年从珠江三角洲中部平原钻取的一个长50多米的岩芯中,首次在第四纪地层中见到6个明显的红色沉积层,综合利用沉积学、年代学及区域对比分析后认为,该套地层包含了MIS6以来的沉积,6个红色沉积层中,除最顶部红色层为末次冰期(MIS4～2)形成的典型花斑粘土层外,其余5个红色层均应为MIS5间冰期海平面阶段性降低的沉积产物,反映在MIS5海侵过程中海平面有过多次显著波动。地球化学和矿物学分析结果进一步指示,自下而上6个红色沉积层经受过的化学风化作用强度增大,指示MIS5以来研究区相对水面波动降低的幅度和(或)持续时间从早期到晚期呈增加趋势。     

Out-of-phase evolution between summer and winter East Asian monsoons during the Holocene as recorded by Chinese loess deposits

We analyzed climate proxies from loessic-soil sections of the southern Chinese Loess Plateau. The early Holocene paleosol, S0, is 3.2 m thick and contains six sub-soil units. Co-eval soils from the central Loess Plateau are thinner (~ 1 m). Consequently higher-resolution stratigraphic analyses can be made on our new sections and provide more insight into Holocene temporal variation of the East Asian monsoon. Both summer and winter monsoon evolution signals are recorded in the same sections, enabling the study of phase relationships between the signals. Our analyses consist of (i) measurements of magnetic properties sensitive to the production of fine-grained magnetic minerals which reflect precipitation intensity and summer monsoon strength; and (ii) grain-size analyses which reflect winter monsoon strength. Our results indicate that the Holocene precipitation maximum occurred in the mid-Holocene, ~ 7.8–3.5 cal ka BP, with an arid interval at 6.3–5.3 cal ka BP. The winter monsoon intensity declined to a minimum during 5.0–3.4 cal ka BP. These results suggest that the East Asian summer and winter monsoons were out of phase during the Holocene, possibly due to their different sensitivities to ice and snow coverage at high latitudes and to sea-surface temperature at low latitudes.     

全新世中期中国气候和东亚季风:PMIP4模式结果

利用国际古气候模拟比较计划(PMIP)最新第四阶段(PMIP4)中14个气候模式的试验数据,集中研究了距今约6 000年的全新世中期中国气候和东亚季风。与早期PMIP第三阶段(PMIP3)多模式结果类似,全新世中期中国年、冬季和春季地表气温较工业革命前期偏冷,而夏季和秋季偏暖,其中年和冬季模拟偏冷与大部分地质记录显示的偏暖不符;所有14个PMIP4模式集合的中国区域平均年和季节温度变化绝对值为0.08~1.69 ℃,较PMIP3多模式平均结果额外偏小0.01~0.45 ℃,这部分源于大气二氧化碳浓度的减少。在用于分析的11个PMIP4模式平均结果中,全新世中期中国年平均降水、蒸发和有效降水(即降水量减蒸发量)相对于工业革命前期分别增加2%、减少1%和增加7%,所有3个物理量在季节上均表现为冬春季减少,夏秋季增加。对比PMIP4模式和PMIP3多模式平均结果,上述3个物理量的中国区域平均值和区域变化差异均在夏、秋季大于年和冬、春季;相比于PMIP3模式,PMIP4模式模拟的年有效降水变化与地质记录更为接近。全新世中期东亚冬、夏季风在14个PMIP4模式中均模拟加强,所有模式平均较工业革命前期分别增强11%和32%;在区域尺度上,与早期PMIP3模式相比,当前PMIP4模式模拟的季风环流增强幅度在东亚北部更强,南部偏弱。     

Submillennial environmental fluctuations during marine Oxygen Isotope Stage 2: a comparative analysis of diatom and pollen evidence from Lago Grande di Monticchio,South Italy

High temporal resolution pollen and diatom analyses carried out on sediments from Lago Grande di Monticchio span the interval 23 700–21 200 calendar yr. BP, a brief interstadial during marine Oxygen Isotope Stage 2. Both records exhibit marked changes that are interpreted as responses to climatic changes. The diatoms and terrestrial vegetation appear to respond at the same time; any relative lag in the response of the vegetation was less than the ca. 60 yr resolution of the two records. The interval coincides, at least in part, with the Campo Imperatore Stade, when the Gran Sasso ice sheet reached its maximum extent and water level was high in the Fucino Lake. Correlation of the marked environmental oscillation with one of the Dansgaard–Oeschger Events recorded by stable oxygen isotope records from the Greenland ice–cap is proposed. This follows an interval interpreted as having a cold dry climate and correlated with a Heinrich Event in the North Atlantic. Together the two records enable a multifactorial interpretation of the palaeoclimate changes that characterise the oscillation, providing additional insight to that obtained from studies of ice and ocean‐sediment cores, especially with respect to the seasonality of temperature and precipitation. Copyright © 1999 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.