Abstract
AbstractThe Late Holocene marks a substantial cultural and economic transition in the eastern Eurasian Steppe and Altai Region with the dispersal of nomadic pastoralism. So far, paleoclimate conditions during this time remain unclear and controversial. Here, we present a high‐resolution 4.2 ka paleoclimate record from Lake Khar Nuur in the Mongolian Altai that is based on lake sediment proxies and biomarker compound‐specific δ2H analyses. Our results document increased aridity before ∼3.7 cal. ka BP, followed by two pronounced phases of warm and wet conditions from ∼3.5–2.8 to ∼2.3–1.5 cal. ka BP, and a strong increase in aridity since ∼1.5 cal. ka BP. Phases of warmer and wetter conditions coincide with a negative North Atlantic Oscillation, which has been responsible for advecting moisture into the region by more southerly‐displaced Westerlies and possibly favored the expansion of mobile nomadic pastoralism in the region.
Highlights
The semi-arid regions of the eastern Eurasian Steppe and the Altai Region are highly sensitive towards climate change and are expected to increasingly experience drought conditions by rising temperatures during the decades (Batima et al, 2005; Dai, 2011)
Phases of warmer and wetter conditions coincide with a negative North Atlantic Oscillation, which has been responsible for advecting moisture into the region by more southerly-displaced Westerlies and possibly favored the expansion of mobile nomadic pastoralism in the region
While the cold and dry winter climate is controlled by the Siberian High, moisture and precipitation is mainly brought by the mid-latitude Westerlies and in the past to some extent by the low-latitude East Asian Summer Monsoon (EASM; Hoerling et al, 2001; Visbeck, 2002)
Summary
The semi-arid regions of the eastern Eurasian Steppe and the Altai Region are highly sensitive towards climate change and are expected to increasingly experience drought conditions by rising temperatures during the decades (Batima et al, 2005; Dai, 2011). This sensitivity is mostly due to its continentality and complex climate forcing by the interplay of several large-scale atmospheric circulation patterns affecting moisture advection and precipitation variability (Aizen et al, 2001; D'Arrigo et al, 2000). The expansion of grasslands and steppes after ∼4 ka BP could be driven by intensified anthropogenic land-use, which is assumed to start with the introduction of mobile pastoralism from the Western Eurasian
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