Centennial- to millennial-scale climate shifts in continental interior Asia repeated between warm–dry and cool–wet conditions during the last three interglacial states: evidence from uranium and biogenic silica in the sediment of Lake Baikal, southeast Si

We observed timescale-dependent changes in the correlations between biogenic silica (bioSi) and uranium concentrations of bulk sediment from the Buguldeika Saddle, Lake Baikal. There was a positive correlation for the glacial–interglacial (100 kyr) scales over the 180 kyr, with inverse correlations for centennial- to-millennial scales during the last three interglacial states (MIS 5, 3, and 1). The distinction of these correlations between the time scales suggests that the sedimentation processes of bioSi and U differ from each other. The Baikal bioSi concentration record is generally regarded as a paleotemperature proxy, reflecting the diatom production of the lake. On the other hand, we concluded that the temporal variation of the U concentration in the sediment reflected the weathering intensity in the south of Lake Baikal watershed associated with changes in the rainfall/moisture levels.Based on the paleoclimate proxies from Lake Baikal, climates in continental interior Asia are identified as having dry and wet conditions during the glacial and interglacial periods, respectively. This accounts for the rhythms in growth and retreat of ice sheets in Eurasia on glacial–interglacial scales. In the interglacial periods (MIS 5, 3, and 1), the continental interior is, contrary to the glacial–interglacial climate changes, characterized by alternating warm–dry and cool–wet climates with periods in tens of thousands years. In particular, such shifts in the climate stand out prominently at the beginning of MIS 5d. The detrended U record for the last 5.2 kyr shows wet events at 4.3–3.7, 3.2–2.3, 1.8–1.2, and 0.8–0.3 kyr. These events coincide with the timing of the North Atlantic ice-rafted debris events, which were possibly related to solar activity. All this evidence suggests that climate in the continental interior followed significantly different fluctuation patterns in the glacial–interglacial and shorter time scales.

► Concentration variations of U and bioSi in the bulk sediment of Lake Baikal.
► The U–bioSi relationship shows remarkable inverse correlation in the 0.1–10 kyr time scales.
► The U record provides information on changes in rainfall in continental interior Asia.
► The climate became dry in the glacial periods and wet in the interglacial periods.
► In MIS 5, 3, and 1, the region alternated between warm–dry and cool–wet climates.