Centennial- to decadal-scale monsoon precipitation variability in the semi-humid region,northern China during the last 1860 years: Records from stalagmites in Huangye Cave
Restricted accessOtherFirst published online March, 2011
Centennial- to decadal-scale monsoon precipitation variability in the semi-humid region,northern China during the last 1860 years: Records from stalagmites in Huangye Cave
We developed a composite oxygen isotopic record of cave calcite for the last 1860 years based on three stalagmites from the Huangye Cave in eastern Gansu Province, northern China. The δ18O values reflect monsoon precipitation changes, with lower δ18O values representing higher precipitation and vice versa. Three intervals of high precipitation were identified at AD 138—450, AD 730—1200, and AD 1860—1960. Two intervals of low precipitation occurred at AD 1320—1410 and AD 1530—1860. The reconstructed monsoon precipitation variations correlate well with other records further east in the eastern Yellow River Basin, suggesting synchronous precipitation changes during the late Holocene in the semi-humid region of northern China on decadal to centennial scales. Peak periods of warfare in dynastic transition times, such as at AD 391—420, AD 601—630, AD 1111—1140, AD 1351—1380, and AD 1621—1650, correspond to sharp declines in precipitation or temperature in semi-humid northern China, indicating a strong connection between climatic and societal changes. Our study suggests that climatic deterioration in semi-humid northern China has played an important role in Chinese societal evolution.
An C-B., Tang L., Barton L. and Chen F-H. ( 2005) Climate change and cultural response around 4000 cal yr B.P. in the western part of Chinese Loess Plateau. Quaternary Research63: 347-352.
2.
Baker A., Ito E., Smart PL and McEwan RF ( 1997) Elevated and variable values of δ13C in speleothems in aBritish cave system. Chemical Geology136: 263-270.
3.
Bar-Matthews M., Ayalon A., Matthews A., Sass E. and Halicz L. ( 1996) Carbon and oxygen isotope study of the active water-carbonate system in a karstic Mediterranean cave: Implications for paleoclimate research in semiarid regions. Geochimica et Cosmochimica Acta60: 337-347.
4.
Bradley RS and Jones PD ( 1992) When was the ‘Little Ice Age’? In Mikami T (ed.) Proceedings of the International Symposium on the Little Ice Age Climate. Department of Geography, Tokyo Metropolitan University , 1-4.
5.
Bryson RA and Murray TJ ( 1977) Climates of Hunger. Madison : University of Wisconsin Press.
6.
Cai Y., Cheng H., An Z., Edwards RL, Wang X. and Shen C-C. ( 2005) The study on the initial Thorium correction of the 230Th-234U-238U dating of the speleothem by using Isochron method. Advances in Earth Science20: 414-420 (in Chinese with English abstract).
7.
Cheng H., Edwards RL, Hoff J., Gallup CD, Richards DA and Asmerom Y. ( 2000) The half-lives of uranium-234 and thorium-230. Chemical Geology169: 17-33.
8.
Cosford J., Qing H., Eglington B., Mattey D., Yuan D., Zhang M. et al. (2008) East Asian monsoon variability since the Mid-Holocene recorded in a high-resolution, absolute-dated aragonite speleothem from eastern China. Earth and Planetary Science Letters275: 296-307.
9.
Cowie J. ( 1998) Climate and Human Change, Disaster or Opportunity?New York: Parthenon Publishing .
10.
deMenocal P., Ortiz J., Guilderson T., Adkins J., Sarnthein M., Baker L. et al. (2000) Abrupt onset and termination of the African Humid Period: Rapid climate responses to gradual insolation forcing. Quaternary Science Reviews19: 347-361.
11.
Dorale JA, Edwards RL, Ito E. and González LA ( 1998) Climatic and vegetation history of the midcontinent from 75 to 25 ka: A speleothem record from Crevice Cave, Missouri, USA. Science282: 1871-1874.
12.
Editing Committee of China’s Military History (ECCMH) (1985) Tabulation of Wars in Ancient China (2). Beijing: People’s Liberation Army Press (in Chinese).
13.
Edwards RL, Chen JH and Wasserburg GJ ( 1987) 238U-234U-230Th-232Th systematic and the precise measurement of time over the past 500,000 years. Earth and Planetary Science Letters81: 175-192.
