Work

High‐Resolution Temperature and Precipitation Variability in Northeast Asia Since the Last Glacial Maximum Recorded in an Annually Laminated Maar Lake

Year: 2026

Type: article

Abstract: Temperature and precipitation variability in monsoonal Asia is central to understanding regional climate dynamics and global teleconnections. How post‐LGM warming and hydroclimate change unfolded in Northeast Asia, and how they were linked to external forcing, remain poorly constrained. Here we present high‐resolution pollen‐derived reconstructions of mean annual temperature (MAT) and precipitation (MAP) from Xiaolongwan Maar Lake, spanning the Last Glacial Maximum (LGM) to the present. From the LGM to the mid‐Holocene, MAT increased by ∼9.0 ± 2.2°C and MAP by ∼470 ± 121 mm. During ∼19.0–17.0 kyr b2k, MAT declined markedly, whereas MAP changed only slightly and remained largely within reconstruction uncertainties, indicating clear MAT‐MAP divergence. In contrast, across the BA onset, Younger Dryas, and early Holocene, MAT and MAP shifted rapidly and broadly contemporaneously, with changes of −6.5 to 6.2°C and −300 to 350 mm at rates of −2.5 to 2.7°C kyr‐1 and ‐120 to 130 mm kyr‐1, respectively. Comparisons with proxy records and transient climate simulations indicate that the ∼19.0–17.0 kyr b2k divergence reflects different sensitivities to climate forcing: MAT was more closely linked to high‐latitude forcing through winter temperature, whereas MAP was more strongly associated with East Asian summer monsoon (EASM) dynamics and Western Pacific sea surface temperature. This divergence suggests that high‐latitude and monsoon forcing can act on different timescales in Northeast Asia, with implications for hydroclimate proxies that assume temperature and precipitation track one another.

Source: Journal of Geophysical Research Atmospheres

DOI: 10.1029/2026jd047113