UC Santa Barbara

Documentation of mid-latitude hydroclimate responses to late Pleistocene North Atlanticclimate change is sparse and fragmented due to a lack of continuous and well dated reconstructions. Here we analyze the remote effects of Heinrich events to understand the relationship between periods of North Atlantic climate changes and Central Asia’s precipitation variability. We analyzed trace element, δ18O and δ13C data as proxies for precipitation variability. Comparison of these proxies with climate records of northern hemisphere high and low latitude climate changes reveals several episodes of increased precipitation over Central Asia that coincide with cooling of the northern high latitude and weakening of northern hemisphere monsoon. We propose two atmospheric links between the North Atlantic and Central Asia which likely brought increased moisture to the region during Heinrich events 4 and 5: the Westerly Jet and Siberian High.