Holocene climate changes over the desert_loess transition of north-central China.pdf

Holocene climate changes over the desert/loess transition of north-central China Jule Xiao a;b;, Toshio Nakamura c, Huayu Lu b, Guangyu Zhang b a Institute of Geology and Geophysics, Chinese Academy of Sciences, P.O. Box 9825, Beijing 100029, PR China b Institute of Earth Environment, Chinese Academy of Sciences, P.O. Box 17, Xi’an 710075, PR China c Center for Chronological Research, Nagoya University, Nagoya 464-8602, Japan Accepted 21 December 2001 Abstract A 2-m trench section at the desert/loess transition of north-central China was analyzed at 2-cm intervals for grain- size distribution (Md, Wm) and total organic carbon (TOC, %). AMS 14C time series of the Md and TOC records provides direct information on variations of the East Asian monsoon climate during the last 10 000 yr. Md is considered to represent the wind strength and high Md reflects strong winter monsoon winds. TOC denotes the degree of vegetation cover, a function of the intensity of summer monsoon circulations. From ca. 10 000 to 7000 cal yr BP, the climate was dominated by a strong winter monsoon and a very weak summer monsoon as indicated by high Md and low TOC values. Subsequently climatic conditions became warmer gradually from ca. 7000 to 5500 cal yr BP. The period between ca. 5500 and 2700 cal yr BP displayed the highest TOC and lowest Md values over the last 10 000 yr, marking a stable state of a warm, humid climate, i.e. the Holocene climatic optimum of China. During the interval of ca. 2700^1500 cal yr BP, the expansion and intensification of agrarian activities could have led to desertification and acceleration of deposition of coarse-grained particles, resulting in a decreased organic carbon accumulation rate. However, the TOC during this interval still has values as high as during the episode of ca. 7000^5500 cal yr BP, reflecting a relatively stronger summer monsoon circulation. Since ca. 1500 cal yr ago, high-amplitude fluctuations of TOC that fluctuate in phase with the clay-size f