In:
Communications Earth & Environment, Springer Science and Business Media LLC, Vol. 4, No. 1 ( 2023-06-13)
Abstract:
Speleothem δ 18 O is widely used as a proxy for rainfall amount in the tropics on glacial-interglacial to interannual scales. However, uncertainties in the interpretation of this renowned proxy pose a vexing problem in tropical paleoclimatology. Here, we present paired multi-proxy geochemical measurements for stalagmites from southwest Sulawesi, Indonesia, and confirm changes in rainfall amount across ice age terminations. Collectively, the stalagmites span two glacial-interglacial transitions from ~380,000 to 330,000 and 230,000 to 170,000 years ago. Mg/Ca in the slow-growing stalagmites is affected by water moving through the karst and prior calcite precipitation, making it a good proxy for changes in local rainfall. When paired, Mg/Ca and δ 18 O corroborate prominent shifts from drier glacials to wetter interglacials in the core of the Australasian monsoon domain. These shifts in rainfall occur 4,000-7,000 years later than glacial-interglacial increases in global temperature and the associated response of Sulawesi vegetation, determined by speleothem δ 13 C.
Type of Medium:
Online Resource
ISSN:
2662-4435
DOI:
10.1038/s43247-023-00873-8
Language:
English
Publisher:
Springer Science and Business Media LLC
Publication Date:
2023
detail.hit.zdb_id:
3037243-4
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