Evidence of wet-dry cycles and mega-droughts in the Eemian climate of southeast Australia
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Date
2020-10-22
Journal Title
Journal ISSN
Volume Title
Publisher
Springer Nature
Abstract
Understanding past climate variability is critical to informing debate of likely impacts of global warming on weather and climate, and water resources. Here we present a near annual resolution reconstruction of climate developed from a speleothem that spans the Eemian [Marine Isotope Stage 5e (MIS 5e)] from 117,500 to 123,500 years BP—the most recent period in the Earth’s history when temperatures were similar to those of today. Using 25 Mg, 88Sr, and 137Ba as proxies, we show the first indication of solar and teleconnection cyclic forcing of Eemian climate in southeast Australia, a region at present often affected by severe drought and bushfires. We find evidence for multi-centennial dry periods interpreted as mega-droughts, and highlight the importance of understanding the causes of these in the context of a rapidly warming world, where temperatures are now, or projected to exceed those of the Eemian. © The Author(s) 2020
Description
Open Access. This article is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.
Keywords
Climates, Climatic change, Paleoclimatology, Droughts, Atmospheric precipitations, Greenhouse gases, Australia
Citation
McGowan, H., Campbell, M., Callow, J. N., Lowry, A., & Wong, H. (2020). Evidence of wet-dry cycles and mega-droughts in the Eemian climate of southeast Australia. Scientific reports, 10(1), 1-10, 18000. doi:10.1038/s41598-020-75071-z