14.
Fairchild IJ, Smith CL, Baker A., Fuller L., Spotl C., Mattey D. et al. (2006) Modification and preservation of environmental signals in speleothems. Earth Science Reviews75: 105-153.
15.
Ge Q., Zheng J., Fang X., Man Z., Zhang X., Zhang P. et al. (2003) Winter half-year temperature reconstruction for the middle and lower reaches of the Yellow River and Yangtze River, China, during the past 2000 years. The Holocene13: 933-940.
16.
He Y., Wang Y., Kong X. and Cheng H. ( 2005) High resolution stalagmite δ18O records over the past 1000 years from Dongge Cave in Guizhou. Chinese Science Bulletin50: 1003-1008.
17.
Hendy CH ( 1971) The isotope geochemistry of speleothems: I. The calculation of the effects of different modes of formation on the isotopic composition of speleothems and their applicability as paleoclimate indicators . Geochimica et Cosmochimica Acta35: 801-824.
18.
Hendy CH and Wilson AT ( 1968) Palaeoclimatic data from speleothem. Nature219: 48-51.
19.
Hinsch B. ( 1988) Climatic change and history in China. Journal of Asian History22: 131-159.
20.
Hsu K. ( 1998) Sun, climate, hunger, and mass migration. Science in China (Series D) 41: 449-472.
21.
Jaffey AHK, Flynn F., Glendenin LE, Bentley WC and Essling AM ( 1971) Precision measurement of half-lives and specific activities of 235U and 238U. Physics Reviews C4: 1889-1906.
22.
Johnson KR and Ingram BL ( 2004) Spatial and temporal variability in the stable isotope systematics of modern precipitation in China: Implications for paleoclimate reconstructions. Earth and Planetary Science Letters220: 365-377.
23.
Kerr RA ( 2008) Chinese cave speaks of a fickle sun bringing down ancient dynasties. Science322: 837a-838.
24.
Lamb HH ( 1965) The early Medieval Warm Period and its sequel. Palaeogeography , Palaeoclimatology, Palaeoecology1: 13-37.
25.
Lan Y. ( 2007) Historical Geography of China. Beijing : Higher Education Press, 207-226 (in Chinese).
26.
Liu M. ( 1998) Atlas of Chinese Physical Geography. Beijing: SinoMaps Press, 49 pp. (in Chinese).
27.
Liu Y., An Z., Linderholm HW, Chen D., Song H., Cai Q. et al. (2009) Annual temperatures during the last 2485 years in the Eastern Tibetan Plateau inferred from tree rings. Science in China (Series D) 52: 348-359.
28.
Man Z., Ge Q. and Zhang P. ( 2000) Case studies on the impact of climatic changes on the farming-pastoral transitional zone in historical period. Geographical Research19: 141-147 (in Chinese with English abstract).
29.
Ni G. ( 1988) Climatic variation and its impact to ancient agricultural economy over northern China. Agricultural Archaeology1: 294 (in Chinese).
30.
Núñez L., Grosjean M. and Cartajena I. ( 2002) Human occupations and climate change in the Puna de Atacama, Chile. Science298: 821-824.
31.
O’Neil JR, Clayton RN and Mayeda TK ( 1969) Oxygen isotope fractionation in divalent metal carbonates . Journal of Chemical Physics51: 5547-5558.
32.
Qian W. and Lin X. ( 2005) Regional trends in recent precipitation indices in China . Meteorology and Atmospheric Physics90: 193-207.
33.
Shen C.-C, Edwards RL, Cheng H., Dorale JA, Thomas RB, Moran SB et al. (2002) Uranium and thorium isotopic concentration measurements by magnetic sector inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry . Chemical Geology185: 165-178.
34.
Shen C.-C, Cheng H., Edwards RL, Moran SB, Edmonds HN, Hoff JA et al. (2003) Measurement of attogram quantities of 231Pa in dissolved and particulate fractions of seawater by isotope dilution thermal ionization mass spectroscopy. Analytical Chemistry75: 1075-1079.
35.
Tan L., Cai Y., Yi L., An Z. and Ai L. ( 2008) Precipitation variations of Longxi, northeast margin of Tibetan Plateau since AD 960 and their relationship with solar activity . Climate of the Past4: 19-28.
36.
