1. |
- Chen, Jie, et al.
(author)
-
Northwestward shift of the northern boundary of the East Asian summer monsoon during the mid-Holocene caused by orbital forcing and vegetation feedbacks
- 2021
-
In: Quaternary Science Reviews. - : Elsevier BV. - 0277-3791 .- 1873-457X. ; 268
-
Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- The East Asian summer monsoon (EASM) northern boundary is a critical indicator of EASM variations. Movement of the boundary is modulated by both the EASM and the mid-latitude westerlies. Here, we use the Earth system model EC-Earth to quantify the contribution of orbital forcing and vegetation feedbacks in modulating the movement of EASM northern boundary. The results show that the simulated EASM northern boundary during the mid-Holocene shifts by a maximum of ∼213 km northwestward due to orbital forcing. When the model was coupled with a dynamic vegetation module LPJ-GUESS, the northern boundary shifts further northwestward by a maximum of ∼90 km, indicating the importance of vegetation feedbacks. During the mid-Holocene, temperature increased in the mid-latitude during the boreal summer due to insolation, leading to increased meridional air temperature differences (MTDs) over the region north of 45°N and to decreased MTDs to the south. The changes in the temperature gradient weakened the East Asian Westly Jet (EAWJ) and displaced it northward, resulting in an earlier transition of the Meiyu stage and a more prolonged Midsummer stage. The northward movement of EAWJ, combined with the enhanced southerly moisture flow from South China, caused more precipitation in North China and eventually to a northwestward shift of the northern boundary of the EASM. The coupled dynamic vegetation module LPJ-GUESS simulated more grassland and less forest over Northeast Asia during the mid-Holocene. The increased surface albedo tended to lower the temperature in the region, and further enhanced the MTDs in mid-latitude East Asia, leading to the further northward movement of the EAWJ and a northwestward shift of the EASM northern boundary. Although the simulated vegetation distribution in several regions may be not accurate, it reflects the substantial contribution of climate-vegetation interaction on modulating the EASM.
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2. |
- Chen, Jie, et al.
(author)
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Reconciling East Asia's mid-Holocene temperature discrepancy through vegetation-climate feedback
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In: Science Bulletin. - 2095-9273.
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- The term “Holocene temperature conundrum” refers to the inconsistencies between proxy-based reconstructions and transient model simulations, and it challenges our understanding of global temperature evolution during the Holocene. Climate reconstructions indicate a cooling trend following the Holocene Thermal Maximum, while model simulations indicate a consistent warming trend due to ice-sheet retreat and rising greenhouse gas concentrations. Various factors, such as seasonal biases and overlooked feedback processes, have been proposed as potential causes for this discrepancy. In this study, we examined the impact of vegetation-climate feedback on the temperature anomaly patterns in East Asia during the mid-Holocene (∼6 ka). By utilizing the fully coupled Earth system model EC-Earth and performing simulations with and without coupled dynamic vegetation, our objective was to isolate the influence of vegetation changes on regional temperature patterns. Our findings reveal that vegetation-climate feedback contributed to warming across most of East Asia, resulting in spatially diverse temperature changes during the mid-Holocene and significantly improved model-data agreement. These results highlight the crucial role of vegetation-climate feedback in addressing the Holocene temperature conundrum and emphasize its importance for simulating accurate climate scenarios.
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3. |
- Chen, Jie, et al.
(author)
-
The Contribution of Vegetation-Climate Feedback and Resultant Sea Ice Loss to Amplified Arctic Warming During the Mid-Holocene
- 2022
-
In: Geophysical Research Letters. - 0094-8276 .- 1944-8007. ; 49:18
-
Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- Understanding influence of vegetation on past temperature changes in the Arctic region would help isolate uncertainty and build understanding of its broader climate system, with implications for paleoclimate reconstructions and future climate change. Using an Earth system model EC-Earth, we conduct a series of simulations to investigate the impact of vegetation-climate feedback on the Arctic climate during the mid-Holocene. Results show Arctic greening induced by the warming resulting from stronger orbital forcing, further amplifies the Arctic warming. The increased vegetation contributes 0.33 degrees C of Arctic warming and 0.35 x 106 km2 of Arctic sea ice loss. Increased Arctic vegetation leads to reduced land surface albedo and increased evapotranspiration, both of which cause local warming in spring and summer. The resultant sea ice loss causes warming in the following seasons, with atmospheric circulation anomalies further amplifying the warming. Our results highlight the significant contribution of vegetation-climate feedback to Arctic climate under natural conditions.
