Three-phased Heinrich Stadial 4 recorded in NE Brazil stalagmites

The growth intervals of stalagmites from Northeast (NE) Brazil provide precise information on the timing of pluvial periods associated with the southward shift of the Intertropical Convergence Zone (ITCZ) during Heinrich Stadials (HS). Using 230 Th dating and annual band counting, we constrained the...

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Main Authors: Wendt, Kathleen A., Häuselmann, Anamaria D., Fleitmann, Dominik, Berry, Akemi E., Wang, Xianfeng, Auler, Augusto S., Cheng, Hai, Edwards, R. Lawrence
Other Authors: Earth Observatory of Singapore
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Language:English
Published: 2020
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Online Access:https://hdl.handle.net/10356/143332
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spelling sg-ntu-dr.10356-1433322021-01-28T07:27:27Z Three-phased Heinrich Stadial 4 recorded in NE Brazil stalagmites Wendt, Kathleen A. Häuselmann, Anamaria D. Fleitmann, Dominik Berry, Akemi E. Wang, Xianfeng Auler, Augusto S. Cheng, Hai Edwards, R. Lawrence Earth Observatory of Singapore Engineering::Environmental engineering Heinrich Stadial ITCZ The growth intervals of stalagmites from Northeast (NE) Brazil provide precise information on the timing of pluvial periods associated with the southward shift of the Intertropical Convergence Zone (ITCZ) during Heinrich Stadials (HS). Using 230 Th dating and annual band counting, we constrained the timing of the pluvial period associated with HS4 to occur between 40.06 ± 0.11 and 38.38 ± 0.10 thousand years before present (kyr B.P.), coinciding with the interval between the end of Greenland Interstadial (GIS)/Chinese Interstadial (CIS) 9 and GIS/CIS 8. Oxygen isotope analysis shows a close anti-correlation between NE Brazil wet periods and East Asian monsoon intensity recorded in Hulu Cave, supporting the hypothesis of a southerly migration of the global ITCZ during HS4. The pluvial anomaly can be divided into three phases, starting with a precursor, less intense pluvial interval (phase 1) between 40.06 ± 0.11 and 39.59±0.10 kyr B.P., likely correlative to the cool phase of the North Atlantic immediately before the partial collapse of the Laurentide Ice Sheet (LIS). This phase ends abruptly (<30 yr) and is followed by an intense pluvial phase (phase 2) that spans approximately 5 centuries. Luminescent couplets are identified in all samples between 39.50 ± 0.10 and 39.41 ± 0.10 kyr B.P., and are interpreted as a period of two rainy seasons per year during which the southernmost extent of the inland West Atlantic ITCZ reached south of our study site (10°S). Following the end of phase 2 at 39.07 ± 0.32 kyr B.P., intermittent speleothem growth suggests intermittent rainfall over NE Brazil (phase 3) until the abrupt onset of GIS/CIS 8 at 38.38 ± 0.10 kyr B.P. The phases identified in NE Brazilian stalagmites agree with the three-phased variation in low-latitude proxies registered in Northern Greenland, and are consistent with changes in methane concentrations recorded in the West Antarctic Ice Sheet (WAIS) Divide. The synchronicity of these distant records suggests a multi-phased response of tropical atmospheric circulation during HS4. The timescales surrounding the LIS collapse, as inferred from our precisely dated stalagmites, are on the same order as recent predictions for the impending collapse of the WAIS and may therefore serve as a past analogue. National Research Foundation (NRF) Accepted version We thank the members of Grupo Bambui de Pesquisas Espeleologicas for their assistance in cave sampling under the permission of IBAMA/CECAV. We thank the UMN Characterization Facility and University Imaging Center for their support in data collection. We thank D. McGee and one anonymous reviewer for constructive comments that greatly improved this manuscript. This research was supported by the National Science Foundation (NSF1337693,1702816,and1103403). H.C. acknowledges the support by National Natural Science Foundation of China (NSFC41731174). X.W. acknowledges the support by a Singapore National Research Foundation Fellowship (NRFF2011-08). Oxygen isotope data and CFLM images are available for download at the NOAA paleoclimate database. 2020-08-24T08:10:59Z 2020-08-24T08:10:59Z 2019 Journal Article Wendt, K. A., Häuselmann, A. D., Fleitmann, D., Berry, A. E., Wang, X., Auler, A. S., ... Edwards, R. L. (2019). Three-phased Heinrich Stadial 4 recorded in NE Brazil stalagmites. Earth and Planetary Science Letters, 510, 94-102. doi:10.1016/j.epsl.2018.12.025 0012-821X https://hdl.handle.net/10356/143332 10.1016/j.epsl.2018.12.025 2-s2.0-85060207589 510 94 102 en Earth and Planetary Science Letters © 2018 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved. This paper was published in Earth and Planetary Science Letters and is made available with permission of Elsevier B.V. application/pdf
institution Nanyang Technological University
building NTU Library
continent Asia
country Singapore
Singapore
content_provider NTU Library
collection DR-NTU
language English
topic Engineering::Environmental engineering
Heinrich Stadial
ITCZ
spellingShingle Engineering::Environmental engineering
Heinrich Stadial
ITCZ
Wendt, Kathleen A.
