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Change in dust seasonality as the primary driver for orbital‐scale dust storm variability in East Asia
Author(s) -
Serno Sascha,
Winckler Gisela,
Anderson Robert F.,
Jaccard Samuel L.,
Kienast Stephanie S.,
Haug Gerald H.
Publication year - 2017
Publication title -
geophysical research letters
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 2.007
H-Index - 273
eISSN - 1944-8007
pISSN - 0094-8276
DOI - 10.1002/2016gl072345
Subject(s) - subarctic climate , climatology , northern hemisphere , dust storm , glacial period , storm , environmental science , geology , latitude , mineral dust , interglacial , atmospheric sciences , seasonality , oceanography , geography , meteorology , aerosol , geomorphology , statistics , mathematics , geodesy
Glacial periods are recognized to be dustier than interglacials, but the conditions leading to greater dust mobilization are poorly defined. Here we present a new high‐resolution dust record based on 230 Th‐normalized 4 He flux from Ocean Drilling Program site 882 in the Subarctic North Pacific covering the last 170,000 years. By analogy with modern relationships, we infer the mechanisms controlling orbital‐scale dust storm variability in East Asia. We propose that orbital‐scale dust flux variability is the result of an expansion of the dust season into summer, in addition to more intense dust storms during spring and fall. The primary drivers influencing dust flux include summer insolation at subarctic latitudes and variable Siberian alpine glaciation, which together control the cold air reservoir in Siberia. Changes in the extent of the Northern Hemisphere ice sheets may be a secondary control.