1996/11/01 by Zhou Weijian, Douglas J. Donahue, Stephen C. Porter +6 · 2 citations
Earth and Planetary Sciences · Social Sciences · #Geology and Paleoclimatology Research #Pleistocene-Era Hominins and Archaeology #Geological formations and processes #Geology #Westerlies #Monsoon #Climatology #Glacial period #East Asian Monsoon #Younger Dryas #Aeolian processes #Loess #Precipitation #Paleoclimatology #Physical geography #Climate change #Oceanography #Geomorphology #Geography
paper · doi:10.1006/qres.1996.0062
openalex publication_date 1996/11/01 · openalex created_date 2025/10/10 · openalex updated_date 2026/06/11
High-resolution paleomonsoon proxy records from peat and eolian sand–paleosol sequences at the desert–loess transition zone in China denote a rapid oscillation from cold–dry conditions (11,200–10,600 14 C yr B.P.) to cool–humid conditions (10,600–10,200 14 C yr B.P.), followed by a return to cold–dry climate (10,200–10,000 14 C yr B.P.). Variations in precipitation proxies suggest that significant climatic variability occurred in monsoonal eastern Asia during the Younger Dryas interval. Late-glacial climate in the Chinese desert–loess belt that lies downwind from Europe was strongly influenced by cold air from high latitudes and from the North Atlantic via the westerlies. The inferred precipitation variations were likely caused by variations in the strength of the Siberian high, which influenced the pressure gradient between land and ocean and therefore influenced the position of the East Asian monsoon front.