Hostname: page-component-cd9895bd7-mkpzs Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-12-29T11:42:04.309Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false
  • English
  • Français

On the interpretation of Chinese loess as a paleoclimate indicator

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  20 January 2017

Gerard Roe
Get access Rights & Permissions [Opens in a new window]

Abstract

The records of wind-blown dust (i.e., loess) in China are some of the most important terrestrial records of past climate changes, stretching back over the last 10 Ma. In the paleoclimate literature, intervals of increased dust generation have been almost always interpreted as being associated with more intense or prolonged wintertime conditions. Here it is shown that, in accordance with modern observations, dust outbreaks in Asia are predominantly springtime phenomena. During spring, frequent cyclogenesis in the lee of the Mongolian Altai and the passage of strong cold fronts produce the intense windstorms that loft and entrain dust into the air. The meteorology governing such outbreaks is likely robust in past climates. Contrary to the common paleoclimate presumption, it is actually the breakdown of the Siberian High that permits the dust-producing windstorms to occur. The importance of cold fronts in generating such windstorms suggests that cooling of high-latitude climate during the Miocene, or during glacial intervals, might play a significant role in the signal recorded in the loess deposits. The unique springtime factors that generate dust storms are an example of why the common partitioning of Asian climate into a ‘winter’ and ‘summer’ monsoon is oversimplified and can be misleading.

Keywords

LoessDustWindstormsSpringSiberian High
Type
Articles
Information
Quaternary Research , Volume 71 , Issue 2 , March 2009 , pp. 150 - 161
Copyright
University of Washington

Access options

Get access to the full version of this content by using one of the access options below. (Log in options will check for institutional or personal access. Content may require purchase if you do not have access.)

