Skip to main content

ETHNOS_APP

Home • Search • Journals • List 0

Precipitation evolution of Central Asia during the last 5000 years

Bibliographic Data

ID12266234
AuthorsChristian Wolff (0000-0002-4204-1666, Max Planck Institute for Chemistry), Christian M Wolff (0000-0002-7210-1869, GFZ Helmholtz Centre for Geosciences, corresponding author), Birgit Plessen (Section 5.2 Climate Dynamics and Landscape Development, Helmholtz Centre Potsdam, GFZ German Research Centre for Geosciences, Germany), Alexey S Dudashvilli (Central-Asian Institute for Applied Geosciences (CAIAG), Kyrgyz Republic), Sebastian F M Breitenbach (0000-0001-9615-2065, University of Cambridge), Sebastian FM Breitenbach (Department of Earth Sciences, University of Cambridge, UK), Hai Cheng (0000-0002-5305-9458, Xi'an Jiaotong University), Lawrence R Edwards (Department of Earth Sciences, University of Minnesota, USA), Manfred R Strecker (0000-0002-5952-0057, University of Potsdam)
Year2016
Volume27
Issue1
Pages142-154
Publication date2016-10-06
Peer ReviewedYes
Open AccessYes
TypeARTICLE
VenueThe Holocene (JOURNAL)
Journal identifiersISSN: 0959-6836 • E-ISSN: 1477-0911
PublisherSAGE Publishing (PUBLISHER • US)
DOI10.1177/0959683616652711
OpenAlexW2527939027
LanguageEN
Citations received15
References cited76

Central Asia is located at the confluence of large-scale atmospheric circulation systems. However, the number of Holocene climate records is still low in most parts of this region and insufficient to allow detailed discussion and comparisons to disentangle the complex climate history and interplays between the different climatic systems. Here, we present the first stalagmite record from arid Central Asia (south-western Kyrgyzstan) by using δ 18 O, δ 13 C, and micro x-ray fluorescence (μXRF)-sulfur data spanning the last 5000 years. The cave hosting stalagmite Uluu-2 is ideally suited to identify past shifts in seasonal variations in precipitation in this part of the world. Comparison of instrumental and paleo-isotopic studies demonstrates that the Uluu-2 speleothem isotope composition faithfully records climate changes and responds to shifts in the proportion of moisture derived from mid-latitude Westerlies during the winter/spring season. The reconstructions suggest that the area was characterized by a dry climate from 4700 to 3900 yr BP, interrupted by a wet episode around 4200 yr BP. Further drier conditions also occurred between 4000 and 3500 yr BP. Wetter conditions were re-established at ca. 2500 yr BP, after another dry episode between 3000 and 2500 yr BP. With the exception of two short dry events (1150 and 1300 yr BP), the period after 1700 yr BP shows moderate to wet conditions. Regional comparisons suggest that the strength and position of the Westerly winds control climatic shifts in arid Central Asia, leading to complex local responses

Arid · Cave · Climate change · Climatology · Geography · Holocene · Paleoclimatology · Physical geography · Pluvial · Precipitation · Speleothem · Stalagmite · Westerlies · Geological formations and processes · Geology and Paleoclimatology Research · Pleistocene-Era Hominins and Archaeology · Geology · Oceanography · Paleontology

  • Extreme events and the spread of Uralic languages

    Open Access•Sampsa Holopainen, Terhi Honkola et al.•Quaternary Environments and Humans•2026

  • Last 1100 yr of precipitation variability in western central Asia as revealed by tree-ring data from the Pamir-Alay

    Open Access•Magdalena Opała‐Owczarek, Magdalena Opała-Owczarek et al.•Quaternary Research•2019

  • Middle to Late Holocene lake evolution and its links with westerlies and Asian monsoon in the middle part of the Hexi Corridor, NW China

    Open Access•Simin Peng, Yu Li et al.•Quaternary Research•2023

  • Dust storms or landslides? Investigating drivers of settlement, abandonment and landscape change at a Bronze Age farming site in Kyrgyzstan