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4. |
- Cheng, Hai, et al.
(author)
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Milankovitch theory and monsoon
- 2022
-
In: The Innovation. - : Elsevier BV. - 2666-6758. ; 3:6
-
Research review (peer-reviewed)abstract
- The widely accepted “Milankovitch theory” explains insolation-induced waxing and waning of the ice sheets and their effect on the global climate on orbital timescales. In the past half century, however, the theory has often come under scrutiny, especially regarding its “100-ka problem.” Another drawback, but the one that has received less attention, is the “monsoon problem,” which pertains to the exclusion of monsoon dynamics in classic Milankovitch theory even though the monsoon prevails over the vast low-latitude (∼30° N to ∼30° S) region that covers half of the Earth's surface and receives the bulk of solar radiation. In this review, we discuss the major issues with the current form of Milankovitch theory and the progress made at the research forefront. We suggest shifting the emphasis from the ultimate outcomes of the ice volume to the causal relationship between changes in northern high-latitude insolation and ice age termination events (or ice sheet melting rate) to help reconcile the classic “100-ka problem.” We discuss the discrepancies associated with the characterization of monsoon dynamics, particularly the so-called “sea-land precession-phase paradox” and the “Chinese 100-ka problem.” We suggest that many of these discrepancies are superficial and can be resolved by applying a holistic “monsoon system science” approach. Finally, we propose blending the conventional Kutzbach orbital monsoon hypothesis, which calls for summer insolation forcing of monsoons, with Milankovitch theory to formulate a combined “Milankovitch-Kutzbach hypothesis” that can potentially explain the dual nature of orbital hydrodynamics of the ice sheet and monsoon systems, as well as their interplays and respective relationships with the northern high-latitude insolation and inter-tropical insolation differential.
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5. |
- Dong, Jiang, et al.
(author)
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Arctic sea ice loss warmed the temperate East Asian winter in the mid-Holocene
- 2024
-
In: Communications Earth and Environment. - 2662-4435. ; 5:1
-
Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- The recent colder winters in midlatitude Eurasia have been proposed to result from Arctic sea-ice decline. However, large uncertainties remain regarding this link in the present variable climate. Here, we present ice-rafted debris records from the eastern Arctic and geochemical data from the temperate East China Sea to reconstruct Holocene changes in sea ice and the East Asian winter monsoon. Our reconstructions and climate numerical simulations revealed enhanced Arctic sea-ice decline but warmer winters in East Asia in the mid-Holocene than in the late Holocene. In the warmer mid-Holocene, enhanced Arctic sea-ice loss transferred more heat from intensive summer solar insolation to the winter atmosphere, suppressing meridional heat transport; thus, less high-latitude cold air moved to lower latitudes in Asia due to the weakened winter monsoon. Our findings imply that the colder winters in East Asia may not change the long-term trend toward winter warming in the context of Arctic sea-ice decline.
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6. |
- Dong, Jiang, et al.
(author)
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Millennial-scale interaction between the East Asian winter monsoon and El Niño-related tropical Pacific precipitation in the Holocene
- 2021
-
In: Palaeogeography, Palaeoclimatology, Palaeoecology. - : Elsevier BV. - 0031-0182. ; 573
-
Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- Both the East Asian winter monsoon (EAWM) and El Niño (EN) activities are vital climate modes that regulate the Pacific hydrologic cycle. However, the Holocene interactions among the EAWM, EN activities, and tropical Pacific precipitation remain unclear due to the lack of appropriate EAWM proxies. Here, we present high-resolution grain size records from the East China Sea shelf along with a transient climate model simulation to study the Holocene EAWM evolution and compare the findings with paleo-EN precipitation-related proxies records. The millennial-scale oscillations of grain size records, which are indicative of the intensity of the EAWM-driven coastal current, reveal an anti-phase coupling between the EAWM and EN-related tropical Pacific precipitation on a millennial timescale since 5.8 ka. These results, which are consistent with simulation results, indicate that the intensified EAWM could not only reduce equatorial western Pacific precipitation by reducing the sea surface temperature but also likely change boundary conditions in the tropical Pacific (i.e., the east-west Pacific temperature gradient and westerly anomaly) to favor the formation of subsequent intensive EN activities. The enhanced EN activities, inferred by the positive tropical eastern Pacific precipitation anomalies, could subsequently suppress the EAWM through anomalous low-level anticyclones and associated southerly anomalies, thereby generating intensified tropical western Pacific (mainly tropical monsoon areas) precipitation. Our study highlights these intrinsic interactions during the mid- to late Holocene and has useful implications for understanding this millennial-scale climate oscillation, which may represent periodic atmospheric exchange between high- and low-latitude climate systems by mediating the EAWM.
