A High‐Resolution Speleothem Record of Marine Isotope Stage 11 as a Natural Analog to Holocene Asian Summer Monsoon Variations

Abstract

A full‐spectrum characterization of past interglacial climate is a necessary prerequisite for the detection and attribution of climate changes during the current interglacial. Here we present a speleothem record of Asian summer monsoon (ASM) during Marine Isotope Stage (MIS) 11 interglacial (MIS 11c), from Yongxing cave, China. The record's unprecedented chronologic constraints and decadal‐scale temporal resolution allow a precise and direct comparison of ASM between the MIS 11c and the Holocene. Our data suggest that orbital‐centennial patterns of ASM were remarkably similar during both interglacial, including their pacing and structure. Notably, a multi‐millennial stronger monsoon late in MIS 11c, the “Late‐MIS 11c shift,” is similar to the Late Holocene strengthening of the ASM, the “2‐Kyr shift.” Thus, the multicentennial ASM weakening at the end of the Late‐MIS 11c shift could imply that the current century‐long ASM waning trend may persist into the future, if only natural forcings are considered.

Insolation triggered abrupt weakening of Atlantic circulation at the end of interglacials

“…A brupt climate changes and millennial climate variability have been identified in numerous paleoclimate records, particularly during the last glacial period. Increasingly, studies are showing that abrupt and millennial-to centennial-scale climate changes can also be found in much older times (1)(2)(3)(4)(5)(6), are a persistent feature for at least the past few million years, and occur not only during glacial times but also during interglacials (4,(7)(8)(9)(10)(11). Many interglacial periods of the late Pleistocene were terminated by abrupt cooling events that mark the reappearance of strong millennial variability (9,(12)(13)(14)(15)(16).…”

“…Increasingly, studies are showing that abrupt and millennial- to centennial-scale climate changes can also be found in much older times ( 1 – 6 ), are a persistent feature for at least the past few million years, and occur not only during glacial times but also during interglacials ( 4 , 7 – 11 ). Many interglacial periods of the late Pleistocene were terminated by abrupt cooling events that mark the reappearance of strong millennial variability ( 9 , 12 – 16 ).…”

“…The SST reconstructions south of Greenland indicate a sudden cooling around 119, 238, 322 and 399 ka BP at the end of MIS-5e, MIS-7e, MIS-9e, and MIS-11c ( 14 ). At the end of MIS-11c, an abrupt weakening of the Asian monsoon is indicated around 397 ka BP ( 9 ), and an abrupt cooling around 396 ka BP is identified in the Lake Baikal region ( 16 ). All of these dates are consistent with the ages for each of the first abrupt AMOC weakening in our simulations, marking the end of the interglacials (Fig.…”

Southern hemisphere monsoonal system during superinterglacial stages: MIS5e, MIS11c and MIS31

“…The MIS11c (∼ 409 ka BP) also experienced global high temperatures dictated by increases in Boreal insolation. However, the Asian summer monsoon (ASM) during MIS11c, as revealed by data from the Yongxing cave, China, does not differ remarkably from monsoon characteristics in the Late Holocene (Zhao et al, 2019). It should be noted that the intensity of the MIS11c warming, is regionally dependent (Yin and Berger, 2012;Oppo et al, 1998;Rousseau et al, 1992), raising questioning on how MIS11c warming or slight cooling may have induced changes in local precipitation features.…”

Asian monsoon intensity coupled to Antarctic climate during Dansgaard–Oeschger 8 and Heinrich 4 glacial intervals

“…Here we present data from Yongxing Cave, China, to demonstrate an analogous feature of millennial-scale changes during the last glacial period. Previous publications from Yongxing Cave, including detailed information on the DO-AIM events imprinted on East Asian summer monsoon (EASM) 30 , decadal-to-centennial-scale changes during the last interglacial 33 and annually-resolved data across the MIS11 34 , highlight that speleothem records from this cave are optimal to reconstruct high-resolution Asian monsoon changes. More importantly, our record has comparable counterparts with those in Antarctic/ Greenland ice core records on the millennial to sub-centennial timescales, indicating a global feature imprinted in the monsoon changes.…”