The climate variability in northern Levant over the past 20,000 years

Cheng, Hai; Sinha, Ashish; Verheyden, Sophie; Nader, Fadi H.; Li, Xianglei; Zhang, P. Z.; Yin, Jian; Long, Yi; Peng, Yong; Rao, Zhiguo; Ning, Youfeng; Edwards, R. Lawrence

doi:10.1002/2015gl065397

Cited by 178 publications

(216 citation statements)

References 62 publications

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“…Oxygen ( 18 O) and carbon ( 13 C) isotopes are the most commonly used climate proxies in speleothems, but  18 O and  13 C calcite values can be influenced by a variety of climatic and environmental effects (e.g., air temperature, rainfall amount, seasonality, moisture source, evaporation, and cave air temperature; summarized in Lachniet, 2009 (Bar-Matthews et al, 2003;Cheng et al, 2015;Flohr et al, 2017).…”

Section: Palaeoclimate Proxiesmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…More precisely dated records can be obtained from speleothems (e.g., stalagmites and flowstones), which also allow an annual to monthly resolution (e.g., Bar-Matthews et al, 2003;Orland et al, 2012;Cheng et al, 2015). Oxygen ( 18 O) and carbon ( 13 C) isotopes are the most commonly used climate proxies in speleothems, but  18 O and  13 C calcite values can be influenced by a variety of climatic and environmental effects (e.g., air temperature, rainfall amount, seasonality, moisture source, evaporation, and cave air temperature; summarized in Lachniet, 2009 (Bar-Matthews et al, 2003;Cheng et al, 2015;Flohr et al, 2017).…”

Section: Palaeoclimate Proxiesmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Mid- to late-Holocene archaeology, environment and climate in the northeast Kurdistan region of Iraq

et al. 2018

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This work presents new data from phytolith and speleothem analyses that cover the middle to late Holocene from northeastern Iraq in the Kurdistan region. Coupling these data with previous work, we demonstrate how the region’s environment and climate developed during a time when agriculture became not only established but settlements started to transform into larger urban areas. Results demonstrate a wetter phase during the middle Holocene relative to the present period; a highly seasonal climate with one rainy season is also suggested between 8025 ± 38 and 6977 ± 219 BP. Phytoliths not only suggest a relatively wet environment but they also indicate a diversity of plants used for settlement activity. Sedimentary results complement the indication of a relatively wetter middle Holocene. Archaeologically, terraced construction found in Gurga Chiya and the presence of drought tolerant crops suggest adaptation to stronger, seasonal rains and seasonal droughts in the middle Holocene. Sedimentary, phytolith, and speleothem results suggest relatively drier late-Holocene conditions, although the region continued to be conducive for rainfed agriculture.

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Section: Palaeoclimate Proxiesmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Palaeoclimate Proxiesmentioning

confidence: 99%

Mid- to late-Holocene archaeology, environment and climate in the northeast Kurdistan region of Iraq

et al. 2018

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“…The 500-y cycle is a significant component of solar activity periodic variations (40,41) (Fig. 4C), which can control Earth surface temperature variability and alter atmospheric and oceanic circulation (42)(43)(44)(45). The 500-y cycle of storms in central China is generally in an antiphase relationship with solar activity, indicated by the residual atmospheric Δ 14 C from global tree ring records (46) during the past 8.6 ky, where higher IRM soft-flux values (representing storms) are associated with low solar irradiation (larger Δ 14 C).…”

Section: Five-hundred-year Periodicity Of Storms and Its Forcingmentioning

confidence: 99%

Holocene ENSO-related cyclic storms recorded by magnetic minerals in speleothems of central China

Zhu

Feinberg

Xie

et al. 2017

Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. U.S.A.