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7. |
- Gao, Yu, et al.
(author)
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Dynamic effect of last glacial maximum ice sheet topography on the east asian summer monsoon
- 2020
-
In: Journal of Climate. - 0894-8755. ; 33:16, s. 6929-6944
-
Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- The effect of ice sheet topography on the East Asian summer monsoon (EASM) during the Last Glacial Maximum is studied using CCSM3 in a hierarchy of model configurations. It is found that receding ice sheets result in a weakened EASM, with the reduced ice sheet thickness playing a major role. The lower ice sheet topography weakens the EASM through shifting the position of the midlatitude jet, and through altering Northern Hemisphere stationary waves. In the jet shifting mechanism, the lowering of ice sheets shifts the westerly jet northward and decreases the westerly jet over the subtropics in summer, which reduces the advection of dry enthalpy and in turn precipitation over the EASM region. In the stationary wave mechanism, the lowering of ice sheets induces an anomalous stationary wave train along the westerly waveguide that propagates into the EASM region, generating an equivalent-barotropic low response; this leads to reduced lower-tropospheric southerlies, which in turn reduces the dry enthalpy advection into East Asia, and hence the EASM precipitation.
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8. |
- Githumbi, Esther, et al.
(author)
-
Holocene quantitative pollen-based vegetation reconstructions in Europe for climate modelling: LandClim II
- 2019
-
Conference paper (peer-reviewed)abstract
- Understanding land use and land cover (LULC) change through time is an important aspect when attempting to interpret human-environment interactions through time. Palaeoenvironmental techniques have been crucial in bridging this gap by providing information that has been used to estimate climate change, vegetation change, sea level change etc. through time using a variety of proxies. Producing quantitative land-cover reconstructions has been an aim and a challenge with several methods attempted during the decades. In this project, we use the REVEALS model has been tested and validated in several regions of the world.We use REVEALS-based quantitative reconstructions of vegetation change to investigate the biogeochemical and biogeophysical forcings of land-cover change on climate. In the first phase of this project, LandClim I, quantitative vegetation reconstructions were produced for Europe (Mediterranean area excluded) focusing on five time windows of the Holocene between 6ka BP and present. The results from a regional climate model showed that the impact of the reconstructed LULC between 6 ka and 0.2 ka BP via biogeophysical forcing varied geographically and seasonally. We present the REVEALS quantitative pollen-based vegetation reconstruction from the ongoing second phase of the project LandClim II “Quantification of the biogeophysical and biogeochemical forcings from anthropogenic deforestation on regional Holocene climate in Europe”. This reconstruction covers entire Europe and is transient over the Holocene with a time resolution of 500 years between 11.2 and 0.7ka BP, and 100 to 300 years from 0.7ka BP to modern time.
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9. |
- Gravgaard Askjær, Thomas, et al.
(author)
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Multi-centennial Holocene climate variability in proxy records and transient model simulations
- 2022
-
In: Quaternary Science Reviews. - : Elsevier BV. - 0277-3791 .- 1873-457X. ; 296
-
Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- Variability on centennial to multi-centennial timescales is mentioned as a feature in reconstructions of the Holocene climate. As more long transient model simulations with complex climate models become available and efforts have been made to compile large proxy databases, there is now a unique opportunity to study multi-centennial variability with greater detail and a large amount of data than earlier. This paper presents a spectral analysis of transient Holocene simulations from 9 models and 120 proxy records to find the common signals related to oscillation periods and geographic dependencies and discuss the implications for the potential driving mechanisms. Multi-centennial variability is significant in most proxy records, with the dominant oscillation periods around 120–130 years and an average of 240 years. Spectra of model-based global mean temperature (GMT) agree well with proxy evidence with significant multi-centennial variability in all simulations with the dominant oscillation periods around 120–150 years. It indicates a comparatively good agreement between model and proxy data. A lack of latitudinal dependencies in terms of oscillation period is found in both the model and proxy data. However, all model simulations have the highest spectral density distributed over the Northern hemisphere high latitudes, which could indicate a particular variability sensitivity or potential driving mechanisms in this region. Five models also have differentiated forcings simulations with various combinations of forcing agents. Significant multi-centennial variability with oscillation periods between 100 and 200 years is found in all forcing scenarios, including those with only orbital forcing. The different forcings induce some variability in the system. Yet, none appear to be the predominant driver based on the spectral analysis. Solar irradiance has long been hypothesized to be a primary driver of multi-centennial variability. However, all the simulations without this forcing have shown significant multi-centennial variability. The results then indicate that internal mechanisms operate on multi-centennial timescales, and the North Atlantic-Arctic is a region of interest for this aspect.
