Ice-Volume Forcing of East Asian Winter Monsoon Variations in the Past 800,000 Years

Particle-size measurements of some typical loess-soil samples taken in different localities of the Chinese Loess Plateau demonstrate that the grain size ratio of <2 μm/>10 μm (%) can be used as an indicator of variations in intensity of the East Asian winter monsoon winds. Grain-size curves of...

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Bibliographic Details
Published inQuaternary research Vol. 44; no. 2; pp. 149 - 159
Main Authors Ding, Zhongli, Liu, Tungsheng, Rutter, Nat W., Yu, Zhiwei, Guo, Zhengtang, Zhu, Rixiang
Format Journal Article
LanguageEnglish
Published New York, USA Cambridge University Press 01.09.1995
Elsevier Inc
Elsevier
Subjects
Bgi / Prodig
Climatic oscillations. Historical climates. Palaeoclimates
Climatology
Physical geography
China
Loess
Atmospheric circulation
Inland ice
Plateau
Oxygen 18
Quaternary
Monsoon
Grain size distribution
Winter
Global change
Climatic variation
Isotope analysis
Palaeoclimatology
Deglaciation
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Summary:Particle-size measurements of some typical loess-soil samples taken in different localities of the Chinese Loess Plateau demonstrate that the grain size ratio of <2 μm/>10 μm (%) can be used as an indicator of variations in intensity of the East Asian winter monsoon winds. Grain-size curves of the Baoji and Weinan sections show that this proxy indicator is very sensitive to loess-soil alterations. Analytical results also suggest that during soil-forming periods, eolian dust accumulation was still substantial and, hence, loess deposition can be regarded as a nearly continuous process during the Quaternary period. In this study we compared the Baoji grain-size time series with the SPECMAP marine isotope record with the objective of elucidating the dynamic linkage between changes in global ice volume and the winter monsoon circulation. Both records show good agreement at both time and frequency domains. In particular, the winter monsoon variations are also dominated by a 100,000 yr period over the past 800,000 yr. It is thus inferred that direct local insolation forcing could be less important in driving the East Asian winter monsoon variability, and, alternatively, variations in glacial-age boundary conditions may have played a key role in modulating and pacing its strength and timing.
ISSN:0033-5894
1096-0287
DOI:10.1006/qres.1995.1059