A number of archives that span the past ~2000 years suggest that recent variability in hydroclimatic conditions that are influenced by the Asian monsoon in China are unusual in the longer term context. However, the lack of high-resolution precipitation records over this period hampered our ability to characterize and constrain the forcing mechanism(s) of the recent humidity variations. Here, we present the ratio of hematite to goethite (Hm/Gt) derived from the semiquantitative evaluation of the diffuse reflectance spectroscopic analysis as a reliable and effective precipitation proxy to reconstruct the humidity variations during the past 1400 years deduced from Tengchongqinghai Lake sediments, southwestern China. Hm/Gt varied synchronously with variations of Chinese temperature reconstructed from the historical documents and sunspot activity index over the past 1400 years. Critical periodicities of ~450 and ~250 years show that solar activity is the dominant control on precipitation change on centennial scales. However, the relationship determined from Hm/Gt in this study contradicts the stalagmite δ18O interpretations from different regions of China, which exhibit a more complex precipitation pattern that is influenced by the strength of westerly jet in addition to the Asian monsoon. The increased westerly jet during the ‘Little Ice Age’ (LIA) caused a humid climate in southern China and dry conditions in northern and western China.
AbrajevitchAVan der VooRReaDK (2009) Variations in relative abundances of goethite and hematite in Bengal fan sediments: Climatic vs. diagenetic signals. Marine Geology267: 191–206.
2.
AgnihotriRDuttaKBhushanRet al. (2002) Evidence for solar forcing on the Indian monsoon during the last millennium. Earth and Planetary Science Letters198: 521–527.
3.
AnZSColmanSZhouWet al. (2012) Interplay between the Westerlies and Asian monsoon recorded in Lake Qinghai sediments since 32 ka. Scientific Reports2: 619.
4.
BalsamWJiJFChenJ (2004) Climatic interpretation of the Luochuan and Lingtai loess sections, China, based on changing iron oxide mineralogy and magnetic susceptibility. Planetary Science Letters223: 335–348.
5.
ChenFChenJHuangWet al. (2019) Westerlies Asia and monsoonal Asia: Spatiotemporal differences in climate change and possible mechanisms on decadal to sub-orbital timescales. Earth-Science Reviews192: 337–354.
6.
ChenFHChenXMChenJHet al. (2014) Holocene vegetation history, precipitation changes and Indian Summer Monsoon evolution documented from sediments of Xingyun Lake, south-west China. Journal of Quaternary Science29: 661–674.
7.
ChenJChenFFengSet al. (2015) Hydroclimatic changes in China and surroundings during the medieval climate anomaly and little ice age: Spatial patterns and possible mechanisms. Quaternary Science Reviews107: 98–111.
8.
ChiangJCFungIYWuCHet al. (2015) Role of seasonal transitions and westerly jets in East Asian paleoclimate. Quaternary Science Reviews108: 111–129.
9.
ChiangJCSwensonLMKongW (2017) Role of seasonal transitions and the westerlies in the interannual variability of the East Asian summer monsoon precipitation. Geophysical Research Letters44: 3788–3795.
10.
ChuGLiuJSunQet al. (2002) The ‘Mediaeval Warm Period’ drought recorded in Lake Huguangyan, tropical South China. The Holocene12: 511–516.
11.
CornellRMSchwertmannU (2003) The Iron Oxides: Structure, Properties, Reactions, Occurrences and Uses. Hoboken, NJ: John Wiley & Sons.
12.
CosfordJQingHREglingtonBet al. (2008) East Asian monsoon variability since the Mid-Holocene recorded in a high-resolution, absolute-dated aragonite speleothem from eastern China. Earth and Planetary Science Letters275: 296–307.
13.
CreerKMMorrisA (1996) Proxy-climate and geomagnetic palaeointensity records extending back to ca. 75,000 BP derived from sediments cored from lago grande di monticchio, southern Italy. Quaternary Science Reviews15(2-3): 167–188.
14.
DeatonBCBalsamWL (1991) Visible spectroscopy: A rapid method for determining hematite and goethite concentration in geological materials. Journal of Sedimentary Research61: 628–632.