Häuselmann, Anamaria D.
Fleitmann, Dominik
Berry, Akemi E.
Wang, Xianfeng
Auler, Augusto S.
Cheng, Hai
Edwards, R. Lawrence
Three-phased Heinrich Stadial 4 recorded in NE Brazil stalagmites
description The growth intervals of stalagmites from Northeast (NE) Brazil provide precise information on the timing of pluvial periods associated with the southward shift of the Intertropical Convergence Zone (ITCZ) during Heinrich Stadials (HS). Using 230 Th dating and annual band counting, we constrained the timing of the pluvial period associated with HS4 to occur between 40.06 ± 0.11 and 38.38 ± 0.10 thousand years before present (kyr B.P.), coinciding with the interval between the end of Greenland Interstadial (GIS)/Chinese Interstadial (CIS) 9 and GIS/CIS 8. Oxygen isotope analysis shows a close anti-correlation between NE Brazil wet periods and East Asian monsoon intensity recorded in Hulu Cave, supporting the hypothesis of a southerly migration of the global ITCZ during HS4. The pluvial anomaly can be divided into three phases, starting with a precursor, less intense pluvial interval (phase 1) between 40.06 ± 0.11 and 39.59±0.10 kyr B.P., likely correlative to the cool phase of the North Atlantic immediately before the partial collapse of the Laurentide Ice Sheet (LIS). This phase ends abruptly (<30 yr) and is followed by an intense pluvial phase (phase 2) that spans approximately 5 centuries. Luminescent couplets are identified in all samples between 39.50 ± 0.10 and 39.41 ± 0.10 kyr B.P., and are interpreted as a period of two rainy seasons per year during which the southernmost extent of the inland West Atlantic ITCZ reached south of our study site (10°S). Following the end of phase 2 at 39.07 ± 0.32 kyr B.P., intermittent speleothem growth suggests intermittent rainfall over NE Brazil (phase 3) until the abrupt onset of GIS/CIS 8 at 38.38 ± 0.10 kyr B.P. The phases identified in NE Brazilian stalagmites agree with the three-phased variation in low-latitude proxies registered in Northern Greenland, and are consistent with changes in methane concentrations recorded in the West Antarctic Ice Sheet (WAIS) Divide. The synchronicity of these distant records suggests a multi-phased response of tropical atmospheric circulation during HS4. The timescales surrounding the LIS collapse, as inferred from our precisely dated stalagmites, are on the same order as recent predictions for the impending collapse of the WAIS and may therefore serve as a past analogue.
author2 Earth Observatory of Singapore
author_facet Earth Observatory of Singapore
Wendt, Kathleen A.
Häuselmann, Anamaria D.
Fleitmann, Dominik
Berry, Akemi E.
Wang, Xianfeng
Auler, Augusto S.
Cheng, Hai
Edwards, R. Lawrence
format Article
author Wendt, Kathleen A.
Häuselmann, Anamaria D.
Fleitmann, Dominik
Berry, Akemi E.
Wang, Xianfeng
Auler, Augusto S.
Cheng, Hai
Edwards, R. Lawrence
author_sort Wendt, Kathleen A.
title Three-phased Heinrich Stadial 4 recorded in NE Brazil stalagmites
title_short Three-phased Heinrich Stadial 4 recorded in NE Brazil stalagmites
title_full Three-phased Heinrich Stadial 4 recorded in NE Brazil stalagmites
title_fullStr Three-phased Heinrich Stadial 4 recorded in NE Brazil stalagmites
title_full_unstemmed Three-phased Heinrich Stadial 4 recorded in NE Brazil stalagmites
title_sort three-phased heinrich stadial 4 recorded in ne brazil stalagmites
publishDate 2020
url https://hdl.handle.net/10356/143332
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