168

137

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Extreme hydrologic events such as storms and floods have the potential to severely impact modern human society. However, the frequency of storms and their underlying mechanisms are limited by a paucity of suitable proxies, especially in inland areas. Here we present a record of speleothem magnetic minerals to reconstruct paleoprecipitation, including storms, in the eastern Asian monsoon area over the last 8.6 ky. The geophysical parameter IRMsoft-fluxrepresents the flux of soil-derived magnetic minerals preserved in stalagmite HS4, which we correlate with rainfall amount and intensity. IRMsoft-fluxexhibits relatively higher values before 6.7 ky and after 3.4 ky and lower values in the intervening period, consistent with regional hydrological changes observed in independent records. Abrupt enhancements in the flux of pedogenic magnetite in the stalagmite agree well with the timing of known regional paleofloods and with equatorial El Niño−Southern Oscillation (ENSO) patterns, documenting the occurrence of ENSO-related storms in the Holocene. Spectral power analyses reveal that the storms occur on a significant 500-y cycle, coincident with periodic solar activity and ENSO variance, showing that reinforced (subdued) storms in central China correspond to reduced (increased) solar activity and amplified (damped) ENSO. Thus, the magnetic minerals in speleothem HS4 preserve a record of the cyclic storms controlled by the coupled atmosphere−oceanic circulation driven by solar activity.

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“…Stalagmite-based paleoclimate records typically resolve millennial-to orbital-scale variations in climate at a given site, owing to their slow and often steady growth averaging 2-20 µm yr −1 over many tens of millennia. Currently, numerous absolutely dated, well-replicated stalagmite δ 18 O records with decadal to centennial resolution exist from South America (Cruz et al, 2005;Wang et al, 2007), the western Pacific (Partin et al, 2007;Griffiths et al, 2009Griffiths et al, , 2010Meckler et al, 2012;Carolin et al, 2013;Griffiths et al, 2016), China (Wang et al, 2001;Zhang et al, 2008;Cheng et al, 2016a), and the Eastern Mediterranean and Middle East (Bar-Matthews et al, 1997;Bar-Matthews et al, 1999;Fleitmann et al, 2007Fleitmann et al, , 2009Cheng et al, 2015;Flohr et al, 2017).…”

Section: Speleothemsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Comparing proxy and model estimates of hydroclimate variability and change over the Common Era

Smerdon¹,

Luterbacher²,

Phipps³

et al. 2017

Clim. Past

104

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Abstract. Water availability is fundamental to societies and ecosystems, but our understanding of variations in hydroclimate (including extreme events, flooding, and decadal periods of drought) is limited because of a paucity of modern instrumental observations that are distributed unevenly across the globe and only span parts of the 20th and 21st centuries. Such data coverage is insufficient for characterizing hydroclimate and its associated dynamics because of its multidecadal to centennial variability and highly regionalized spatial signature. High-resolution (seasonal to decadal) hydroclimatic proxies that span all or parts of the Common Era (CE) and paleoclimate simulations from climate models are therefore important tools for augmenting our understanding of hydroclimate variability. In particular, the comparison of the two sources of information is critical for addressing the uncertainties and limitations of both while enriching each of their interpretations. We review the principal proxy data available for hydroclimatic reconstructions over the CE and highlight the contemporary understanding of how these proxies are interpreted as hydroclimate indicators. We also review the available last-millennium simulations from fully coupled climate models and discuss several outstanding challenges associated with simulating hydroclimate variability and change over the CE. A specific review of simulated hydroclimatic changes forced by volcanic events is provided, as is a discussion of expected improvements in estimated radiative forcings, models, and their implementation in the future. Our review of hydroclimatic proxies and last-millennium model simulations is used as the basis for articulating a variety of considerations and best practices for how to perform proxy-model comparisons of CE hydroclimate. This discussion provides a framework for how best to evaluate hydroclimate variability and its associated dynamics using these comparisons and how they can better inform interpretations of both proxy data and model simulations. We subsequently explore means of using proxy-model comparisons to better constrain and characterize future hydroclimate risks. This is explored specifically in the context of several examples that demonstrate how proxy-model comparisons can be used to quantitatively constrain future hydroclimatic risks as estimated from climate model projections.

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The climate variability in northern Levant over the past 20,000 years

Cited by 178 publications

References 62 publications

Mid- to late-Holocene archaeology, environment and climate in the northeast Kurdistan region of Iraq

Mid- to late-Holocene archaeology, environment and climate in the northeast Kurdistan region of Iraq

Holocene ENSO-related cyclic storms recorded by magnetic minerals in speleothems of central China

Comparing proxy and model estimates of hydroclimate variability and change over the Common Era

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