Stalagmite-inferred Holocene precipitation in northern Guizhou Province, China, and asynchronous termination of the Climatic Optimum in the Asian monsoon territory

Abstract

An absolute-dated, bi-decadal-resolution, stalagmite oxygen-isotopic time series from Shigao Cave reveals the evolution of summer monsoon precipitation over the past 9.9 ka BP in northern Guizhou Province, Southwest China. The δ 18O-inferred climate conditions are divisible into three distinct stages: (1) a maximum humid era from 9.9–6.6 ka BP; (2) a gradual declining precipitation interval between 6.6–1.6 ka BP; and (3) a relatively low precipitation time window after 1.6 ka BP. Consistency of contemporaneous stalagmite Holocene δ 18O records between Shigao and other caves in the Indian and East Asian monsoon realms support the effect of primary orbital solar forcings on monsoonal precipitation. However, statistical analysis shows a significant spatial asynchroneity of the Holocene Optimum termination in the Asian monsoon territory. The Holocene Optimum ended at 7.2–7.4 ka BP in Oman, located in the Indian monsoon region, and at 5.6–5.8 ka BP in Central China, in the East Asian monsoon zone. In Southwest China, the termination occurred between these periods, at 6.6–7.0 ka BP, and was influenced by both monsoon systems. We propose that this spatially asynchronous ending of Holocene Optimum in Asia may be attributed to sea surface temperature changes in the western tropical Pacific, which is a primary moisture source for the East Asian monsoon.