Article
Meteorology & Atmospheric Sciences
Tao Wang, Hongna Xu, Dabang Jiang, Junqiang Yao
Summary: This study investigates the precipitation changes in mid-latitude arid central Asia (ACA) during the mid-Holocene and the mechanisms behind it. The findings show that in the mid-Holocene, the annual precipitation decreased in ACA compared to the preindustrial period, primarily due to deficient winter and spring precipitation. The decrease in incoming solar radiation during winter and spring caused cooling in the northern low latitudes, leading to weaker westerly winds and reduced water vapor transport. In the mid-Holocene summer, increased solar radiation resulted in stronger warming and weakened water vapor transport, leading to deficient summer precipitation in northern ACA.
JOURNAL OF GEOPHYSICAL RESEARCH-ATMOSPHERES
(2022)
Article
Geography, Physical
Yunqing Jing, Jian Liu, Lingfeng Wan
Summary: This study compared the linear trends of June to August and December to February mean surface temperature and precipitation at different latitudes using model outputs and proxy data. The results showed varying climate change trends across different regions, with some agreement between model simulations and temperature proxies. The study provides valuable insights for paleoclimatic research.
QUATERNARY INTERNATIONAL
(2022)
Article
Engineering, Civil
Junqiang Yao, Yaning Chen, Jing Chen, Yong Zhao, Dilinuer Tuoliewubieke, Jiangang Li, Lianmei Yang, Weiyi Mao
Summary: Studies on precipitation changes in Central Asia show an increasing trend in total and extreme precipitation indices, especially in the wetter sub-regions. Model simulations suggest a robust increase in total precipitation, extreme precipitation, and consecutive dry days in the region under different climate scenarios.
JOURNAL OF HYDROLOGY
(2021)
Article
Geosciences, Multidisciplinary
Xiaodan Guan, Kaiwei Zhu, Xiaoqian Huang, Xinrui Zeng, Yongli He
Summary: The semi-arid regions of East Asia are influenced by both the monsoon and westerly winds, with wet years seeing an enhancement in both systems leading to more rainfall, while dry years experience a weakening of both resulting in less precipitation. The interaction between the monsoon and westerlies is dynamic, with the monsoon shifting westward in wet years and impacting rainfall distribution.
FRONTIERS IN EARTH SCIENCE
(2021)
Article
Geography, Physical
Jiaju Zhao, Chengbang An, Yongtao Zhao, Weimiao Dong
Summary: Understanding the past climate and environmental changes in arid Central Asia is crucial for predicting the future impacts of global warming. In this study, paleovegetation records from Lake Balikun reveal two pronounced events of vegetation degradation and desertification during the Holocene, indicating dry climate conditions. The analysis of leaf wax compounds and stable carbon isotopes also provides insights into the fluctuation of C-4 plant abundance, suggesting a link to precipitation seasonality. These findings contribute to our understanding of regional moisture patterns and the interaction between westerlies and the Asian summer monsoon.
PALAEOGEOGRAPHY PALAEOCLIMATOLOGY PALAEOECOLOGY
(2022)
Article
Multidisciplinary Sciences
Lixiong Xiang, Xiaozhong Huang, Mingjie Sun, Virginia N. Panizzo, Chong Huang, Min Zheng, Xuemei Chen, Fahu Chen
Summary: This study reconstructed the climate history of the Altai Mountain region during the middle to late Holocene by analyzing sediments from Kanas Lake and neighboring Tiewaike Lake. The results showed that the warm climate during 6.5-3.6 kyr promoted human migration and cultural exchange during the Bronze Age.
NATURE COMMUNICATIONS
(2023)
Review
Geography, Physical
Lixiong Xiang, Xuemei Chen, Chong Huang, Mingjie Sun, Yulin Xiao, Yu Hu, Xiaozhong Huang
Summary: The analysis of subfossil Pediastrum records from arid central Asia and the Asian summer monsoon region reveals that lower concentrations during the early Holocene were due to dry climate or low lake levels, while increasing trends in the middle-late Holocene are linked to wetter regional climatic conditions. Variations in subfossil Pediastrum concentration in different regions reflect specific moisture/precipitation patterns influenced by monsoon or westerlies-dominated climatic regimes.
PALAEOGEOGRAPHY PALAEOCLIMATOLOGY PALAEOECOLOGY
(2021)
Article
Geosciences, Multidisciplinary
Xu Zhang, Bo Liu, Shengqian Chen, Zhenhao Fu, Tingting Xie, Fahu Chen
Summary: Based on paleoclimate modeling and proxy records from ACA, this study demonstrates that the increase in precipitation in ACA can be attributed to changes in water vapor source and transport intensity in winter and spring, particularly influenced by the Asian winter monsoon and North Atlantic Oscillation-like atmospheric circulation patterns.