15.
DunlopDJ (2002) Theory and application of the Day plot (Mrs/Ms versus Hcr/Hc) 1: Theoretical curves and tests using titanomagnetite data. Journal of Geophysical Research Solid Earth107: EPM 4-1-EPM 4-22.
16.
DykoskiCAEdwardsRLChengHet al. (2005) A high-resolution, absolute-dated Holocene and deglacial Asian monsoon record from Dongge Cave, China. Earth and Planetary Science Letters233: 71–86.
17.
EvansMHellerF (2003) Environmental magnetism: Principles and applications of enviromagnetics. Springer: Elsevier.
18.
GeQSHaoZXZhengJYet al. (2013) Temperature changes over the past 2000 yr in China and comparison with the Northern Hemisphere. Climate of the past9: 1153–1160.
19.
GhilMAllenMRDettingerMDet al. (2002) Advanced spectral methods for climatic time series. Reviews of Geophysics40(1): 1003–1000.
20.
GrinstedAMooreJCJevrejevaS (2004) Application of the cross wavelet transform and wavelet coherence to geophysical time series. Nonlinear Processes Geophysics11: 561–566.
21.
HaoQZOldfieldFBloemendalJet al. (2009) The record of changing hematite and goethite accumulation over the past 22 Myr on the Chinese Loess Plateau from magnetic measurements and diffuse reflectance spectroscopy. Journal of Geophysical Research: Solid Earth114: B12.
22.
HarrisSEMixAC (1999) Pleistocene precipitation balance in the Amazon Basin recorded in deep sea sediments. Quaternary Research51: 14–26.
23.
HarrisSEMixAC (2002) Climate and tectonic influences on continental erosion of tropical South America, 0–13 Ma. Geology30: 447–450.
24.
HarrisonRJFeinbergJM (2008) FORCinel: An improved algorithm for calculating first-order reversal curve distributions using locally weighted regression smoothing. Geochemistry, Geophysics, Geosystems9: Q05016.
25.
HongYTHongBLinQHet al. (2005) Inverse phase oscillations between the East Asian and Indian Ocean summer monsoons during the last 12000 years and paleo-El Niño. Earth and Planetary Science Letters231: 337–346.
26.
HsuHHLinSM (2007) Asymmetry of the tripole rainfall pattern during the East Asian summer. Journal of Cliamte20: 4443–4458.
27.
HsuHHLiuX (2003) Relationship between the Tibetan Plateau heating and East Asian summer monsoon rainfall. Geophysical Research Letters30: 2066.
28.
HylandEGSheldonNDVan der VooRet al. (2015) A new paleoprecipitation proxy based on soil magnetic properties: Implications for expanding paleoclimate reconstructions. Bulletin127: 975–981.
29.
JiJFChenJBalsamWet al. (2004) High resolution hematite/goethite records from Chinese loess sequences for the last glacial-interglacial cycle: Rapid climatic response of the East Asian Monsoon to the tropical Pacific. Geophysical Research Letters31: L03207.
30.
JiangWJZhaoKChenSTet al. (2017) Decadal climate oscillations during the Little Ice Age of stalagmite record from Heizhugou Cave, Sichuan (in Chinese). Quaternary Sciences37: 118–129.
31.
JiangZLiuQBarrónVet al. (2012) Magnetic discrimination between al-substituted hematites synthesized by hydrothermal and thermal dehydration methods and its geological significance. Journal of Geophysical Research Solid Earth117: B2.
32.
KämpfNSchwertmannU (1983) Goethite and hematite in a climosequence in southern Brazil and their application in classification of kaolinitic soils. Geoderma29: 27–39.
33.
LiYLChenXXiaoXYet al. (2018) Diatom-based inference of Asian monsoon precipitation from a volcanic lake in southwest China for the last 18.5 ka. Quaternary Science Reviews182: 109–120.
34.
LiuQRobertsAPLarrasoanaJCet al. (2012) Environmental magnetism: Principles and applications. Reviews of Geophysics50: RG4002.
