Humification degrees of a lacustrine sedimentary sequence as an indicator of past climatic changes in the last c. 49 000 years in South China

Abstract

Zhong, W., Ma, Q. H., Xue, J. B., Zheng, Y. M., Cai, Y. & Ou, Y. J. 2009: Humification degrees of a lacustrine sedimentary sequence as an indicator of past climatic changes in the last c. 49 000 years in South China. Boreas, 10.1111/j.1502‐3885.2009.00119.x. ISSN 0300‐9483.An 860 cm long sediment core recovered from Dahu Swamp was used to test the potential of the degree of humification (expressed as the corrected absorbance values, HDcab) of lacustrine sediments as an indicator of past climatic changes in South China. The chronological sequence of this core was established using 10 AMS 14C dates and 10 conventional 14C dates and gives the bottom age of c. 48 800 cal. yr BP. Based on comparisons with multiproxy records, such as lithological variation, organic carbon isotope ratio, organic matter content and dry bulk density, we infer that the HDcab record is sensitive to local hydrological variations that are closely related to the East Asian (EA) summer monsoon precipitation. Higher HDcab values would indicate relatively drier conditions, suggesting a weakening of the EA summer monsoon and vice versa. Based on the HDcab, as well as other multiproxies, the climatic history in the last c. 49 000 years in the swamp area shows agreement with the Chinese stalagmite record and with the 25°N summer solar insolation, implying that orbitally induced insolation may have played a role in the last glacial period (LGP) climate in South China. Several millennial‐scale dry phases during the LGP show similarities with the stadials revealed by the ice core record in Greenland and from the Chinese cave stalagmites. Our study demonstrates that the HDcab of lacustrine sediments is a useful proxy of past climatic changes in South China.