Article ID | Journal | Published Year | Pages | File Type |
---|---|---|---|---|
8915106 | Quaternary Science Reviews | 2017 | 5 Pages |
Abstract
Recent studies of stalagmites from the Southern Hemisphere tropics of Indonesia reveal two shifts in monsoon activity not apparent in records from the Northern Hemisphere sectors of the Austral-Asian monsoon system: an interval of enhanced rainfall at â¼19 ka, immediately prior to Heinrich Stadial 1, and a sharp increase in precipitation at â¼9 ka. Determining whether these events are site-specific or regional is important for understanding the full range of sensitivities of the Austral-Asian monsoon. We present a discontinuous 40 kyr carbon isotope record of stalagmites from two caves in the Kimberley region of the north-central Australian tropics. Heinrich stadials are represented by pronounced negative carbon isotopic anomalies, indicative of enhanced rainfall associated with a southward shift of the intertropical convergence zone and consistent with hydroclimatic changes observed across Asia and the Indo-Pacific. Between 20 and 8 ka, however, the Kimberley stalagmites, like the Indonesian record, reveal decoupling of monsoon behavior from Southeast Asia, including the early deglacial wet period (which we term the Late Glacial Pluvial) and the abrupt strengthening of early Holocene monsoon rainfall.
Related Topics
Physical Sciences and Engineering
Earth and Planetary Sciences
Geology
Authors
R.F. Denniston, Y. Asmerom, V.J. Polyak, A.D. Jr., C.C. Ummenhofer, W.F. Humphreys, J. Cugley, D. Woods, S. Lucker,