Tan L., Cai Y., Cheng H., An Z and Edwards RL (2009) Summer monsoon precipitation variations in central China over the past 750 years derived from a high-resolution absolute-dated stalagmite. Palaeogeography, Palaeoclimatology, Palaeoecology280: 432-439.
37.
Tan L., Cai Y. and An Z. ( 2010) Precipitation variations of Longxi over the last 2000 years and the possible driving forces. Journal of Arid Land Resources and Environment24: 109-116 (in Chinese with English abstract).
38.
Vollweiler N., Scholz D., Mühlinghaus C., Mangini A. and Spötl C. ( 2006) A precisely dated climate record for the last 9 kyr from three high alpine stalagmites, Spannagel Cave, Austria. Geophysical Research Letters33: L20703, doi:10.1029/2006GL027662.
39.
Wang H. ( 1996) The relationship between the migrating south of the nomadic nationalities in north China and the climatic changes. Scientia Geographica Sinica16: 274-279 (in Chinese with English abstract).
40.
Wang J. ( 2007) Research of the relationship between climatic changes and wars in China. M.S. Thesis, Zhejiang Normal University , 72-73 (in Chinese with English abstract).
41.
Wang Y., Cheng H., Edwards RL, An Z., Wu J., Shen C-C. et al. (2001) A high-resolution absolute-dated late Pleistocene Monsoon record from Hulu cave, China. Science294: 2345-2348.
42.
Wang Z., Zhang P. and Zhou Q. ( 1996) The impacts of climate on the society of China during historical times. Acta Geographica Sinica51: 319-338 (in Chinese with English abstract).
43.
Wang Z., Ni H., Kong X. and Zhang Z. ( 2005) Impact of climate warming on agriculture of China in historical times. Progress in Natural Science15: 706-713 (in Chinese).
44.
Weiss H. and Bradley RS ( 2001) What drives societal collapse? Science291: 609-610.
45.
Wu W. and Liu T. ( 2004) Possible role of the ‘Holocene Event 3’ on the collapse of Neolithic Cultures around the Central Plain of China. Quaternary International117: 153-166.
46.
Yan ZW, Li SY and Wang XC ( 1993) An analysis of decade-to-century-scale climatic jumps in history. Scientia Atmospherica Sinica17: 663-672 (in Chinese with English abstract).
47.
Yancheva G., Nowaczyk NR, Mingram J., Dulski P., Schettler G., Negendank JFW et al. (2007) Influence of the intertropical convergence zone on the East Asian monsoon. Nature445: 74-77.
48.
Yang B., Braeuning A., Johnson KR and Yafeng S. ( 2002) General characteristics of temperature variation in China during the last two millennia. Geophysical Research Letters29: 1324, doi:1310.1029/2001GL014485.
49.
Zhang D. ( 1983) The method for climate reconstruction of the last 500 years and its reliability. In: Central Meteorological Bureau (eds) Collected Papers of Meteorological Science and Technology (4). Beijing: Meteorological Press, 17-26 (in Chinese).
50.
Zhang D., Li H-C., Ku T-L. and Lu L. ( 2009) On linking climate to Chinese dynastic change: Spatial and temporal variations of monsoonal rain. Chinese Science Bulletin, doi:10.1007/s11434-11009-10584-11436.
51.
Zhang P., Dai Z., An C., Li C., Pang F., Long L. et al. (2005) Huangye Cave: A new karst cave found in Southern Gansu Province. Quaternary Sciences25: 795 (in Chinese with English abstract).
52.
Zhang P., Cheng H., Edwards RL, Chen F., Wang Y., Yang X. et al. (2008) A test of climate, sun, and culture relationships from an 1810-year Chinese cave record. Science322: 940-942.
53.
Zhang Z. ( 2006) Introduction to Chinese Archaeology. Nanjing: Nanjing University Press, 96 pp. (in Chinese).
54.
Zheng J., Hao Z. and Ge Q. ( 2005) Variation of precipitation for the last 300 years over the middle and lower reaches of the Yellow River. Science in China (Series D) 48: 2182-2193.
55.
Zheng X. ( 1996) The Southern Shift of Economic Center in Ancient China and the Economic Study of Jiangnan Region in Tang-Song Dynasties. Changsha: Yue Lu Publishing House (in Chinese) .