References

An, Z. The history and variability of the East Asian paleomonsoon climate. Quaternary Science Reviews 19, (2000). 171–187.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
An, Z.S., Kukla, G., Porter, S.C., and Xiao, J.L. Magnetic susceptibility evidence of monsoon variation on the Loess Plateau of central China during the last 130,000 years. Quaternary Research 36, (1991). 2936 Google Scholar
An, Z.S., Kutzbach, J.E., Prell, W.L., and Porter, S.C. Evolution of Asian monsoons and phased uplift of the Himalaya Tibetan plateau since late Miocene times. Nature 411, (2001). 6266 Google Scholar
Aoki, I., Kurosaki, Y., Osada, R., Sato, T., and Kimura, F. Dust storms generated by mesoscale cold fronts in the Tarim Basin, Northwest China. Journal of Geophysical Research 32, (2005). http://dx.doi.org/10.1029/2004GL021776 Google Scholar
Araguas-Araguas, L., Froelich, K., and Rozanski, K. Stable isotope composition of precipitation over southeast Asia. Journal of Geophysical Research 103, (1998). 28,721–28,742.Google Scholar
Bluestein, H.B. Synoptic–Dynamic Meteorology in Midlatitudes, vol. 2 Observations and Theory of Weather Systems. (1993). Oxford University Press, Oxford. U.K.Google Scholar
Broecker, W.S., and Hemming, S. Climate swings come into focus. Science 294, (2001). 2308–2309.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Chang, E.K.M., Lee, S., and Swanson, K.L. Storm track dynamics. Journal of Climate 15, (2002). 2163–2183.Google Scholar
Chen, S.-J., Kuo, Y.-H., Zhang, P.-Z., and Bai, Q.-F. Synoptic climatology of cyclogenesis over East Asia, 1958–1987. Monthly Weather Review 119, (1991). 1407–1418.Google Scholar
Claquin, T., Roelandt, C., Kohfeld, K.E., Harrison, S.P., Tegen, I., Prentice, I.C., Balkanski, Y., Bergametti, G., Hansson, M., Mahowald, N., Rodhe, H., and Schulz, M. Radiative forcing of climate by ice-age atmospheric dust. Climate Dynamics 20, (2003). 193–202.Google Scholar
Collins, W.D., Blackmon, M., Bitz, C.M., Bonan, G.B., Bretherton, C.S., Carton, J.A., Chang, P., Doney, S.C., Hack, J.J., Kiehl, J.T., Henderson, T., Large, W.G., McKenna, D., Santer, B.D., and Smith, R.D. The Community Climate System Model: CCSM3. Journal of Climate 19, (2005). 2122–2143.Google Scholar
Davis, C.A. The modification of baroclinic waves by the Rocky Mountains. Journal of Atmospheric Sciences 54, (1997). 848–868.Google Scholar
Ding, R., Li, J., Wang, S., and Ren, F. Decadal change of the spring dust storm in northwest China and the associated atmospheric circulation. Geophysical Research 32, (2005). http://dx.doi.org/10.1029/2004GL021561 Google Scholar
Ding, Z.L., Derbyshire, E., Yang, S.L., Sun, J.M., and Liu, T.S. Stepwise expansion of desert environment across northern China in the past 3.5 Ma and implications for monsoon evolution. Earth and Planetary Science Letters 237, (2005). 45–55.Google Scholar
Eady, E.T. Long waves and cyclone waves. Tellus 1, (1949). 33–52.Google Scholar
Gill, T.E., and Gillette, D.A. Owens Lake: a natural laboratory for aridification, playa desiccation, and desert dust. Geological Society of America With Programs 23, (1991). 462 Google Scholar
Guo, Z.T., Ruddiman, W.F., Hao, Q.Z., Wu, H.B., Qiao, Y.S., Zhu, R.X., Peng, S.Z., W, J.J., Yuan, B.Y., and Liu, T.S. Onset of Asian desertification by 22 Myr ago inferred from lo deposits in China. Nature 416, (2002). 159–163.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Han, W., Chen, S.J., and Egger, J. Altai-Sayan Lee cyclogenesis: numerical simulations. Meteorite Atmospheric Physics 55, (1995). 125–134.Google Scholar
Harrison, S.P., Kohfeld, K.E., Roelandt, C., and Claquin, T. The role of dust in climate changes today, at the last glacial maximum and in the future. Earth Science Review 54, (2001). 43–80.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Hemming, S.R. Heinrich events: massive late Pleistocene detritus layers of the North Atlantic and their global climate imprint. Reviews of Geophysics 42, (2004). http://dx.doi.org/10.1029/2003RG000128 CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Holton, J.R. An Introduction to Dynamic Meteorology. fourth ed (2006). MA, Elsevier, Boston. 529 Google Scholar
Hoskins, B.J., and Hodges, K.I. New perspectives on the Northern Hemisphere storm tracks. Journal of Atmospheric Sciences 59, (2002). 1041–1061.2.0.CO;2>CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Husar, R.B., Tratt, D.M., Schichtel, B.A., Falke, S.R., Li, F., Ja, , e, D., Gasso, S., Gill, T., Laulainen, N.S., Lu, F., Reheis, M.C., Chun, Y., Westphal, D., Holben, B.N., Gueymard, C., McKendry, I., Kuring, N., Feldman, G.C., McClain, C., Frouin, R.J., Merrill, J., DuBois, D., Vignola, F., Murayama, T., Nickovic, S., Wilson, W.E., Sassen, K., Sugimoto, N., and Malm, W.C. Asian dust events of April 1998. Journal of Geophysical Research 106, (2001). 18,317–18,330.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change Houghton, J.T. et al. Climate Change 2001: The Scientific Basis: Contribution of Working Group I to The Third Assessment Report of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change. (2001). Cambridge Univ. Press, New York. 881 Google Scholar
