Journal
QUATERNARY INTERNATIONAL
Volume 334, Issue -, Pages 155-164Publisher
PERGAMON-ELSEVIER SCIENCE LTD
DOI: 10.1016/j.quaint.2014.03.013
Keywords
Holocene; Palaeosol development; Aeolian activity; Chinese Loess Plateau; East Asian summer monsoon
Funding
- National Basic Research Program of China [2010CB950202]
- National Natural Science Foundation of China [41372180, 41130102, 41271221]
- Doctoral Program of Higher Education Project [20100211120021]
- Program of Introducing Talents of Discipline to Universities [B06026]
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The interpretation of the stalagmite delta O-18 record from southern China as an indicator of East Asian summer monsoon (EASM) rainfall amount or intensity is strongly debated. Soil development in the Chinese Loess Plateau (CLP), situated in the modern summer monsoon domain, has long been treated as a direct and reliable EASM proxy. In this study, we compiled 81 loess and 229 palaeosol dates from 77 profiles across the CLP and synthesized the data statistically in order to investigate the EASM history during the Holocene. The resulting history of Holocene loess deposition and palaeosol development demonstrates that: (1) loess deposition decreased and palaeosol formation increased across the CLP after 11.5 ka (1 ka = 1000 cal yr BP), revealing a gradually intensified EASM during the early Holocene; (2) numerous palaeosols developed in the CLP between 8.8 ka and 3.4 ka, indicating a generally strong EASM during the mid-Holocene; (3) the number of palaeosol dates decreased rapidly at around 3 ka, suggesting a sudden retreat of the EASM in the late Holocene. These trends of EASM evolution are broadly consistent with variations in aeolian sand activity in the four main sandlands (the Mu Us, Otindag, Horqin and Hulun Buir sandlands) along the modern monsoon fringe in northern China, and are supported by a wide range of independent evidence. In addition we also found that high loess deposition and stronger aeolian activity occurred at similar to 5 ka, representing a weak EASM event within the context of an overall strong mid-Holocene EASM. The strong mid-Holocene EASM, revealed by palaeosol development in the CLP and aeolian sand activity in the sandlands in northern China, contrasts with the early Holocene EASM maximum suggested by stalagmite delta O-18 data from southern China. Our results are compatible with the proposal that the stalagmite delta O-18 variations in China do not result from changes in EASM rainfall amount or intensity, but instead reflect changes in moisture source driven by variations in atmospheric-oceanic circulation. (C) 2014 Elsevier Ltd and INQUA. All rights reserved.
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