Little Ice Age climate changes in Southwest China from a stalagmite δ18O record

Abstract Climate change during the Little Ice Age (LIA) was characterized by globally widespread but spatiotemporally incoherent cooling with high regional variability. However, the onset, termination, internal structure, and underlying forcing mechanisms of the LIA remain unclear. Here we present a U-Th-dated stalagmite record with an average sampling resolution of 0.8 years and mean age uncertainty less than 4 years from Shijiangjun Cave, Southwest China (SW China). We have characterized the dynamics of the Asian summer monsoon (ASM) on interdecadal to centennial timescales during the LIA at unprecedented accuracy and precision. The onset of the LIA occurred at about 1300 (A.D.) and six weak-ASM events were identified at 1340–1380, 1445–1480, 1520–1540, 1600–1630, 1650–1670, and 1695–1730 (A.D.), respectively. The overall climate variability in Chinese monsoon regions is inconsistent with that in Northwest China (NW China). During the coldest period of the LIA (i.e. after 1500 CE), SW China exhibited a cold and dry pattern, while NW China experienced a cold and wet climate. Moreover, our records from the Asian-Australian monsoon (AAM) region showed coherent changes during the LIA, arguing against the interhemispheric “see-saw” model on interdecadal-centennial timescales. Documented solar minima, lower Northern Hemisphere temperature, and positive phases of PDO and ENSO during the LIA weakened the Asian-Australian summer monsoon, decreasing precipitation throughout the AAM regions.