Asynchronicity of deglacial permafrost thawing controlled by millennial-scale climate variability

Xinwei Yan, Xu Zhang (), Bo Liu, Huw T. Mithan, John Hellstrom, Sophie Nuber, Russell Drysdale, Junjie Wu, Fangyuan Lin, Ning Zhao, Yuao Zhang, Wengang Kang and Jianbao Liu ()
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Xinwei Yan: Peking University
Xu Zhang: British Antarctic Survey
Bo Liu: Chengdu University of Information Technology
Huw T. Mithan: University of Washington
John Hellstrom: University of Melbourne
Sophie Nuber: University of Washington
Russell Drysdale: University of Melbourne
Junjie Wu: Stockholm University
Fangyuan Lin: Chinese Academy of Sciences
Ning Zhao: East China Normal University
Yuao Zhang: Chinese Academy of Sciences
Wengang Kang: Chinese Academy of Sciences
Jianbao Liu: Peking University

Nature Communications, 2025, vol. 16, issue 1, 1-12

Abstract: Abstract Permafrost is a potentially important source of deglacial carbon release alongside deep-sea carbon outgassing. However, limited proxies have restricted our understanding in circumarctic regions and the last deglaciation. Tibetan Plateau (TP), the Earth’s largest low-latitude and alpine permafrost region, remains underexplored. Using speleothem growth phases, we reconstruct TP permafrost thawing history over the last 500,000 years, standardizing chronology to investigate Northern Hemisphere permafrost thawing patterns. We find that, unlike circumarctic permafrost, TP permafrost generally initiates thawing at the onset of deglaciations, coinciding with Weak Monsoon Intervals and sluggish Atlantic Meridional Overturning Circulation (AMOC) during Terminal Stadials. Modeling elaborates that the associated Asian monsoon weakening induces anomalous TP warming through local cloud–precipitation–soil moisture feedback. This, combined with high-latitude cooling, results in asynchronous boreal permafrost thawing. During the last deglaciation, however, anomalous AMOC variability delayed TP and advanced circumarctic permafrost thawing. Our results indicate that permafrost carbon release, influenced by millennial-scale AMOC variability, may have been a non-trivial contributor to deglacial CO2 rise.

Date: 2025
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DOI: 10.1038/s41467-024-55184-z

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