Asian dust-storm activity dominated by Chinese dynasty changes since 2000 BP

Fahu Chen,Guanghui Dong,Jianbao Liu,John P Smol,Evan J Gowan,Zongli Wang,Yuecong Li,Shengqian Chen,Qinghai Xu,Xu Zhang,Yangyang Xu,Jianhui Chen,Xin Wang,Mingrui Qiang

doi:10.1038/s41467-020-14765-4

Abstract

The Asian monsoon (AM) played an important role in the dynastic history of China, yet it remains unknown whether AM-mediated shifts in Chinese societies affect earth surface processes to the point of exceeding natural variability. Here, we present a dust storm intensity record dating back to the first unified dynasty of China (the Qin Dynasty, 221–207 B.C.E.). Marked increases in dust storm activity coincided with unified dynasties with large populations during strong AM periods. By contrast, reduced dust storm activity corresponded to decreased population sizes and periods of civil unrest, which was co-eval with a weakened AM. The strengthened AM may have facilitated the development of Chinese civilizations, destabilizing the topsoil and thereby increasing the dust storm frequency. Beginning at least 2000 years ago, human activities might have started to overtake natural climatic variability as the dominant controls of dust storm activity in eastern China.

Highlights

The Asian monsoon (AM) played an important role in the dynastic history of China, yet it remains unknown whether AM-mediated shifts in Chinese societies affect earth surface processes to the point of exceeding natural variability
Transitions between Chinese dynasties tended to occur during periods of a weak AM, as the associated reduction in monsoon rainfall resulted in crop failure and famine, leading to civil unrest and warfare[3,4,5]
A reliable proxy record regarding landscape changes is needed to compare with the history of the AM and the dynastic history of Northern China has long been recognized as the center of Chinese civilization, and it was one of the most densely populated areas of ancient China[6]

Summary

Introduction

The Asian monsoon (AM) played an important role in the dynastic history of China, yet it remains unknown whether AM-mediated shifts in Chinese societies affect earth surface processes to the point of exceeding natural variability. The history of the past AM, as well as the dynastic history of China, is reasonably well established[3,7], but the ecological effects of AM-mediated cultural changes remain largely unknown It remains unclear whether the rapid increases in population could generate landscape changes that exceeded natural variability[8,9]. Like other civilization centers in the world, population increases may lead to extensive landscape modification due to the expansion of agriculture[10,11,12] and desertification[13] These disturbed earth surface processes can potentially exert broader impacts on socioeconomic and ecological systems downwind in eastern China.

Methods

Results

Conclusion