The Yangtze River Delta experienced strong seasonality and regular summer upwelling during the warm mid-Holocene

Abstract The mid-Holocene climate optimum saw warm temperatures in large parts of China, but its impact on seasonal environmental changes is not fully understood yet. Here, we use high-resolution geochemical analyses of 7000 to 6000 year-old oyster shells from the Yangtze River Delta to reconstruct...

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Bibliographic Details
Published inCommunications earth & environment Vol. 5; no. 1; pp. 492 - 10
Main Authors Alberti, Matthias, Veiga, Sandro F., Chen, Bo, Hu, Liang, Fang, Zheng, Zhou, Baochun, Pan, Yanhong
Format Journal Article
LanguageEnglish
Published London Nature Publishing Group 08.09.2024
Nature Portfolio
Subjects
Carbon 13
Climate change
Climate models
Climate prediction
Dry season
Environmental changes
Geochemistry
Global warming
High resolution
Holocene
Impact analysis
Oysters
Precipitation
River discharge
River flow
Rivers
Seasonal variations
Shellfish
Shells
Stable isotopes
Summer
Upwelling
Water discharge
Winter
Yangtze River Delta
China
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Summary:Abstract The mid-Holocene climate optimum saw warm temperatures in large parts of China, but its impact on seasonal environmental changes is not fully understood yet. Here, we use high-resolution geochemical analyses of 7000 to 6000 year-old oyster shells from the Yangtze River Delta to reconstruct climatic and oceanographic patterns. The stable isotope (δ 18 O, δ 13 C) and clumped isotope data reflect prominent seasonal changes in temperature, precipitation, and river discharge. Summer months experienced warm temperatures and a distinct increase in rainfalls and river discharge. In contrast, winter months were characterized by a dry season, which might have been longer than today. Stable isotope data also indicate regular summer upwelling in the study area. These results partly disagree with available climate models raising doubts on the models’ reliability. Thus, our palaeo-proxy data offers the possibility to evaluate and correct climate models and thereby improve predictions for the future considering on-going global warming.
ISSN:2662-4435
2662-4435
DOI:10.1038/s43247-024-01668-1