An 8,600 year lacustrine record of summer monsoon variability from Yunnan, China

Abstract

Interactions between the Indian Summer Monsoon (ISM) and East Asian Summer Monsoon (EASM) are complex, yet needed to provide a long-term perspective of precipitation patterns in southeast Asia. Here we present an 8600-year sediment record from Xingyun Lake in Yunnan, China, a transitional zone that receives inputs of precipitation from both the ISM and EASM. Analysis of stable oxygen isotopes (δ18O) from authigenic calcite yields a semi-quantitative estimate of the timing and magnitude of lake level change that reflects changes in effective moisture from monsoon variability. Between 8600 and 6900 years BP, δ18O values are stable and low, indicating high lake levels and overflowing conditions resulting from a strong ISM. After 6900 years BP, δ18O values shift to higher values, which we suggest reflects a weakening of the ISM caused by declining summer insolation. The most substantial positive shift in isotopes occurs from 5000 to 4300 years BP and is coincident with aridity in India and the Tibetan Plateau. Other proxy records indicate increased ENSO variability and a southward shift in the ITCZ, which has an effect on the strength and onset of the ISM and may account for this change in hydrologic balance. After 4300 years BP, δ18O values continue to increase reflecting a gradual drying trend, but increases are smaller than prior periods, in part due to lake bathymetry that limits the potential for isotopic enrichment driven by evaporation. The relative influence of the ISM and EASM in the Yunnan Province of China during the Holocene remains a topic for future study, but our results suggest the predominance of the ISM and a possible connection to ENSO patterns on centennial to millennial timescales.