Late Miocene Tarim desert wetting linked with eccentricity minimum and East Asian monsoon weakening

Junsheng Nie (), Weihang Wang, Richard Heermance, Peng Gao, Li Xing, Xiaojian Zhang (), Ran Zhang (), Carmala Garzione and Wenjiao Xiao ()
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Junsheng Nie: Lanzhou University
Weihang Wang: Lanzhou University
Richard Heermance: California State University
Peng Gao: Lanzhou University
Li Xing: Lanzhou University
Xiaojian Zhang: Nanjing University
Ran Zhang: Chinese Academy of Sciences
Carmala Garzione: Rochester Institute of Technology
Wenjiao Xiao: Chinese Academy of Sciences

Nature Communications, 2022, vol. 13, issue 1, 1-8

Abstract: Abstract Periodic wetting is an inherent feature of many monsoon marginal region deserts. Previous studies consistently demonstrate desert wetting during times of Earth’s high orbital eccentricity and strong summer monsoon. Here we report the first evidence demonstrating desert wetting during Earth’s low orbital eccentricity from the late Miocene strata of the northwestern Tarim Basin of northern China, which is commonly thought to be beyond the range of Asian monsoon precipitation. Using mechanisms for modern Tarim wetting as analogs, we propose that East Asian summer monsoon weakening enhanced westward moisture transport and caused opposite desert wetting pattern to that observed in monsoon marginal region deserts. This inference is supported by our model simulations. This result has far-reaching implications for understanding environmental variations in non-monsoonal deserts in the next few thousands of years under high atmospheric CO2 content and low eccentricity.

Date: 2022
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DOI: 10.1038/s41467-022-31577-w

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