Asynchronous evolution of the isotopic composition and amount of precipitation in north China during the Holocene revealed by a record of compound-specific carbon and hydrogen isotopes of long-chain n-alkanes from an alpine lake

- Lake sediment δ13C and δD record of long-chain n-alkanes from north China.
- Peak precipitation amount occurred from ca. 8-5 ka BP.
- The most negative isotopic composition of precipitation occurred from ca. 11-5 ka BP.
- Complex relationship between the amount and isotopic composition of precipitation.
- Moisture source area temperature is important for the isotopes of precipitation.

Both the timing of the maximum East Asian summer monsoon (EASM) intensity in monsoonal China and the environmental significance of the Chinese stalagmite oxygen isotopic record (δ18O) have been debated. Here, we present a ca. 120-year-resolution compound-specific carbon (δ13C) and hydrogen (δD) isotopes of terrestrial long-chain n-alkanes extracted from a well-dated sediment core from an alpine lake in north China. Our δ13C data, together with previously reported pollen data from a parallel core, demonstrate a humid mid-Holocene from ca. 8-5 ka BP. Assuming that the climatic humidity of north China is an indicator of the EASM intensity, then the maximum EASM intensity occurred in the mid-Holocene. Our δD data reveal a similar long-term trend to the δ18O record from nearby Lianhua Cave, indicating that the synchronous δD and δ18O records faithfully record the δD and δ18O of precipitation, respectively. The most negative δD and δ18O values occur in the early-mid Holocene, from ca. 11-5 ka BP. This contrast in the timing of isotopic variations demonstrates a complex relationship between the isotopic composition of precipitation and precipitation amount, or EASM intensity. Further comparisons indicate a possible linkage between the precipitation amount in north China and the west-east thermal gradient in the equatorial Pacific. In addition, the temperature of the moisture source area may play an important role in determining the isotopic composition of precipitation in monsoonal China.