Triple oxygen isotope reveals insolation-forced tropical moisture cycles

Summary, in English

Tropical oceans are the main global water vapor and latent heat sources, but their responses to radiative forcing remain unclear. Here, we investigate oceanic moisture dynamics of the western tropical Pacific (WTP) over the past 210,000 years through an approach of planktonic foraminiferal triple oxygen isotope (Δ′¹⁷O). The Δ′¹⁷O record is dominated by the precession cycles (~23,000 years), with lower values reflecting higher humidity in concert with higher Northern Hemisphere summer insolation. Our empirical and modeling results, combined with other geological archives, suggest that the enhanced moisture convergence over the WTP largely intensifies changes in the meridional and zonal hydrological cycles, affecting rainfall patterns in East Asia and northern South America. We propose that the insolation-driven WTP moisture dynamics play a pivotal role in regulating tropical hydroclimate.

• Author: Lijuan Sha; Haowen Dang; Yue Wang; Jasper A. Wassenburg; Jonathan L. Baker; Hanying Li; Ashish Sinha; Yassine Ait Brahim; Nanping Wu; Zhengyao Lu; Ce Yang; Xiyu Dong; Jiayu Lu; Haiwei Zhang; Sasadhar Mahata; Yanjun Cai; Zhimin Jian; Hai Cheng
• Department/s: Dept of Physical Geography and Ecosystem Science; MERGE: ModElling the Regional and Global Earth system
• Publishing year: 2024-09
• Language: English
• Publication/Series: Science Advances
• Volume: 10
• Issue: 37
• Links: http://dx.doi.org/10.1126/sciadv.adp7855
• Document type: Journal article
• Publisher: American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS)
• Topic: Earth and Related Environmental Sciences
• Status: Published
• ISBN/ISSN/Other: ISSN: 2375-2548