Prolonged Monsoonal Moisture Availability Preconditioned Glaciation of the Tibetan Plateau During the Mid‐Pleistocene Transition

Abstract Paleohydrological data comprising pollen assemblages and leaf‐wax hydrogen isotopes (δDwax) from paleolake sediments in the Qaidam Basin (China) provide evidence for a link between increased moisture availability on the Tibetan Plateau and global cooling during the Mid‐Pleistocene Transitio...

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Main Authors: Andreas Koutsodendris, Dirk Sachse, Erwin Appel, Christian Herb, Tobias Fischer, Xiaomin Fang, Jörg Pross
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: Wiley 2018-12-01
Series:Geophysical Research Letters
Subjects:
Online Access:https://doi.org/10.1029/2018GL079303
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author Andreas Koutsodendris
Dirk Sachse
Erwin Appel
Christian Herb
Tobias Fischer
Xiaomin Fang
Jörg Pross
author_facet Andreas Koutsodendris
Dirk Sachse
Erwin Appel
Christian Herb
Tobias Fischer
Xiaomin Fang
Jörg Pross
author_sort Andreas Koutsodendris
collection DOAJ
description Abstract Paleohydrological data comprising pollen assemblages and leaf‐wax hydrogen isotopes (δDwax) from paleolake sediments in the Qaidam Basin (China) provide evidence for a link between increased moisture availability on the Tibetan Plateau and global cooling during the Mid‐Pleistocene Transition. Notably, they document the persistence of humid and cold conditions during Marine Isotope Stages 24–22 (936–866 ka) suggesting that boundary conditions favorable for extended glaciation on the Tibetan Plateau first developed at ~900 ka. Our δDwax results indicate a strong influence of proximal (monsoonal) moisture sources during that glacial, in agreement with the intensification of the interhemispheric moisture transport resulting from Antarctic ice volume increase at ~900 ka. The consistency of our results with other marine and terrestrial climate data sets suggests that extended glaciation on the Tibetan Plateau may have initiated ~500 ka earlier than previously assumed, implying that midlatitude ice sheets actively contributed to global cooling during the Mid‐Pleistocene Transition.
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issn 0094-8276
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publishDate 2018-12-01
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series Geophysical Research Letters
spelling doaj-art-28abed29e3aa42e6b7b292ace25663a72025-08-20T01:51:44ZengWileyGeophysical Research Letters0094-82761944-80072018-12-01452313,02013,03010.1029/2018GL079303Prolonged Monsoonal Moisture Availability Preconditioned Glaciation of the Tibetan Plateau During the Mid‐Pleistocene TransitionAndreas Koutsodendris0Dirk Sachse1Erwin Appel2Christian Herb3Tobias Fischer4Xiaomin Fang5Jörg Pross6Paleoenvironmental Dynamics Group, Institute of Earth Sciences Heidelberg University Heidelberg GermanyGeomorphology GFZ German Research Centre for Geosciences Potsdam GermanyDepartment of Geosciences University of Tübingen Tübingen GermanyDepartment of Geosciences University of Tübingen Tübingen GermanyPaleoenvironmental Dynamics Group, Institute of Earth Sciences Heidelberg University Heidelberg GermanyChinese Academy of Sciences Institute of Tibetan Plateau Research Beijing ChinaPaleoenvironmental Dynamics Group, Institute of Earth Sciences Heidelberg University Heidelberg GermanyAbstract Paleohydrological data comprising pollen assemblages and leaf‐wax hydrogen isotopes (δDwax) from paleolake sediments in the Qaidam Basin (China) provide evidence for a link between increased moisture availability on the Tibetan Plateau and global cooling during the Mid‐Pleistocene Transition. Notably, they document the persistence of humid and cold conditions during Marine Isotope Stages 24–22 (936–866 ka) suggesting that boundary conditions favorable for extended glaciation on the Tibetan Plateau first developed at ~900 ka. Our δDwax results indicate a strong influence of proximal (monsoonal) moisture sources during that glacial, in agreement with the intensification of the interhemispheric moisture transport resulting from Antarctic ice volume increase at ~900 ka. The consistency of our results with other marine and terrestrial climate data sets suggests that extended glaciation on the Tibetan Plateau may have initiated ~500 ka earlier than previously assumed, implying that midlatitude ice sheets actively contributed to global cooling during the Mid‐Pleistocene Transition.https://doi.org/10.1029/2018GL079303Tibetan PlateauMid‐Pleistocene Transitionleaf‐wax hydrogen isotopespollen assemblagesQaidam Basinglacier development
spellingShingle Andreas Koutsodendris
Dirk Sachse
Erwin Appel
Christian Herb
Tobias Fischer
Xiaomin Fang
Jörg Pross
Prolonged Monsoonal Moisture Availability Preconditioned Glaciation of the Tibetan Plateau During the Mid‐Pleistocene Transition
Geophysical Research Letters
Tibetan Plateau
Mid‐Pleistocene Transition
leaf‐wax hydrogen isotopes
pollen assemblages
Qaidam Basin
glacier development
title Prolonged Monsoonal Moisture Availability Preconditioned Glaciation of the Tibetan Plateau During the Mid‐Pleistocene Transition
title_full Prolonged Monsoonal Moisture Availability Preconditioned Glaciation of the Tibetan Plateau During the Mid‐Pleistocene Transition
title_fullStr Prolonged Monsoonal Moisture Availability Preconditioned Glaciation of the Tibetan Plateau During the Mid‐Pleistocene Transition
title_full_unstemmed Prolonged Monsoonal Moisture Availability Preconditioned Glaciation of the Tibetan Plateau During the Mid‐Pleistocene Transition
title_short Prolonged Monsoonal Moisture Availability Preconditioned Glaciation of the Tibetan Plateau During the Mid‐Pleistocene Transition
title_sort prolonged monsoonal moisture availability preconditioned glaciation of the tibetan plateau during the mid pleistocene transition
topic Tibetan Plateau
Mid‐Pleistocene Transition
leaf‐wax hydrogen isotopes
pollen assemblages
Qaidam Basin
glacier development
url https://doi.org/10.1029/2018GL079303
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