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A speleothem record of Holocene climate variability from southwestern Mexico

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  20 January 2017

Juan Pablo Bernal ,
Matthew Lachniet ,
Malcolm McCulloch ,
Graham Mortimer ,
Pedro Morales  and
Edith Cienfuegos
Juan Pablo Bernal*
Affiliation:
Instituto de Geología, Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México, Ciudad Universitaria, Coyoacán, Mexico City, 04510, Mexico
Matthew Lachniet
Affiliation:
Department of Geoscience, University of Nevada, Las Vegas, Las Vegas, NV 89154-4010, USA
Malcolm McCulloch
Affiliation:
Research School of Earth Sciences, The Australian National University, Canberra, ACT, 0200, Australia
Graham Mortimer
Affiliation:
Research School of Earth Sciences, The Australian National University, Canberra, ACT, 0200, Australia
Pedro Morales
Affiliation:
Instituto de Geología, Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México, Ciudad Universitaria, Coyoacán, Mexico City, 04510, Mexico
Edith Cienfuegos
Affiliation:
Instituto de Geología, Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México, Ciudad Universitaria, Coyoacán, Mexico City, 04510, Mexico
*
⁎Corresponding author. Now at: Centro de Geociencias, Campus UNAM Juriquilla, Querétaro, Mexico 76230. Fax: + 52 55 56234317.
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Abstract

A paleoclimate reconstruction for the Holocene based upon variations of δ18O in a U–Th dated stalagmite from southwestern Mexico is presented. Our results indicate that the arrival of moisture to the area has been strongly linked to the input of glacial meltwaters into the North Atlantic throughout the Holocene. The record also suggests a complex interplay between Caribbean and Pacific moisture sources, modulated by the North Atlantic SST and the position of the ITCZ, where Pacific moisture becomes increasingly more influential through ENSO since ~ 4.3 ka. The interruption of stalagmite growth during the largest climatic anomalies of the Holocene (10.3 and 8.2 ka) is evidenced by the presence of hiatuses, which suggest a severe disruption in the arrival of moisture to the area. The δ18O record presented here has important implications for understanding the evolution of the North American Monsoon and climate in southwestern Mexico, as it represents one of the most detailed archives of climate variability for the area spanning most of the Holocene.

Keywords

StalagmiteMexicoHolocene climate variabilityOxygen isotopesITCZ. ENSO
Type
Research Article
Information
Quaternary Research , Volume 75 , Issue 1 , January 2011 , pp. 104 - 113
Copyright
University of Washington

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Footnotes

1 Current address: The School of Earth and Environment, The University of Western Australia, Crawley 6009, Australia.

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