    Open Access•Michael Spate, G Motuzaite Matuzeviciute et al.•Quaternary International•2025

  • Paleoenvironmental shifts spanning the last ~6000 years and recent anthropogenic controls inferred from a high-altitude temperate lake

    Open Access•Aasif Mohmad Lone, Hema Achyuthan et al.•The Holocene•2019

  • Oasis landscape of the ancient Loulan on the west bank of Lake Lop Nur, Northwest China, inferred from vegetation utilization for architecture

    Open Access•Kangkang Li, Xiaoguang Qin et al.•The Holocene•2019

  • The first comprehensive archaeobotanical analysis of prehistoric agriculture in Kyrgyzstan

    Open Access•G Motuzaite Matuzeviciute, Basira Mir-Makhamad et al.•Vegetation History and…•2021

  • Impacts of the humid climate on the development of two ancient civilizations on the northeastern margin of the Qinghai–Xizang Plateau

    Open Access•Mingjun Gao, Yu Li et al.•Anthropocene•2026

  • Re-examining climate-driven Malthusian collapse in Kashmir

    Open Access•Michael Spate, Dan Penny et al.•Quaternary International•2022

  • Precipitation reconstruction since the last deglacial based on the stable carbon isotopic composition of a loess section in western Central Asia

    Open Access•Dongliang Zhang, Zhaodong Feng et al.•The Holocene•2022

  • Potential impact of Holocene climate changes on camel breeding practices of Neolithic pastoralists in the Central Asian drylands

    Open Access•Małgorzata Suska-Malawska, M Kot et al.•The Holocene•2022

  • High-Altitude Agro-Pastoralism in the Kyrgyz Tien Shan

    G Motuzaite Matuzeviciute, Kubatbek Tabaldyev et al.•Journal of Field Archaeology•2020

  • The Circulation of Yersinia pestis in Central Eurasia before and during the First Plague Pandemic (Second to Eighth Century CE)

    Open Access•Johannes Preiser-Kapeller, William A Mcgrath et al.•Human Ecology•2025

  • A water reservoir from the 3rd to 5th century AD as a possible key for understanding the subsistence strategies and environment at the margin of the Fergana basin in Southern Kyrgyzstan

    Open Access•Petr Kočár, Zdeňka Sůvová et al.•Archaeological and Anthropological…•2026

  • The Climatic Resilience of the Sasanian Empire

    Open Access•Matthew J Jacobson, Alison L Gascoigne et al.•Human Ecology•2024

  • Paleoenvironmental proxy records from Lake Hovsgol, Mongolia, and a synthesis of Holocene climate change in the Lake Baikal watershed

    Open Access•Alexander A Prokopenko, Galina K Khursevich et al.•Quaternary Research•2007

  • Control of wind strength and frequency in the Aral Sea basin during the late Holocene

    Open Access•Philippe Sorrel, Hedi Oberhänsli et al.•Quaternary Research•2007

  • Persistent Solar Influence on North Atlantic Climate During the Holocene

    Open Access•Gérard C Bond, Gerard Bond et al.•Science•2001

  • Major features and forcing of high‐latitude northern hemisphere atmospheric circulation using a 110,000‐year‐long glaciochemical series

    Open Access•Paul A Mayewski, L David Meeker et al.•Journal of Geophysical Research:…•1997

  • Tropical Climate Instability

    Open Access•Lonnie G Thompson, Tandong Yao et al.•Science•1997

  • Palaeo-moisture evolution in monsoonal Central Asia during the last 50,000 years

    Open Access•Ulrike Herzschuh•Quaternary Science Reviews•2006

  • Improvements in 230Th dating, 230Th and 234U half-life values, and U–Th isotopic measurements by multi-collector inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry

    Open Access•Hai Cheng, R Lawrence Edwards et al.•Earth and Planetary Science Letters•2013

  • Holocene environments and climate in the Mongolian Altai reconstructed from the Hoton-Nur pollen and diatom records

    Open Access•Natalia Rudaya, Pavel E Tarasov et al.•Quaternary Science Reviews•2009

