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Drying in the Middle East During Northern Hemisphere Cold Events of the Early Glacial Period
Author(s) -
Carolin S. A.,
Ersek V.,
Roberts W. H. G.,
Walker R. T.,
Henderson G. M.
Publication year - 2019
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 - 10.1029/2019gl084365
Subject(s) - stalagmite , stadial , paleoclimatology , geology , climatology , northern hemisphere , glacial period , forcing (mathematics) , southern hemisphere , climate change , oceanography , paleontology , holocene
Few paleoclimate records exist to assess the central Middle East's response to natural forcing beyond the instrumental record. Here, we present a multiproxy stalagmite‐based climate reconstruction from Iran's semiarid northeast that spans 100–70,000 years before present. During severe cold (stadial) events in the North Atlantic at ≈88, 77, and 73 ka, stalagmite trace‐element data indicate anomalously dry periods at this location. Stadial event increases in the stalagmite oxygen isotopes mirror those in a published Iranian stalagmite 800 km to the west. A global climate model simulates drying across the Middle East region in response to stadial event forcing, in agreement with oxygen isotope enrichments in both Iranian records, caused by a smaller fractional loss of moisture on the trajectory upstream. The paleoproxies and model experiments are consistent in indicating a drier Middle East climate during the cold North Atlantic stadials.