Diverse manifestations of the mid-Pleistocene climate transition

Youbin Sun (), Qiuzhen Yin, Michel Crucifix, Steven C. Clemens, Pablo Araya-Melo, Weiguo Liu, Xiaoke Qiang, Qingsong Liu, Hui Zhao, Lianji Liang, Hongyun Chen, Ying Li, Li Zhang, Guocheng Dong, Ming Li, Weijian Zhou, Andre Berger and Zhisheng An
Additional contact information
Youbin Sun: Chinese Academy of Sciences
Qiuzhen Yin: Université Catholique de Louvain
Michel Crucifix: Université Catholique de Louvain
Steven C. Clemens: Brown University
Pablo Araya-Melo: Université Catholique de Louvain
Weiguo Liu: Chinese Academy of Sciences
Xiaoke Qiang: Chinese Academy of Sciences
Qingsong Liu: Southern University of Science and Technology
Hui Zhao: Chinese Academy of Sciences
Lianji Liang: Beijing University of Technology
Hongyun Chen: Chinese Academy of Geological Sciences
Ying Li: Chinese Academy of Sciences
Li Zhang: Chinese Academy of Sciences
Guocheng Dong: Chinese Academy of Sciences
Ming Li: Chinese Academy of Sciences
Weijian Zhou: Chinese Academy of Sciences
Andre Berger: Université Catholique de Louvain
Zhisheng An: Chinese Academy of Sciences

Nature Communications, 2019, vol. 10, issue 1, 1-11

Abstract: Abstract The mid-Pleistocene transition (MPT) is widely recognized as a shift in paleoclimatic periodicity from 41- to 100-kyr cycles, which largely reflects integrated changes in global ice volume, sea level, and ocean temperature from the marine realm. However, much less is known about monsoon-induced terrestrial vegetation change across the MPT. Here, on the basis of a 1.7-million-year δ13C record of loess carbonates from the Chinese Loess Plateau, we document a unique MPT reflecting terrestrial vegetation changes from a dominant 23-kyr periodicity before 1.2 Ma to combined 100, 41, and 23-kyr cycles after 0.7 Ma, very different from the conventional MPT characteristics. Model simulations further reveal that the MPT transition likely reflects decreased sensitivity of monsoonal hydroclimate to insolation forcing as the Northern Hemisphere became increasingly glaciated through the MPT. Our proxy-model comparison suggests varied responses of temperature and precipitation to astronomical forcing under different ice/CO2 boundary conditions, which greatly improves our understanding of monsoon variability and dynamics from the natural past to the anthropogenic future.

Date: 2019
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DOI: 10.1038/s41467-018-08257-9

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