Position and orientation of the westerly jet determined Holocene rainfall patterns in China

Ulrike Herzschuh (), Xianyong Cao (), Thomas Laepple, Anne Dallmeyer, Richard J. Telford, Jian Ni, Fahu Chen, Zhaochen Kong, Guangxiu Liu, Kam-Biu Liu, Xingqi Liu, Martina Stebich, Lingyu Tang, Fang Tian, Yongbo Wang, Juliane Wischnewski, Qinghai Xu, Shun Yan, Zhenjing Yang, Ge Yu, Yun Zhang, Yan Zhao and Zhuo Zheng
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Ulrike Herzschuh: Polar Terrestrial Environmental Systems, Alfred Wegener Institute for Polar and Marine Research in the Helmholtz Association
Xianyong Cao: Polar Terrestrial Environmental Systems, Alfred Wegener Institute for Polar and Marine Research in the Helmholtz Association
Thomas Laepple: Polar Terrestrial Environmental Systems, Alfred Wegener Institute for Polar and Marine Research in the Helmholtz Association
Anne Dallmeyer: Max Planck Institute for Meteorology
Richard J. Telford: University of Bergen, and Bjerknes Centre for Climate Research
Jian Ni: Polar Terrestrial Environmental Systems, Alfred Wegener Institute for Polar and Marine Research in the Helmholtz Association
Fahu Chen: Key Laboratory of Alpine Ecology (LAE), CAS Center for Excellence in Tibetan Plateau Earth Sciences, Institute of Tibetan Plateau Research, Chinese Academy of Science
Zhaochen Kong: State Key Laboratory of Vegetation and Environmental Change, Institute of Botany, Chinese Academy of Sciences
Guangxiu Liu: Cold and Arid Regions Environmental and Engineering Research Institute, Chinese Academy of Sciences
Kam-Biu Liu: Louisiana State University
Xingqi Liu: Capital Normal University
Martina Stebich: Senckenberg Research Station of Quaternary Palaeontology
Lingyu Tang: Nanjing Institute of Geology and Palaeontology, Chinese Academy of Sciences
Fang Tian: Polar Terrestrial Environmental Systems, Alfred Wegener Institute for Polar and Marine Research in the Helmholtz Association
Yongbo Wang: Polar Terrestrial Environmental Systems, Alfred Wegener Institute for Polar and Marine Research in the Helmholtz Association
Juliane Wischnewski: Polar Terrestrial Environmental Systems, Alfred Wegener Institute for Polar and Marine Research in the Helmholtz Association
Qinghai Xu: Hebei Normal University
Shun Yan: Xinjiang Institute of Ecology and Geography, Chinese Academy of Sciences
Zhenjing Yang: Cold and Arid Regions Environmental and Engineering Research Institute, Chinese Academy of Sciences
Ge Yu: State Key Laboratory of Lake Science and Environment, Nanjing Institute of Geography and Limnology, Chinese Academy of Sciences
Yun Zhang: State Key Laboratory of Vegetation and Environmental Change, Institute of Botany, Chinese Academy of Sciences
Yan Zhao: Institute of Geographic Sciences and Natural Resources Research, Chinese Academy of Sciences
Zhuo Zheng: Sun Yat-sen University

Nature Communications, 2019, vol. 10, issue 1, 1-8

Abstract: Abstract Proxy-based reconstructions and modeling of Holocene spatiotemporal precipitation patterns for China and Mongolia have hitherto yielded contradictory results indicating that the basic mechanisms behind the East Asian Summer Monsoon and its interaction with the westerly jet stream remain poorly understood. We present quantitative reconstructions of Holocene precipitation derived from 101 fossil pollen records and analyse them with the help of a minimal empirical model. We show that the westerly jet-stream axis shifted gradually southward and became less tilted since the middle Holocene. This was tracked by the summer monsoon rain band resulting in an early-Holocene precipitation maximum over most of western China, a mid-Holocene maximum in north-central and northeastern China, and a late-Holocene maximum in southeastern China. Our results suggest that a correct simulation of the orientation and position of the westerly jet stream is crucial to the reliable prediction of precipitation patterns in China and Mongolia.

Date: 2019
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DOI: 10.1038/s41467-019-09866-8

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