Western Pacific hydroclimate linked to global climate variability over the past two millennia

ML Griffiths; AK Kimbrough; MK Gagan; RN Drysdale; JE Cole; KR Johnson; JX Zhao; BI Cook; JC Hellstrom; WS Hantoro

Journal article

Western Pacific hydroclimate linked to global climate variability over the past two millennia

ML Griffiths, AK Kimbrough, MK Gagan, RN Drysdale, JE Cole, KR Johnson, JX Zhao, BI Cook, JC Hellstrom, WS Hantoro

Nature Communications | NATURE PORTFOLIO | Published : 2016

DOI: 10.1038/ncomms11719

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Abstract

Interdecadal modes of tropical Pacific ocean-Atmosphere circulation have a strong influence on global temperature, yet the extent to which these phenomena influence global climate on multicentury timescales is still poorly known. Here we present a 2,000-year, multiproxy reconstruction of western Pacific hydroclimate from two speleothem records for southeastern Indonesia. The composite record shows pronounced shifts in monsoon rainfall that are antiphased with precipitation records for East Asia and the central-eastern equatorial Pacific. These meridional and zonal patterns are best explained by a poleward expansion of the Australasian Intertropical Convergence Zone and weakening of the Pacif..

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University of Melbourne Researchers

Russell Drysdale Author

John Hellstrom Author

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Awarded by Australian Research Council

Funding Acknowledgements

We thank the Indonesian Institute of Sciences (LIPI) for operational support and are particularly grateful to Neil Anderson, Garry Smith, Bambang Suwargadi and Linda Ayliffe, who provided expertise in cave conservation and technical assistance. Heather Scott-Gagan provided technical assistance at ANU. The work in Indonesia was carried out under LIPI research permit number 04057/SU/KS/2006. Financial support for the research was provided by Australian Research Council Discovery grants DP0663274 and DP1095673 to M.K.G., R.N.D., J.-X.Z., J.C.H. and W.S.H. This research was also supported by a 2010-2012 NOAA/UCAR Climate and Global Change Postdoctoral Fellowship to M.L.G. and an internal summer 2013 research grant through William Paterson University. Support for A.K.K. was provided by a 2007-2010 Lewis and Clark College Mellon Research Initiative Fellowship and support for J.E.C. was provided by the US NSF.