Local and Regional Indian Summer Monsoon Precipitation Dynamics During Termination II and the Last Interglacial
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https://hdl.handle.net/10289/15626Abstract
To date Indian summer monsoon (ISM) dynamics have been assessed by changes in stalagmiteδ18O. However, stalagmiteδ18O is influenced by multiple environmental factors (e.g., atmospheric moisture transport, rainfall amount at the study site, and ISM seasonality), precluding simple and clear reconstructions of rainfall amount or variability. This study aims to disentangle these environmental factors by combiningδ18O,δ44Ca, and elemental data from a stalagmite covering Termination II and the last interglacial from Mawmluh Cave, NE India, to produce a semiquantitative reconstruction of past IS Mrainfall. We interpretδ18O as a mixed signal of rainfall source dynamics and rainfall amount and coupledδ44Ca and X/Ca ratios as indicators of local infiltration rate and prior calcite precipitation in the karst zone. The wettest conditions in our studied interval (135 and 100 kyrs BP; BP = before present, with the present being 1950 CE) occurred during Marine Isotope Stage 5e. Our multiproxy data set suggests a likely change in seasonal distribution of Marine Isotope Stage 5e rainfall compared to the Holocene; the wet season was longer with higher‐than‐modern dry season rainfall. Using the last interglacial as an analogue for future anthropogenic warming, our data suggest a more erratic ISM behavior in a warmer world.
Date
2019-11-14Type
Publisher
AMER GEOPHYSICAL UNION
Rights
©2019 American Geophysical Union.