Precipitation oxygen isotope variability across timescales in East Asia records two sub-processes of summer monsoon system

Abstract The seasonal variation of precipitation isotopes (δ18Op) exhibits a north-south dipole in the East Asian monsoon region, correlating with temperature in northern China and precipitation in southern China. However, on longer timescales, δ18Op tends to exhibit spatial coherence. This inconsis...

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Main Authors: Zhaowei Jing, Zhengyu Liu, Shaoqing Zhang, Qin Wen, Chengfei He, Yuntao Bao, Wusheng Yu
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: Nature Portfolio 2025-07-01
Series:Communications Earth & Environment
Online Access:https://doi.org/10.1038/s43247-025-02448-1
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author Zhaowei Jing
Zhengyu Liu
Shaoqing Zhang
Qin Wen
Chengfei He
Yuntao Bao
Wusheng Yu
author_facet Zhaowei Jing
Zhengyu Liu
Shaoqing Zhang
Qin Wen
Chengfei He
Yuntao Bao
Wusheng Yu
author_sort Zhaowei Jing
collection DOAJ
description Abstract The seasonal variation of precipitation isotopes (δ18Op) exhibits a north-south dipole in the East Asian monsoon region, correlating with temperature in northern China and precipitation in southern China. However, on longer timescales, δ18Op tends to exhibit spatial coherence. This inconsistency in δ18Op variability across different timescales has sparked considerable debate regarding their climatic interpretation. Here we develop a unified framework to quantify the mechanisms driving δ18Op variability across timescales using water tagging experiments in iCAM5.3 numerical model. Our results demonstrate that δ18Op variations are governed primarily by monsoon-driven changes in moisture source and enroute depletion, rather than local meteorological factors. Furthermore, the relative importance of these processes differs across timescales. Therefore, the evolution of the East Asian summer monsoon, as recorded in δ18Op, should be interpreted through the lens of these two sub-processes of the monsoon system, rather than based solely on the empirical isotopic effects observed on seasonal timescales.
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language English
publishDate 2025-07-01
publisher Nature Portfolio
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series Communications Earth & Environment
spelling doaj-art-4a786868636d4668a1d6a6eec84abcb82025-08-20T03:42:00ZengNature PortfolioCommunications Earth & Environment2662-44352025-07-016111110.1038/s43247-025-02448-1Precipitation oxygen isotope variability across timescales in East Asia records two sub-processes of summer monsoon systemZhaowei Jing0Zhengyu Liu1Shaoqing Zhang2Qin Wen3Chengfei He4Yuntao Bao5Wusheng Yu6School of Ecology and Nature Conservation, Beijing Forestry UniversityDepartment of Geography, The Ohio State UniversityLaoshan LaboratorySchool of Geography, Nanjing Normal UniversityDepartment of Marine & Environmental Sciences, Northeastern UniversityDepartment of Geography, The Ohio State UniversityState Key Laboratory of Tibetan Plateau Earth System, Environment and Resources (TPESER), Institute of Tibetan Plateau Research, Chinese Academy of SciencesAbstract The seasonal variation of precipitation isotopes (δ18Op) exhibits a north-south dipole in the East Asian monsoon region, correlating with temperature in northern China and precipitation in southern China. However, on longer timescales, δ18Op tends to exhibit spatial coherence. This inconsistency in δ18Op variability across different timescales has sparked considerable debate regarding their climatic interpretation. Here we develop a unified framework to quantify the mechanisms driving δ18Op variability across timescales using water tagging experiments in iCAM5.3 numerical model. Our results demonstrate that δ18Op variations are governed primarily by monsoon-driven changes in moisture source and enroute depletion, rather than local meteorological factors. Furthermore, the relative importance of these processes differs across timescales. Therefore, the evolution of the East Asian summer monsoon, as recorded in δ18Op, should be interpreted through the lens of these two sub-processes of the monsoon system, rather than based solely on the empirical isotopic effects observed on seasonal timescales.https://doi.org/10.1038/s43247-025-02448-1
spellingShingle Zhaowei Jing
Zhengyu Liu
Shaoqing Zhang
Qin Wen
Chengfei He
Yuntao Bao
Wusheng Yu
Precipitation oxygen isotope variability across timescales in East Asia records two sub-processes of summer monsoon system
Communications Earth & Environment
title Precipitation oxygen isotope variability across timescales in East Asia records two sub-processes of summer monsoon system
title_full Precipitation oxygen isotope variability across timescales in East Asia records two sub-processes of summer monsoon system
title_fullStr Precipitation oxygen isotope variability across timescales in East Asia records two sub-processes of summer monsoon system
title_full_unstemmed Precipitation oxygen isotope variability across timescales in East Asia records two sub-processes of summer monsoon system
title_short Precipitation oxygen isotope variability across timescales in East Asia records two sub-processes of summer monsoon system
title_sort precipitation oxygen isotope variability across timescales in east asia records two sub processes of summer monsoon system
url https://doi.org/10.1038/s43247-025-02448-1
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