SCIENCE CHINA-EARTH SCIENCES
(2022)
Article
Environmental Sciences
Yao Jun-Qiang, Chen Jing, Zhang Tong-Wen, Tuoliewubieke Dilinuer, Mao Wei-Yi
Summary: The study investigated the stationarity of precipitation variability in arid Central Asia using observational records, tree-ring reconstructions, and CMIP5 simulations. The results suggest that precipitation totals and extremes in the region may exhibit stationary behavior, with the potential for increased extreme events in the future. Although mean precipitation changes can be predicted within certain limits, the detection and prediction of precipitation changes remain challenging.
ADVANCES IN CLIMATE CHANGE RESEARCH
(2021)
Article
Geography, Physical
Shengqian Chen, Jianhui Chen, Feiya Lv, Xiaokang Liu, Wei Huang, Tao Wang, Jianbao Liu, Juzhi Hou, Fahu Chen
Summary: During the past two decades, there have been numerous studies on Holocene moisture variations in arid central Asia, but these studies have yielded contradictory results. This study compiled 36 reliable records of Holocene moisture evolution in arid central Asia, revealing an overall long-term wetting trend. It also found that the contradictory variations were mainly due to proxy ambiguity.
QUATERNARY SCIENCE REVIEWS
(2022)
Article
Meteorology & Atmospheric Sciences
Hao Lu, Qiuzhen Yin, Zhipeng Wu, Feng Shi, Qingzhen Hao, Dunsheng Xia, Zhengtang Guo
Summary: In this study, loess records and climate simulation results were used to compare the climate differences between MIS-9 and MIS-11 in China and central Asia. The results showed that MIS-9 was relatively wetter in southern central Asia due to higher insolation and that both insolation and greenhouse gases contributed to slightly higher precipitation and evaporation in northern China during MIS-9 compared to MIS-11. Additionally, the higher insolation and greenhouse gas concentration during MIS-9 generated an anomalous atmospheric circulation pattern similar to the negative phase of the North Atlantic Oscillation, favoring precipitation increase in southern central Asia.
JOURNAL OF GEOPHYSICAL RESEARCH-ATMOSPHERES
(2022)
Article
Environmental Sciences
Xiaoning Xie, Gunnar Myhre, Drew Shindell, Gregory Faluvegi, Toshihiko Takemura, Apostolos Voulgarakis, Zhengguo Shi, Xinzhou Li, Xiaoxun Xie, Heng Liu, Xiaodong Liu, Yangang Liu
Summary: The increase in precipitation in the arid Central Asia region can be attributed to anthropogenic sulfate aerosols from remote polluted regions in South and East Asia. The presence of these aerosols leads to a shift in the Asian Westerly Jet Stream, allowing moisture supply and convergence over Central Asia.
COMMUNICATIONS EARTH & ENVIRONMENT
(2022)
Article
Geography, Physical
Tao Zhang, Wenxia Han, Yongxiang Han, Shuang Lu, David Madsen, Lupeng Yu, Shengli Yang, Yixuan Wang
Summary: The study found that dust activity in interior Asia is influenced by climatic changes, particularly over the past 4 millennia. Human activities have accelerated environmental deterioration and increased dust activity in the region. These observations provide important boundary conditions for accurate prediction and numerical simulation of dust activity.
PALAEOGEOGRAPHY PALAEOCLIMATOLOGY PALAEOECOLOGY
(2021)
Article
Geography, Physical
Marcel Bliedtner, Paul Strobel, Julian Struck, Maximilian Prochnow, Enkhtuya Bazarradnaa, Roland Zech
Summary: A high-resolution paleohydrological record from Shireet Naiman Nuur in central Mongolia suggests that drier conditions prevailed from 7.4 to 3.6 cal ka BP, while wetter conditions have been observed since 3.6 cal ka BP. Changes in atmospheric circulation patterns are believed to be the driving force behind these shifts in moisture.
QUATERNARY SCIENCE REVIEWS
(2023)
Article
Geography, Physical
P. Moreno, W. Henriquez, O. H. Pesce, C. A. Henriquez, M. S. Fletcher, R. D. Garreaud, R. P. Villa-Martinez
Summary: The study reveals that a zonally symmetric Early Holocene Westerly Minimum reduced wind stress and upwelling in the Southern Ocean, resulting in a decline in atmospheric CO2 concentrations. At around 7.5 ka, there was a shift to strong influence of the Southern Westerly Winds, leading to a sustained increase in atmospheric CO2 levels.