35.
LongXJiJBalsamW (2011) Rainfall-dependent transformations of iron oxides in a tropical saprolite transect of Hainan Island, South China: Spectral and magnetic measurements. Journal of Geophysical Research: Earth Surface116: F03015.
36.
LyonsRToothSDullerGA (2014) Late Quaternary climatic changes revealed by luminescence dating, mineral magnetism and diffuse reflectance spectroscopy of river terrace palaeosols: A new form of geoproxy data for the southern African interior. Quaternary Science Reviews95: 43–59.
37.
MasarikJFrankMSchäferJMet al. (2001) Correction of in situ cosmogenic nuclide production rates for geomagnetic field intensity variations during the past 800,000 years. Geochimica Et Cosmochimica Acta65: 2995–3003.
38.
MayewskiPAMeekerLDTwicklerMSet al. (1997) Major features and forcing of high-latitude northern hemisphere atmospheric circulation using a 110,000-year-long glaciochemical series. Journal of Geophysical Research: Oceans102: 26345–26366.
39.
PengJYangXQToneyJLet al. (2019) Indian Summer Monsoon variations and competing influences between hemispheres since ~35 ka recorded in Tengchongqinghai Lake, southwestern China. Palaeogeography, Palaeoclimatology, Palaeoecology516: 113–125.
40.
PerryCAHsuKJ (2000) Geophysical, archaeological, and historical evidence support a solar-output model for climate change. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences97: 12433–12438.
41.
QianWLinX (2005) Regional trends in recent precipitation indices in China. Meteorology and Atmospheric Physics90: 193–207.
42.
SchulzMMudelseeM (2002) REDFIT: Estimating red-noise spectra directly from unevenly spaced paleoclimatic time series. Computer & Geosciences28: 421–426.
43.
SchwertmannU (1988) Occurrence and formation of iron oxides in various pedoenvironments. In: StuckiJWGoodmanBASchwertmannU (eds) Iron in soils and clay minerals. New York: Springer, pp. 267–308.
44.
SchwertmannUMuradE (1983) Effect of pH on the formation of goethite and hematite from ferrihydrite. Clays and Clay Minerals31: 277–284.
45.
ShengEGYuKKXuHet al. (2015) Late-Holocene Indian summer monsoon precipitation history at Lake Lugu, northwestern Yunnan Province, southwestern China. Palaeogeography, Palaeoclimatology, Palaeoecology438: 24–33.
46.
SinhaABerkelhammerMStottLet al. (2011) The leading mode of Indian Summer Monsoon precipitation variability during the last millennium. Geophysical Research Letters38: 532–560.
47.
SinhaACannariatoKGStottLDet al. (2007) A 900-year (600 to 1500 A.D.) record of the Indian summer monsoon precipitation from the core monsoon zone of India. Geophysical Research Letters34: 130–144.
48.
SolankiSKUsoskinIGKromerBet al. (2004) Unusual activity of the Sun during recent decades compared to the previous 11,000 years. Nature431: 1084–1087.
49.
StuiverMBraziunasTF (1993) Sun, ocean, climate and atmospheric 14CO2: An evaluation of causal and spectral relationships. The Holocene3: 289–305.
50.
TanLCCaiYJAnZSet al. (2011) Climate patterns in north central China during the last 1800 yr and their possible driving force. Climate of the past7: 685–692.
51.
TanLCCaiYJChengHet al. (2018) High resolution monsoon precipitation changes on southeastern Tibetan Plateau over the past 2300 years. Quaternary Science Reviews195: 122–132.
52.
TorrentJBarrónV (2008) Diffuse Reflectance Spectroscopy. In: UleryALRichard DreesL (eds) Methods of Soil Analysis Part 5—Mineralogical Methods. Madison, WI: Soil Science Society of America.
53.
Viscarra RosselRBuiEDe CaritatPet al. (2010) Mapping iron oxides and the color of Australian soil using visible-near-infrared reflectance spectra. Journal of Geophysical Research: Earth Surface115: F04031.
