Discovery of Holocene millennial climate cycles in the Asian continental interior: Has the sun been governing the continental climate?

• Published in: Global and planetary change Vol. 110; pp. 386 - 396
• Main Authors: Kravchinsky, Vadim A., Langereis, Cor G., Walker, Shawn D., Dlusskiy, Konstantin G., White, Dustin
• Format: Journal Article Conference Proceeding
• Language: English
• Published: Amsterdam Elsevier B.V 01-11-2013; Elsevier
• Subjects: bond cycles; buried soils; Climate; cold; Earth sciences; Earth, ocean, space; environmental changes; Exact sciences and technology; Formations; Geophysics: general, magnetic, electric and thermic methods and properties; Holocene; Internal geophysics; Intervals; loess; magnetic susceptibility; Marine; Marine and continental quaternary; marine environment; petromagnetism; radiocarbon dating; sediments; Siberia; soil; soil formation; soil horizons; Soils; solar insolation; solar radiation; spectral analysis; Spots; Strength; Sun; Surficial geology; wind; Siberia; Russian Federation; Eurasia; Asia; AN, North Atlantic; INW, Russia, Siberia; solar insolation; environmental changes; loess; petromagnetism; Siberia; bond cycles; soil; climate; magnetic susceptibility; Holocene; strength; spectral analysis; upper Quaternary; paleoclimate; insolation; winds; dating; Cenozoic; soils; high resolution; models; climate variations; Quaternary; solar radiation; Sun; C-14; grain size; marine environment; pedogenesis; Phanerozoic; methodology
• ISSN: 0921-8181; 1872-6364
• DOI: 10.1016/j.gloplacha.2013.02.011

We conducted a high-resolution study of a unique Holocene sequence of wind-blown sediments and buried soils in Southern Siberia, far from marine environment influences. This was accomplished in order to assess the difference between North Atlantic marine and in-land climate variations. Relative wind strength was determined by grain size analyses of different stratigraphic units. Petromagnetic measurements were performed to provide a proxy for the relative extent of pedogenesis. An age model for the sections was built using the radiocarbon dating method. The windy periods are associated with the absence of soil formation and relatively low values of frequency dependence of magnetic susceptibility (FD), which appeared to be a valuable quantitative marker of pedogenic activity. These events correspond to colder intervals which registered reduced solar modulation and sun spot number. Events, where wind strength was lower, are characterized by soil formation with high FD values. Spectral analysis of our results demonstrates periodic changes of 1500, 1000 and 500years of relatively warm and cold intervals during the Holocene of Siberia. We presume that the 1000 and 500year climatic cycles are driven by increased solar insolation reaching the Earth surface and amplified by other still controversial mechanisms. The 1500year cycle associated with the North Atlantic circulation appears only in the Late Holocene. Three time periods — 8400–9300years BP, 3600–5100years BP, and the last ~250years BP — correspond to both the highest sun spot number and the most developed soil horizons in the studied sections.
•A complete Holocene sequence of loess and buried soils has been studied in Siberia.•Climatic cycles of 1000 and 500years are revealed using petromagnetic parameters.•Such periods correspond to variations in solar insolation and sun spot activity.•Climatic cyclicity in the continental interior contains also oceanic cycle of 1500years.