Evidence of ENSO signals in a stalagmite-based Asian monsoon record during the medieval warm period

Abstract

El Niño/Southern Oscillation (ENSO) is Earth's dominant interannual climate variability mode, but knowledge about its relationship with the Asian summer monsoon (ASM) during the medieval warm period (MWP) is limited, hampering predictions of ASM changes. Here, we present a high-resolution and annually layered stalagmite δ 18 O record covering most of the MWP (from 1050 to 665 yr B.P.) from Xiaoshanyan Cave, which is located in the middle reaches of the Yangtze River in Central China. We combined 230 Th dates and annual-layer counting to derive an age model for the δ 18 O record (an ASM proxy) and identified a peak-trough-peak structure in the ASM across the MWP, which has also been found in other Chinese proxy records. The weak monsoonal interval (900–750 yr B.P.) corresponds to the Oort minimum period, indicating that the ASM could have been impacted by centennial-scale solar activity through air-sea amplifications. On the multidecadal timescale, a remarkable anti-phased relationship was observed between our record (tuned 7 yr older for synchronization) and the historically documented dry-wet record. This suggests that calcite δ 18 O values should reflect the relative contributions of two different water vapour sources from tropical and subtropical oceans rather than the amount of precipitation on short timescales. Comparison of the data further showed that both our δ 18 O record and the dry-wet index strongly correlate with the frequency and amplitude of ~30-yr ENSO cycles, indicating that the ASM sensitively responded to ENSO activity during the MWP. We thus confirmed that ENSO modulated the hydroclimate in the monsoonal regions of China during the MWP, which is also the case in the current warm period. • A inter-annual scale East Asian summer monsoon variability was reconstructed by an annually laminated stalagmite. • A peak-trough-peak structure was observed in the Medieval Warm Period. • Solar activity and ocean–atmosphere coupling impact the weak monsoon trough. • Both our δ 18 O record and the dry-wet index strongly correlate with ~30-yr ENSO cycles. • Calcite δ 18 O reflects the relative contributions of different water vapour sources on the short timescale.