Holocene summer temperature in arid central Asia linked to millennial-scale North Atlantic climate events and driven by centennial-scale solar activity

Abstract

The millennial- and centennial-scale variability of Holocene climate in arid central Asia (ACA) is poorly understood, due to the lack of high-resolution records, especially of temperature. We present a high-resolution (~45-yr) peat α-cellulose δ13C record spanning the last ~11,030 years from a well-dated peat core (ATM10-C7) from the Altai Mountains in ACA. It is interpreted as a summer temperature record and exhibits millennial- and centennial-scale variability. The millennial-scale variability corresponds well to North Atlantic ice rafting events, implying a climatic link between the North Atlantic and the ACA via the Westerlies. The centennial-scale cold events were synchronous with stages of low solar activity. Spectral and cross-spectral analyses demonstrate that summer temperature and solar activity have a common cyclicity, and we therefore suggest that solar activity was the fundamental driver of the centennial-scale variability of summer temperature in ACA during the Holocene.