LAKE LEVEL STUDIES | Asia

Striking changes in Asian paleohydrology occurred during the late Quaternary. Knowledge has recently been enhanced by new studies, including deep-drilling work, and the comparison of observed spatial patterns with paleoclimate simulations. In the Middle East and Tibetan Plateau regions, lake levels declined overall from 30 000 years BP to present. Low lake levels and inferred aridity in central and eastern Asia during the Last Glacial Maximum likely reflect a weakened summer monsoon. With mid-Holocene, insolation-driven enhancement of the monsoon, lake levels increased from Arabia to northeast China, although other circulation adjustments caused lower levels northwest and southeast of the monsoon belt.