Long-term east-west asymmetry in monsoon rainfall on the Tibetan Plateau

Abstract

Research Article| March 01, 2013 Long-term east-west asymmetry in monsoon rainfall on the Tibetan Plateau Adam M. Hudson; Adam M. Hudson Department of Geosciences, University of Arizona, Tucson, Arizona 85721, USA Search for other works by this author on: GSW Google Scholar Jay Quade Jay Quade Department of Geosciences, University of Arizona, Tucson, Arizona 85721, USA Search for other works by this author on: GSW Google Scholar Author and Article Information Adam M. Hudson Department of Geosciences, University of Arizona, Tucson, Arizona 85721, USA Jay Quade Department of Geosciences, University of Arizona, Tucson, Arizona 85721, USA Publisher: Geological Society of America Received: 06 Jul 2012 Revision Received: 25 Sep 2012 Accepted: 29 Sep 2012 First Online: 09 Mar 2017 Online ISSN: 1943-2682 Print ISSN: 0091-7613 © 2013 Geological Society of America Geology (2013) 41 (3): 351–354. https://doi.org/10.1130/G33837.1 Article history Received: 06 Jul 2012 Revision Received: 25 Sep 2012 Accepted: 29 Sep 2012 First Online: 09 Mar 2017 Cite View This Citation Add to Citation Manager Share Icon Share Facebook Twitter LinkedIn MailTo Tools Icon Tools Get Permissions Search Site Citation Adam M. Hudson, Jay Quade; Long-term east-west asymmetry in monsoon rainfall on the Tibetan Plateau. Geology 2013;; 41 (3): 351–354. doi: https://doi.org/10.1130/G33837.1 Download citation file: Ris (Zotero) Refmanager EasyBib Bookends Mendeley Papers EndNote RefWorks BibTex toolbar search Search Dropdown Menu toolbar search search input Search input auto suggest filter your search All ContentBy SocietyGeology Search Advanced Search Abstract Variations in the strength and duration of the Asian Monsoon affect more than half the population of the planet, and there is intense interest in where, and how much, rainfall amounts will change regionally in response to warmer climate conditions. The modern monsoon region is divided into distinct subsystems, so the response may be regionally heterogeneous. Northern Hemisphere monsoon systems intensified during the early to mid-Holocene, increasing summer rainfall and creating wetter conditions across much of eastern Asia. In this study we use the area encompassed by high shorelines of early Holocene paleolakes in Tibet to reconstruct paleorainfall (and hence paleomonsoon) patterns during this very wet period. We found that the early Holocene relative paleolake expansions of 130 closed-basin lake systems in the central Tibetan Plateau display a strong east-west gradient. Paleolake areas expanded by approximately fourfold in the western plateau, compared to approximately twofold expansion in the eastern region. This early Holocene pattern mirrors the modern west-east climate division on the plateau: rainfall in the west is closely tied to the Indian summer monsoon (ISM) subsystem, and in the east is closely tied to a probable mix of ISM and East Asian summer monsoon (EASM) subsystems. Our results suggest that these modern climate divisions are an enduring feature of the plateau and that ISM rainfall increased much more than EASM rainfall in response to the same insolation forcing. You do not have access to this content, please speak to your institutional administrator if you feel you should have access.