Moisture variations in Lacustrine−eolian sequence from the Hunshandake sandy land associated with the East Asian Summer Monsoon changes since the late Pleistocene

Abstract

Paleoclimate records currently lack sufficient geographic detail to understand the spatiotemporal evolution of East Asian Summer Monsoon (EASM) rain belt since the late Pleistocene. In particular, there is no consensus on whether the EASM rain belt reached its modern northern limit by the early Holocene. Here, we present inferred moisture variations from a multi-parameter, absolute-dated lacustrine−eolian sequence from northern China that date back to the late Pleistocene (∼14 ka BP or thousand years ago). We observed a sharp transition towards wet conditions at the onset of the Holocene Epoch. Maximum wet climate occurred here during ∼11.3–8.5 ka. The climate remained predominantly wet until ∼4.2 ka, then it became progressively drier. We observed alternating organic-rich, fine-grained lake deposits and organic-depleted, coarse-grained eolian sand layers during ∼14−7 ka. These layers correspond to sedimentation associated with the Allerød, Younger Dryas (YD), post YD warming, pre-Boreal oscillation (PBO), early Holocene and 8.2 ka event. We interpreted the orbital scale moisture variation at our study site to the changes in insolation, assigning these abrupt and short-lived changes during the late Pleistocene−Holocene transition to a persistent teleconnection between the North Atlantic and east Asian climate zones.