QUATERNARY SCIENCE REVIEWS
(2021)
Article
Geography, Physical
Haitao Wei, Leibin Wang, Hassan Azarmdel, Farhad Khormali, Manfred Frechen, Guoqiang Li, Fahu Chen
Summary: This study utilized OSL technique to investigate loess deposits in the northern Iranian Plateau, revealing a potentially valuable paleoclimatic record that contributes to understanding climate change in the Caspian region and the vast transitional region between Asia and Europe.
QUATERNARY INTERNATIONAL
(2021)
Article
Geography, Physical
Xiaojian Zhang
Summary: This study showed that during the Holocene, the East Asian summer monsoon was able to transport water vapor to arid central Asia, playing a significant role in influencing precipitation and its delta O-18 in the region.
QUATERNARY SCIENCE REVIEWS
(2021)
Article
Geography, Physical
Chunzhu Chen, Wenwei Zhao, Xiaojian Zhang
Summary: This study investigates millennial-scale PDO-like variability during the Holocene using model-data comparisons and reconstructions based on proxy records, revealing coherent changes in the PDO-like pattern during the Holocene. The study suggests that the millennial-scale PDO-like variability is primarily controlled by orbital forcing during the Holocene, with internal climate system feedback possibly causing deviations from simulated results.
GLOBAL AND PLANETARY CHANGE
(2021)
Article
Geography, Physical
Huayu Lu, Xiaoyong Wang, Yao Wang, Xiaojian Zhang, Shuangwen Yi, Xianyan Wang, Thomas Stevens, Redzhep Kurbanov, Slobodan B. Markovic
Summary: The paper highlights the recent progress in understanding the variability and dynamics of the Asian monsoon through Chinese loess records. It discusses the reliability of the timescale and proxy indicators for the loess-paleosol sequences, as well as the driving mechanisms behind Asian monsoon variations. The study concludes that both orbital and millennial-scale factors play a role in influencing the Asian monsoon variability.
QUATERNARY INTERNATIONAL
(2022)
Article
Geography, Physical
Zeyu Zheng, Liya Jin, Jinjian Li, Jie Chen, Xiaojian Zhang, Zhenqian Wang
Summary: The study reconstructed the moisture variations in east-central China over the past 225 years based on tree-ring width, revealing five dry and five wet epochs. The reconstruction was validated by historical documents. The study also identified the primary reason for the coherent moisture change in the region and suggested that El Niño-Southern Oscillations may be the forcing mechanism for regional moisture variability.
QUATERNARY INTERNATIONAL
(2022)
Article
Engineering, Civil
Xiaoyan Guo, Qi Feng, Jianhua Si, Xiaojian Zhang
Summary: The study reveals significant seasonal variations in precipitation isotopes on the northeastern Tibetan Plateau, influenced by local climate conditions and transitions of moisture sources. Factors such as sub-cloud evaporation and monsoonal activities play a significant role in local precipitation, with different controlling factors and moisture sources found between representative sites. Additionally, findings demonstrate the impact of westerlies, recycled moisture, and summer monsoon circulation on isotopic composition of precipitation, with East Asian and Indian Summer Monsoons contributing considerably to local precipitation.
JOURNAL OF HYDROLOGY
(2022)
Article
Geosciences, Multidisciplinary
Can Zhang, Cheng Zhao, Shi-Yong Yu, Xiangdong Yang, Jun Cheng, Xiaojian Zhang, Bin Xue, Ji Shen, Fahu Chen
Summary: The Tibetan Plateau is one of the most sensitive areas to global climate changes. Research shows that the warming during the Last Deglaciation was primarily driven by rising atmospheric greenhouse gases, while Holocene temperature changes were mainly controlled by local seasonal insolation and additional radiative forcing of greenhouse gases.
EARTH-SCIENCE REVIEWS
(2022)
Article
Geography, Physical
Chenghong Liang, Huayu Lu, Yao Gu, Cheng Zhao, Weiguo Liu, Xiaojian Zhang, Hongyan Zhang
Summary: In this study, multiproxy records from a loess-palaeosol sequence in Yulin, northern China, reveal a weakening trend in monsoon strength and reduced woody vegetation since approximately 6,000 years ago. However, other soil formation-related proxies show a decreasing trend since 4,000-3,000 years ago. The findings suggest that monsoon and vegetation are influenced by changes in insolation, while soil formation is more influenced by temperature and humidity changes.
