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Palaeoclimatic interpretation of high-resolution oxygen isotope profiles derived from annually laminated speleothems from Southern Oman

Authors :
Fleitmann, Dominik
Burns, Stephen J.
Neff, Ulrich
Mudelsee, Manfred
Mangini, Augusto
Matter, Albert
Source :
Quaternary Science Reviews. Apr2004, Vol. 23 Issue 7/8, p935. 11p.
Publication Year :
2004

Abstract

High-resolution stable isotope profiles of three contemporaneously deposited stalagmites from a shallow cave in Southern Oman provide an annually resolved record of Indian Ocean monsoon rainfall variability for the past 780 years. Uranium-series age dating and counts of annual growth bands enable an excellent age calibration. Although modern speleothems do not grow in perfect isotopic equilibrium, oxygen isotope ratios (δ18O) are a proxy for the amount of monsoon rainfall. This is supported by the statistically significant correlation between δ18O and the thickness of annual bands, whereas δ18O is inversely correlated with annual band thickness. Additionally, overlapping δ18O profiles are very similar in pattern and range, indicating that sample specific noise did not blur the climatic signal. The longest oxygen isotope profile, derived from stalagmite S3, clearly shows the transition at ∼1320 AD from a generally wetter Medieval Warm Period to a drier Little Ice Age that lasted from approximately AD 1320–1660 in Southern Oman. The decrease in monsoon rainfall since the 1960s is also obvious in meteorological records from Northern Africa and India, indicating that our speleothem-based rainfall records do not only reflect local monsoon rainfall variability. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Details

Language :
English
ISSN :
02773791
Volume :
23
Issue :
7/8
Database :
Academic Search Index
Journal :
Quaternary Science Reviews
Publication Type :
Academic Journal
Accession number :
12500860
Full Text :
https://doi.org/10.1016/j.quascirev.2003.06.019