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Late Holocene Asian summer monsoon variability reflected by δ 18 O in tree‐rings from Tibetan junipers
Author(s) -
Grießinger Jussi,
Bräuning Achim,
Helle Gerd,
Thomas Axel,
Schleser Gerhard
Publication year - 2011
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 - 10.1029/2010gl045988
Subject(s) - precipitation , monsoon , climatology , east asian monsoon , plateau (mathematics) , δ18o , dendrochronology , holocene , period (music) , ice core , climate change , physical geography , little ice age , dendroclimatology , paleoclimatology , geology , geography , stable isotope ratio , oceanography , meteorology , mathematical analysis , paleontology , mathematics , physics , quantum mechanics , acoustics
Recent warming in High Asia might have a strong impact on Asian summer monsoon variability with consequences for the hydrological cycle. Based on correlations between climate data, the tree‐ring δ 18 O of high‐elevation junipers is an indicator of August precipitation. Thus, our 800‐year long annually resolved oxygen isotope series reflects long‐term variations in summer monsoon activity on the southern Tibetan plateau. Summer precipitation was reduced during 13th–15th centuries and since the 19th century, whereas the Little Ice Age period (15th–19th century) was rather moist. The late 20th century was among the driest periods during the past 800 years, showing a tendency to slightly wetter conditions after AD 1990.