Ishizuka, M., Mikami, M., Yamada, Y., Zeng, F., and Gao, W. An observational study of soil moisture effects on wind erosion at a Gobi site in the Taklimakan Desert. J. Geophys. Res. 110, (2005). http://dx.doi.org/10.1029/2004JD004709 D18S03 Google Scholar
Kalma, J.D., Speight, J.G., and Wasson, R.J. Potential wind erosion in Australia: a continental perspective. Journal of Climatology 8, (1988). 411–428.Google Scholar
Kalnay, E. et al. The NCEP/NCAR 40-year reanalysis project. Bulletin of American Meteorological Society 77, (1996). 437–471.Google Scholar
Kukla, G. Loess stratigraphy in central China Quat. Science Review 6, (1987). 191–219.Google Scholar
Kurosaki, Y., and Mikami, M. Recent frequent dust events and their relation to surface wind in East Asia. Geophysical Research Letters 30, (2003). Google Scholar
Kurosaki, Y., and Mikami, M. Effect of snow cover on threshold wind velocity of dust outbreak. Geophysical Research Letters 31, (2004). http://dx.doi.org/10.1029/2003GL018632 Google Scholar
Laurent, B., Marticorena, B., Bergametti, G., Chazette, P., Maignan, F., and Schmechtig, C. Simulation of the mineral dust emission frequencies from desert areas of China and Mongolia using an aerodynamic roughness length map derived from the POLDER//ADEOS 1 surface products. Journal of Geophysical Research 110, (2005). http://dx.doi.org/10.1029/2004JD005013 CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Li, C. A General Circulation Modeling Perspective on Abrupt Climate Change During Glacial Times. (2006). PhD thesis, University of Washington.Google Scholar
Littman, T. Dust storm frequency in Asia: climatic control and variability. International Journal of Climatology 11, (1991). 393–412.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Liu, T., and Ding, Z.L. Chinese loess and the paleomonsoon. Annual Review of Earth Planetary Sciences 26, (1998). 111–145.Google Scholar
Liu, J., and Diamond, J. China's environment in a globalizing world. Nature 435, (2005). 1179–1186.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Liu, M., Westphal, D.L., Wang, S., Shimizu, A., Sugimoto, N., Zhou, J., and Chen, Y. A high resolution numerical study of the Asian dust storms of April 2001. Journal of Geophysical Research 108, (2003). http://dx.doi.org/10.1029/2002JD003178 Google Scholar
Lunt, D.J., and Valdes, P.J. The modern dust cycle: comparison of model results with observations and study of sensitivities. Journal of Geophysical Research 107, (2002). http://dx.doi.org/10.1029/2002JD002316 Google Scholar
Mahowald, N., Kohfeld, K., Hansson, M., Balkanski, Y., Harrison, S.P., Prentice, I.C., Schulz, M., and Rodhe, H. Dust sources and deposition during the Last Glacial Maximum and current climate: a comparison of model results with paleodata from ice cores and marine sediments. Journal of Geophysical Research 104, (1999). 15,895–15,916.Google Scholar
Mahowald, N.M., Muhs, D.R., Levis, S., Rasch, P.J., Yoshioka, M., Zender, C.S., and Luo, C. Change in atmospheric mineral aerosols in response to climate: last glacial period, pre-industrial, modern and doubled carbon dioxide climates. Journal of Geophysical Research 111, (2006). http://dx.doi.org/10.1029/2005JD006653 Google Scholar
Meeker, L.D., and Mayewski, P.A. A 1400-year high-resolution record of atmospheric circulation over the North Atlantic and Asia. Holocene 12, (2002). 257–266.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Mayewski, P.A., Meeker, L.D., Twickler, M.S., Whitlow, S., Yang, Q., Lyons, W.B., and Prentice, M. Major features and forcing of high-latitude northern hemisphere atmospheric circulation using a 110,000-year long glaciochemical series. Journal of Geophysical Research 102, (1997). 26,345–26,366.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Mayewski, P.A., Rohling, E.E., Stager, J.C., Karln, W., Maasch, K.A., Meeker, L.D., Meyerson, E.A., Gasse, F., van Kreveld, S., Holmgren, K., Lee-Thorp, J., Rosqvist, G., Rack, F., Staubwasser, M., Schneider, R.R., and Steig, E.J. Holocene climate variability. Quaternary Research 62, (2004). 243–255.Google Scholar
Middleton, N.J. Dust storms in the Mongolian Peoples Republic. Journal of Arid Environments 20, (1991). 287–297.Google Scholar
Mintz, Y., and Serafini, Y.V. A global monthly climatology of soil moisture and water balance. Climate Dynamic 8, (1992). 13–27.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Nakamura, H. Midwinter suppression of baroclinic wave activity in the Pacific. Journal of Atmospheric Sciences 49, (1992). 1629–1642.Google Scholar
