A high-resolution stalagmite record of the Holocene East Asian monsoon from Mt Shennongjia, central China

A high-resolution stalagmite record from Sanbao Cave, Hubei Shennongjia, reveals four distinct stages in the evolution of the East Asian Summer Monsoon (EASM) over the Holocene, providing a continuous history spanning 13—0.2 thousand years before present. The study identifies an abrupt transition into the Holocene (~11.5 ky BP), followed by a gradual increase in monsoon intensity (11.5—9.5 ky BP), a maximum humid period (9.5—6.5 ky BP), and a subsequent decline (6.5—0.2 ky BP). Comparison with regional records suggests that shifts in the Inter-Tropical Convergence Zone (ITCZ) may control monsoon intensity across southern Asia on orbital timescales, while millennial to centennial-scale variability aligns with Greenland ice core δ 18 O records. The research uses 1413 oxygen isotope data and 65 230 Th ages from six stalagmites to reconstruct EASM dynamics.

Jinguo Dong, Yongjin Wang, Hai Cheng, Hardt, B., Edwards, R. L., Xinggong Kong, Jiangying Wu, Shitao Chen, Dianbing Liu, Xiuyang Jiang, & Kan Zhao. (2010). A high-resolution stalagmite record of the Holocene East Asian monsoon from Mt Shennongjia, central China. The Holocene, 20(2), 257–264. https://doi.org/10.1177/0959683609350393