JOURNAL OF QUATERNARY SCIENCE
(2022)
Article
Geography, Physical
Ziwei Wang, Sijie Yan, Long Wu, Xiaojian Zhang, BinJiang Chen
Summary: This article introduces a method for addressing the registration problem of noisy and featureless 3D point clouds. The method escapes from local minima and restrains sliding by introducing point-to-point l(p) distance constraints and a weighted enhanced l(p) distance error metric. Experimental results show that the method effectively handles outliers and noisy point clouds.
ISPRS JOURNAL OF PHOTOGRAMMETRY AND REMOTE SENSING
(2022)
Article
Geography, Physical
Chunzhu Chen, Wenwei Zhao, Yuxin Xia, Qinrang Gu, Wenwen Yi, Yiheng Zhang, Duo Wu, Jianbao Liu, Xiaojian Zhang
Summary: This study examines human activities in the mountainous region of Southeast Hills, China, over the past 2900 years using a high-resolution vegetation record. The results indicate that the area was initially covered by dense broadleaved forests until 850 CE, which limited colonization due to rugged relief and closed forests. From 850 CE to 1180 CE, small-scale agricultural practices emerged, accompanied by changes in vegetation and increased fire events. From 1180 CE, deforestation and intensive agricultural activities occurred, leading to the spread of pioneer secondary plants. These findings provide valuable information for landscape management and biodiversity conservation in the region.
PALAEOGEOGRAPHY PALAEOCLIMATOLOGY PALAEOECOLOGY
(2022)
Article
Multidisciplinary Sciences
Junsheng Nie, Weihang Wang, Richard Heermance, Peng Gao, Li Xing, Xiaojian Zhang, Ran Zhang, Carmala Garzione, Wenjiao Xiao
Summary: Periodic wetting is a common phenomenon in monsoon marginal region deserts, and previous studies have shown a correlation between desert wetting and high orbital eccentricity and strong summer monsoon. However, this study presents the first evidence of desert wetting during low orbital eccentricity, which is considered to be beyond the range of Asian monsoon precipitation. The weakening of the East Asian summer monsoon is proposed as the mechanism for this opposite desert wetting pattern.
NATURE COMMUNICATIONS
(2022)
Article
Geosciences, Multidisciplinary
Guoqiang Li, Xiaoyan Wang, Xiaojian Zhang, Zhongfeng Yan, Yuanlu Liu, He Yang, Yixuan Wang, Tara N. Jonell, Jikun Qian, Siyi Gou, Lupeng Yu, Zhong Wang, Jianhui Chen
Summary: The interaction between the East Asian summer monsoon and the mid-latitude Westerlies in the transition zone of the northern Tibetan Plateau has a significant impact on the moisture evolution in mid-latitude Asia. This study reveals that the precipitation variability of the Westerlies dominates the lake level changes in Toson Lake, in contrast to the records from the northeastern Tibetan Plateau and northern China. The results also indicate that the moisture transport to Central Asia is modulated by the see-saw of the North Atlantic Oscillation and the anticyclonic circulation over Mongolia, rather than directly influenced by the East Asian summer monsoon.
Article
Meteorology & Atmospheric Sciences
Chunzhu Chen, Wenwei Zhao, Xiaojian Zhang
Summary: This study investigates the impacts of two cold events on the millennial-scale variability of the East Asian summer monsoon (EASM) and finds significant differences in EASM variability between these events, indicating the important influence of orbital parameters on the EASM response. The meridional position and intensity of the East Asian subtropical westerly jet play a key role in this orbital effect.
JOURNAL OF GEOPHYSICAL RESEARCH-ATMOSPHERES
(2023)
Article
Geosciences, Multidisciplinary
Xiangjun Liu, Xiaodong Miao, Junsheng Nie, Xiaojian Zhang, Yixuan Wang, Xiangzhong Li, Xianjiao Ou, Zhongping Lai
Summary: This study reveals the variation in aeolian loess thickness and basal ages on the Tibetan Plateau, dividing it into three zones: source and sink areas for dust, and a transitional zone. Glacial-interglacial precipitation and vegetation cover changes play a role in controlling the switch between these zones. The study provides insights into Tibetan loess accumulation patterns and enables predictions for future ecological disasters.
Editorial Material
Multidisciplinary Sciences
Liya Jin, Andrey Ganopolski, Matteo Willeit, Huayu Lu, Fahu Chen, Xiaojian Zhang