  • Robust Responses of the Hydrological Cycle to Global Warming

    Isaac M Held, Brian J Soden•Journal of Climate•2006

  • The isotopic geochemistry of speleothems—I. The calculation of the effects of different modes of formation on the isotopic composition of speleothems and their applicability as palaeoclimatic indicators

    Open Access•Chris H Hendy•Geochimica et Cosmochimica Acta•1971

  • Stable isotopes in precipitation

    Open Access•W Dansgaard•Tellus B: Chemical and Physical…•1964

  • Palaeo-climate reconstruction from stable isotope variations in speleothems

    Open Access•Frank Mcdermott•Quaternary Science Reviews•2004

  • The NCEP/NCAR 40-Year Reanalysis Project

    Eugenia Kalnay, Masao Kanamitsu et al.•Bulletin of the American…•1996

  • Holocene moisture evolution in arid central Asia and its out-of-phase relationship with Asian monsoon history

    Open Access•Fahu Chen, Zicheng Yu et al.•Quaternary Science Reviews•2008

  • Macintosh Program performs time‐series analysis

    Open Access•Didier Paillard, Laurent Labeyrie et al.•Eos•1996

  • Highly variable Northern Hemisphere temperatures reconstructed from low- and high-resolution proxy data

    Open Access•Anders Moberg, D M Sonechkin et al.•Nature•2005

  • Precise dating of Dansgaard–Oeschger climate oscillations in western Europe from stalagmite data

    Open Access•Dominique Genty, Dominique Blamart et al.•Nature•2003

  • Precipitation variability in the Indian Central Himalaya during last ca. 4,000 years inferred from a speleothem record

    Open Access•Bahadur Singh Kotlia, Anoop Kumar Singh et al.•Quaternary International•2014

  • Advances in understanding the late Holocene history of the Aral Sea region

    Open Access•I Boomer, B Wünnemann et al.•Quaternary International•2009

  • The Holocene salinity history of Bosten Lake (Xinjiang, China) inferred from ostracod species assemblages and shell chemistry

    Open Access•S Mischke, B Wünnemann•Quaternary International•2006

  • Climate change over the past 2000 years in Western China

    Open Access•Jonathan A Holmes, Edward R Cook et al.•Quaternary International•2009

  • Climatic imprint of the mid-latitude Westerlies in the Central Tian Shan of Kyrgyzstan and teleconnections to North Atlantic climate variability during the last 6000 years

    Open Access•Stefan Lauterbach, Roman Witt et al.•The Holocene•2014

  • A high-resolution record of Holocene environmental and climatic changes from Lake Balikun (Xinjiang, China)

    Open Access•Cheng-Bang An, Yanbin Lu et al.•The Holocene•2011

  • A 2540-year record of moisture variations derived from lacustrine sediment (Sasikul Lake) on the Pamir Plateau

    Open Access•Yanbin Lei, Lide Tian et al.•The Holocene•2014

  • Sun, ocean, climate and atmospheric 14CO2

    Open Access•Minze Stuiver, Thomas F Braziunas•The Holocene•1993

  • Holocene mean July temperature and winter precipitation in western Norvay inferred from palynological and glaciological lake-sediment proxies

    Open Access•Anne E Bjune, Jostein Bakke et al.•The Holocene•2005

  • Mid-Holocene emergence of a low-frequency millennial oscillation in western Mediterranean climate

    Open Access•William J Fletcher, Maxime Debret et al.•The Holocene•2012

Unique citing works15
Citations per year2,14
Citation span2019 - 2026 (8)
Citation velocitycurrent
Highly citedNo
Citation typesNeutral: 12
Ethnos_APP • Open Source Project • MIT License • Frontend v2.0.0 • Privacy and Cookies • API Documentation: api.ethnos.app/docs • API Source Code: GitHub • DOI: 10.5281/zenodo.17049435 • Frontend Source Code: GitHub • DOI: 10.5281/zenodo.17050053 • cruz.rio.br • Expectantes Misericordiae