Environmental change during the penultimate glacial cycle: a high-resolution pollen record from ODP Site 1144, South China Sea

In order to study environmental change within the penultimate glacial cycle (MIS 6-5), a total of 385 pollen samples with an average time resolution of 530 years were analyzed from ODP Site 1144 (20°3.18′N, 1170°25.14′E), northeastern South China Sea. A characteristic feature of pollen diagram is the alternating peaks of pine and herbs, generally corresponding to the glacial cycle. Pine dominates in the interglacial, herb pollen dominates in the glacial. A detailed comparison shows that the pollen assemblages changed earlier at the glacial-interglacial transition between MIS 6 and 5 (Termination II) than the ice volume indicated by the oxygen isotope record, implying that mid-low latitude climate warming preceded high latitude ice sheet retreat. Responses of pollen assemblages to orbital and suborbital cyclicities and to monsoon variations are also discussed.