Long-term climate dynamics in the extra-tropics of the South Pacific revealed from sedimentary charcoal analysis

Abstract

We synthesized 13 high-resolution charcoal records located within the current zone of strongest correlation between the southern westerly winds (SWW) and rainfall on Earth in an attempt to assess how shifts in the SWW drive climatic change in this region. High regional charcoal influx values are found during the early Holocene (12–8 ka), progressively decreasing and reaching a minimum during the mid-Holocene (∼5 ka). Wavelet coherence analysis between regional charcoal influxes from southern South America (SSA) and western Tasmania (WTAS) shows a tight periodicity coherence from 12 to ∼6 ka, supporting synchronous SWW-driven climatic change in these areas. The same analysis between the regio..