Long-term decrease in Asian monsoon rainfall and abrupt climate change events over the past 6,700 years

Yang B, Qin C, Bräuning A, Osborn TJ, Trouet V, Ljungqvist FC, Esper J, Schneider L, Grießinger J, Büntgen U, Rossi S, Dong G, Yan M, Ning L, Wang J, Wang X, Wang S, Luterbacher J, Cook ER, Stenseth NC (2021)

Publication Type: Journal article

Publication year: 2021

Journal

Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America National Academy of Sciences

Book Volume: 118

Article Number: e2102007118

Journal Issue: 30

DOI: 10.1073/pnas.2102007118

Abstract

Asian summer monsoon (ASM) variability and its long-term ecological and societal impacts extending back to Neolithic times are poorly understood due to a lack of high-resolution climate proxy data. Here, we present a precisely dated and well-calibrated tree-ring stable isotope chronology from the Tibetan Plateau with 1- to 5-y resolution that reflects high- to low-frequency ASM variability from 4680 BCE to 2011 CE. Superimposed on a persistent drying trend since the mid-Holocene, a rapid decrease in moisture availability between ∼2000 and ∼1500 BCE caused a dry hydroclimatic regime from ∼1675 to ∼1185 BCE, with mean precipitation estimated at 42 ± 4% and 5 ± 2% lower than during the mid-Holocene and the instrumental period, respectively. This second-millennium–BCE megadrought marks the mid-to late Holocene transition, during which regional forests declined and enhanced aeolian activity affected northern Chinese ecosystems. We argue that this abrupt aridification starting ∼2000 BCE contributed to the shift of Neolithic cultures in northern China and likely triggered human migration and societal transformation.

Authors with CRIS profile

Achim Bräuning Lehrstuhl für Geographie (Physische Geographie) Jussi Grießinger Institut für Geographie

Involved external institutions

Chinese Academy of Sciences (CAS) / 中国科学院 CN China (CN) University of East Anglia GB United Kingdom (GB) University of Arizona US United States (USA) (US) Stockholm University / Stockholms universitet SE Sweden (SE) Johannes Gutenberg-Universität Mainz (JGU) DE Germany (DE) Justus-Liebig-Universität Gießen DE Germany (DE) University of Cambridge GB United Kingdom (GB) Université du Québec à Chicoutimi (UQAC) CA Canada (CA) Lanzhou University CN China (CN) Nanjing Normal University (NNU) / 南京师范大学 CN China (CN) Nanjing Institute of Geography and Limnology CN China (CN) World Meteorological Organization (WMO) / Organisation météorologique mondiale (OMM) CH Switzerland (CH) Lamont-Doherty Earth Observatory US United States (USA) (US) University of Oslo NO Norway (NO)

How to cite

APA:

Yang, B., Qin, C., Bräuning, A., Osborn, T.J., Trouet, V., Ljungqvist, F.C.,... Stenseth, N.C. (2021). Long-term decrease in Asian monsoon rainfall and abrupt climate change events over the past 6,700 years. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America, 118(30). https://dx.doi.org/10.1073/pnas.2102007118

MLA:

Yang, Bao, et al. "Long-term decrease in Asian monsoon rainfall and abrupt climate change events over the past 6,700 years." Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America 118.30 (2021).

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