1. Temperature Trends in the Northwestern Tibetan Plateau Constrained by Ice Core Water Isotopes Over the Past 7,000 Years.
- Author
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Pang, Hongxi, Hou, Shugui, Zhang, Wangbin, Wu, Shuangye, Jenk, Theo M., Schwikowski, Margit, and Jouzel, Jean
- Subjects
SHIELDS (Geology) ,TEMPERATURE ,ICE cores ,ISOTOPES ,HOLOCENE Epoch - Abstract
The reasons for the Holocene temperature conundrum, known as the inconsistency between the reconstructed cooling and the inferred warming simulations during the Holocene, remain unclear. Temperature reconstructions from the Tibetan Plateau (TP) provide important insights for understanding the Holocene temperature conundrum due to enhanced sensitivity to climate at high altitudes. Given the significant positive correlation between air temperature and δ18O in precipitation over the northern TP, the stable isotopic records of ice cores recovered from this area are widely used for paleotemperature reconstruction. Here we present a new high‐resolution δ18O record from the Chongce ice cores to bedrock, dated back to 7 ka BP by the accelerator mass spectrometry (AMS) 14C dating technique. Our reconstructed temperature record shows a long‐term warming trend until ~2 ka BP, followed by an abrupt change to a relatively cool period until the start of the industrial‐era warming. This record challenges the widely recognized Holocene reconstruction from the neighboring Guliya ice core. It is also different from many previous temperature reconstructions, most of which have summer biases and show a long‐term cooling trend over the past two millennia. In addition, our record shows that temperatures during the recent decades are almost the highest during the past 7 ka BP, highlighting the unusual warming forced by anthropogenic greenhouse gases. Key Points: A new high‐resolution ice core δ18O record dated back to 7 ka BP from the northwestern Tibetan Plateau was presentedThe record shows a long‐term warming trend between 7 and 2 ka BP and followed by a cool period until the start of the industrial‐era warmingTemperatures during the recent decades are almost the highest during the past 7 ka BP [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]
- Published
- 2020
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