Abrupt changes in Indian summer monsoon strength during the last deglaciation and early Holocene based on stable isotope evidence from Lake Chenghai, southwest China

Abstract Identifying variability and the mechanisms driving variability in the Indian summer monsoon (ISM) since the last deglaciation is critical for understanding past hydroclimatic change. In this study, we present an accelerator mass spectrometry radiocarbon dated record of δ 18 O variations in authigenic carbonates derived from Lake Chenghai in southwest China, a region that receives moisture mainly from the Indian Ocean. The δ 18 O values vary from −11.9 to +0.1‰, providing a detailed record of variations in ISM precipitation δ 18 O values, and lake hydrological balance. The record shows that the ISM generally strengthened in the post-glacial between 15.6 and 8.8 cal ka BP, but that three centennial to millennial-scale drought events were superimposed on the long-term trend. Drought events, as indicated by substantial positive shifts in δ 18 O value, occurred from 15.6 ± 0.2 to 14.4 ± 0.2, 12.5 ± 0.2 to 11.7 ± 0.2 and 10.1 ± 0.1 to 10.0 ± 0.1 cal ka BP, corresponding to the Heinrich 1, Younger Dryas, and Bond 7 cold events in the North Atlantic region, respectively. The timings of these droughts are suggested to be related to meltwater discharge into the North Atlantic. The weakened Atlantic Meridional Overturning circulation, which leads in turn to the southward migration of the intertropical convergence zone and cooling in the tropical Indian Ocean.