A Stalagmite-Record of East Asian Summer Monsoon in the Last 2000 Years and Its Correlation With Historical Records

Role of the Summer Monsoon Variability in the Collapse of the Ming Dynasty: Evidences From Speleothem Records

“…The replication test between XN2 and XN15 δ 18 O records, as well as their significant similarities with the SN δ 18 O record (a previous low‐resolution record from Xiniu cave, P. Li et al., 2010) (Figures and ) suggest that the XN δ 18 O record reflects mainly the regional precipitation δ 18 O, hence with minimal influence of disequilibrium effects during the carbonate precipitation. The isotopic signal from XN2 and XN15 samples is well replicated in the contemporary growth period from 1468 to 1572 CE (Figure ).…”

“…Shennongjia, central‐eastern China (Figure 1), 7 km southwest of Sanbao cave (Cheng, Edwards, Sinha, et al., 2016). The mean annual temperature is ∼8.5 C and the mean annual precipitation is ∼1,950 mm (1951–1995 CE) near the cave site, with more than ∼80% of rainfall during the summer monsoon season (June to September) (Cheng, Edwards, Sinha, et al., 2016; P. Li et al., 2010). Two stalagmites, XN2 and XN15, were collected in Xiniu cave at a distance of ∼60 m from the cave entrance.…”

Late Pleistocene and Holocene palaeoflood events recorded by slackwater deposits in the upper Hanjiang River valley, China

“…During the period from the Eastern Han to the Western Jin dynasties (AD 25-316), climatic changes with severe natural disasters, frequent droughts, harvest failure, famine, frequent population migration, and social upheavals were recorded in many Chinese documents (Wang and Wang, 1987;Shi et al, 1992). Stalagmite oxygen isotope values from Dongge Cave (DA) in southern China (Dong et al, 2006;Li et al, 2010;Zhang et al, 2010), high-resolution records of d 18 O and snow accumulation variations in the Guliya ice core from the east of Tibetan Plateau (Shi et al, 1999), and tree-ring records form the central-eastern Tibetan Plateau and the Qaidam Basin (Huang et al, 2010a,b) all indicate an episode of climatic cooling and severe aridity between AD 60 and 200. A climatic event between AD 150 and AD 350 was also identified in the reconstructed 2000-year temperature curves based on various climatic proxies from all over the world (Meese et al, 1994;Loehle and McCulloch, 2008;Kaufman et al, 2009).…”

Late Pleistocene and Holocene extreme hydrological event records from slackwater flood deposits of theAnkang east reach in the upperHanjiangRiver valley,China

“…; Li et al . ). In Mesoamerica, the abundant palaeoclimatic evidence, including lacustrine sediment cores from Lake Chichancanab, oxygen isotope data from an annually banded speleothem in Mexico and tree‐ring records from many sites, indicates increasing aridity over the period between about 1150 and 950 a BP that apparently contributed to the collapse of the classic Mayan civilization (Aimers & Hodell ).…”

“…1; Zhou , as well as in the middle reaches of the Yangtze River and its tributaries (Zhu et al 1997). At the end of the North Song Dynasty (AD 960-1127) and during the South Song Dynasty (AD 1127-1279), climatic changes were associated with frequent and severe natural disasters, famine and social upheavals that had a significant impact on human society (Zhang et al 2008;Li et al 2010). In Mesoamerica, the abundant palaeoclimatic evidence, including lacustrine sediment cores from Lake Chichancanab, oxygen isotope data from an annually banded speleothem in Mexico and tree-ring records from many sites, indicates increasing aridity over the period between about 1150 and 950 a BP that appar- Fig.…”