Parungo, F., Li, Z., Li, X., Yang, D., and Harris, J. Gobi dust storms and the great green wall. Geophysical Research Letters 2, (1994). 999–1002.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Pauley, P.M., Baker, N.L., and Barker, E.H. An observational study of the interstate 5 dust storm case. Bulletin of American Meteorology Society 77, (1996). 693–720.Google Scholar
Peixoto, J.P., and Oort, A.H. Physics of Climate. (1992). American Institute of Physics, New York, NY. 520 Google Scholar
Porter, S.C. Chinese loess record of monsoon climate during the last glacial–interglacial cycle. Earth-Science Reviews 54, (2001). 115–128.Google Scholar
Porter, S.C., and An, Z. Correlation between climate events in the North Atlantic and China during the last glaciation. Nature 375, (1995). 305–308.Google Scholar
Prell, W.L., and Kutzbach, J.E. Sensitivity of the Indian monsoon to forcing parameters and implications for its evolution. Nature 360, (1992). 647–652.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Qian, W., Tang, X., and Quan, L. Regional characteristics of dust storms in China. Atmospheric Environment 38, (2004). 4895–4907.Google Scholar
Rea, D.K. The paleoclimatic record provided by eolian deposition in the deep-sea: the geologic history of wind. Reviews of Geophysics 32, (1994). 159195 CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Roe, G.H., Bitz, C.M., and Molnar, P. Chinese loess as a paleoenvironmental indicator of tectonics or climate: the role of the Arctic, cold air outbreaks, and lee cyclogenesis? EOS transactions AGU #T33D-06. (2004). American Geophysical Union, Fall Meeting, San Francisco.Google Scholar
Sun, D., Chen, F., Bloemendal, J., and Su, R. Seasonal variability of modern dust over the Loess Plateau of China. Journal of Geophysical Research 108, (2003). http://dx.doi.org/10.1029/2003JD003382 Google Scholar
Sun, X., and Wang, P. How old is the Asian monsoon system?—Palaeobotanical records from China. Palaeogeography, Palaeoclimatology, Palaeoecology 222, (2005). 181–222.Google Scholar
Sun, Y., and An, Z. Late Pliocene–Pleistocene changes in mass accumulation rates of eolian deposits on the central Chinese Loess Plateau. Journal of Geophysical Research 110, (2005). http://dx.doi.org/10.1029/2005JD006064 Google Scholar
Sun, Y., Tada, R., Chen, J., Liu, Q., Toyoda, S., Tani, A., Ji, J., and Isozaki, Y. Tracing the provenance of fine-grained dust deposited on the central Chinese Loess Plateau. Geophysical Research Letters 35, (2008). http://dx.doi.org/10.1029/2007GL031672 L01804 Google Scholar
Tegen, I., and Fung, I. Modeling of mineral dust in the atmosphere: sources, transport, and optical thickness. Journal of Geophysical Research 99, (1994). 22,897–22,914.Google Scholar
Uno, I., Amano, H., Emori, S., Kinoshita, K., Matsui, I., and Sugimoto, N. Trans-Pacific yellow sand transport observed in April, 1998: a numerical simulation. J. Geophys. Res. 106, (1998). 18,331–318,344.Google Scholar
Voelker, A.H.L. workshop participants Global distribution of centennial-scale records for Marine Isotope Stage (MIS) 3: a database. Quaternary Science Reviews 21, (2002). 1185–1212.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Wallace, J.M., and Hobbs, P.V. Atmospheric Science: An Introductory Survey. 2nd ed (2006). Academic Press, San Diego, CA. 483 Google Scholar
Werner, M., Tegen, I., Harrison, S.P., Kohfeld, K.E., Prentice, I.C., Balkanski, Y., Rodhe, H., and Roelandt, C. Seasonal and interannual variability of the mineral dust cycle under present and glacial climate conditions. Journal of Geophysical Research 107, (2002). http://dx.doi.org/10.1029/2002JD002365 CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Xuan, J., Liu, G., and Du, K. Dust emission inventory in northern China. Atmospheric Environment 34, (2000). 4565–4570.Google Scholar
Yancheva, G., Nowaczyk, N.R., Mingram, J., Dulski, P., Schettler, G., Negendank, J.F.W., Liu, J., Sigman, D.M., Peterson, L.C., and Haug, G.H. Influence of the intertropical convergence zone on the East Asian monsoon. Nature 445, (2007). 74–77.Google Scholar
Yu, F., Price, K.P., Ellis, J., and Kastens, D. Satellite observations of the seasonal vegetation growth in central Asia: 1982–1990. Photogrammetric Engineering and Remote Sensing 70, (2004). 461–469.Google Scholar
Zhang, X.Y., Lu, H.Y., Arimoto, R., and Gong, S.L. Atmospheric dust loadings and their relationship to rapid oscillations of the Asian winter monsoon climate: two 250-kyr loess records. Earth and Planetary Science Letters 202, (2002). 637–643.Google Scholar
Zhou, Z., and Zhang, G. Typical severe dust storms in northern China during 1954–2002. Chinese Science Bulletin 48, (2003). 2366–2370.Google Scholar