54.
WangHLiuHCuiHet al. (2001a) Terminal Pleistocene/Holocene palaeoenvironmental changes revealed by mineral-magnetism measurements of lake sediments for Dali Nor area, southeastern inner Mongolia Plateau, China. Palaeogeography Palaeoclimatology Palaeoecology170(1–2): 0–132.
55.
WangSGongDZhuJ (2001b) Twentieth-century climatic warming in China in the context of the Holocene. The Holocene11: 313–321.
56.
WangYChengHEdwardsRLet al. (2005) The Holocene Asian monsoon: Links to solar changes and North Atlantic climate. Science308: 854–857.
57.
WangYFZhuYXPanHXet al. (2002) Environmental Characteristics of An Acid Qinghai Lake in Tengchong, Yunnan Province (in Chinese). Journal of Lake Sciences14: 117–124.
58.
XiaoXShenJHaberleSGet al. (2015) Vegetation, fire, and climate history during the last 18500 cal a BP in south-western Yunnan Province, China. Journal of Quaternary Science30: 859–869.
59.
XuHShengELanJet al. (2014) Decadal/multi-decadal temperature discrepancies along the eastern margin of the Tibetan Plateau. Quaternary Science Reviews89: 85–93.
60.
XuHZhouXYLanJHet al. (2015) Late-Holocene Indian summer monsoon variations recorded at Lake Erhai, Southwestern China. Quaternary Research83: 307–314.
61.
YangBBraeuningAJohnsonKRet al. (2002) General characteristics of temperature variation in China during the last two millennia. Geophysical Research Letters29: 38–31.
62.
YangLChenLHuangJYet al. (2016) δ18O record of a 700-years-old speleothem from the Shuiyuan Cave in eastern Nanling Mountain and its paleoclimatic implications (in Chinese). Geochimica45: 164–172.
63.
YappC (2001) Rusty relics of earth history: Iron (III) oxides, isotopes, and surficial environments. Annual Review of Earth and Planetary Sciences29: 165–199.
64.
ZengYChenJGZhuZJet al. (2012) The wet Little Ice Age recorded by sediments in Huguangyan Lake, tropical south China. Quaternary International263: 55–62.
65.
ZhangCTangQChenD (2017) Recent changes in the moisture source of precipitation over the Tibetan Plateau. Journal of Climate30: 1807–1819.
66.
ZhangELSunWWJiMet al. (2015) Late Quaternary carbon cycling responses to environmental change revealed by multi-proxy analyses of a sediment core from an upland lake in southwest China. Quaternary Research84: 415–422.
67.
ZhangHBGriffithsMLChiangJCHet al. (2018) East Asian hydroclimate modulated by the position of the westerlies during Termination I. Science362: 580–583.
68.
ZhangPZChengHEdwardsRLet al. (2008) A test of climate, sun, and culture relationships from an 1810-year Chinese cave record. Science322: 940–942.
69.
ZhangYGJiJBalsamWLet al. (2007) High resolution hematite and goethite records from ODP 1143, South China Sea: Co-evolution of monsoonal precipitation and El Niño over the past 600,000years. Earth and Planetary Science Letters264: 136–150.
70.
ZhengJHaoZZhangXet al. (2014) Drought/flood spatial patterns in centennial cold and warm periods of the past 2000 years over eastern China (in Chinese). Chinese Science Bulletin (Chin Ver)59: 2964–2971.
71.
ZhouXZhaoPLiuGet al. (2011) Characteristics of decadal-centennial-scale changes in East Asian summer monsoon circulation and precipitation during the Medieval Warm Period and Little Ice Age and in the present day. Chinese Science Bulletin56: 3003.
Supplementary Material
Please find the following supplemental material available below.
For Open Access articles published under a Creative Commons License, all supplemental material carries the same license as the article it is associated with.
For non-Open Access articles published, all supplemental material carries a non-exclusive license, and permission requests for re-use of supplemental material or any part of supplemental material shall be sent directly to the copyright owner as specified in the copyright notice associated with the article.