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10. |
- Han, Zixuan, et al.
(author)
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The changes in ENSO-induced tropical Pacific precipitation variability in the past warm and cold climates from the EC-Earth simulations
- 2020
-
In: Climate Dynamics. - : Springer Science and Business Media LLC. - 0930-7575 .- 1432-0894. ; 55, s. 503-519
-
Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- The El Nino-Southern Oscillation (ENSO) is one of the most significant climate variability signals. Studying the changes in ENSO-induced precipitation variability (ENSO precipitation) in the past climate offers a possibility to a better understanding of how they may change under future climate conditions. This study uses simulations performed with the European community Earth-System Model (EC-Earth) to investigate the relative contributions of dynamic effect (the circulation anomalies together with the climatological specific humidity) and thermodynamic effect (the specific humidity anomalies together with the climatological circulation) on the changes in ENSO precipitation in the past warm and cold climates, represented by the Pliocene and the Last Glacial Maximum (LGM), respectively. The results show that the changes in ENSO precipitation are intensified (weakened) over the tropical western Pacific but weakened (intensified) over the tropical central Pacific in Pliocene (LGM) compared with the pre-industrial (PI) simulation. Based on the decomposed moisture budget equation, these changes in ENSO precipitation patterns are highly related to the dynamic effect. The mechanism can be understood as follows: the zonal gradient of the mean sea surface temperature (SST) over the tropical Indo-Pacific is increased (reduced) during the Pliocene (LGM), leading to the strengthening (weakening) of Pacific Walker Circulation as well as a westward (eastward) shift. In the Pliocene, the westward shift of Walker Circulation results in an increased (decreased) ENSO-induced low-level vertical velocity variability in the tropical western Pacific (central Pacific), and, in turn, favoring convergent (divergent) moisture transport through a dynamic process, and then causing intensified (weakened) ENSO precipitation there. The opposite mechanism exists in LGM. These results suggest that changes in the zonal SST gradient over tropical Indo-Pacific under different climate conditions determine the changes in ENSO precipitation through a dynamic process.
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11. |
- Hou, Yandong, et al.
(author)
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Sahara's surface transformation forced an abrupt hydroclimate decline and Neolithic culture transition in northern China
- 2024
-
In: The Innovation. - 2666-6758. ; 5:1
-
Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- The remote forcing from land surface changes in the Sahara is hypothesized to play a pivotal role in modulating the intensity of the East Asian summer monsoon (EASM) through ocean-atmospheric teleconnections. This modu-lation has far-reaching consequences, particularly in facilitating societal shifts documented in northern China. Here, we present a well-dated lake-level record from the Daihai Lake Basin in northern China, providing quantitative assessments of Holocene monsoonal precipitation and the consequent mi-grations of the northern boundary of the EASM. Our reconstruction, informed by a water-and-energy balance model, indicates that annual precipitation reached -700 mm during 8-5 ka, followed by a rapid decline to -550 mm be-tween 5 and 4 ka. This shift coherently aligns with a significant -300 km northwestward movement of the EASM northern boundary during the Middle Holocene (MH), in contrast to its current position. Our findings underscore that these changes cannot be entirely attributed to orbital forcing, as corrob-orated by simulation tests. Climate model simulations deployed in our study suggest that the presence of the Green Sahara during the MH significantly strengthened the EASM and led to a northward shift of the monsoon rainfall belt. Conversely, the Sahara's reversion to a desert landscape in the late Ho-locene was accompanied by a corresponding southward retraction of monsoon influence. These dramatic hydroclimate changes during -5-4 ka likely triggered or at least contributed to a shift in Neolithic cultures and societal transformation in northern China. With decreasing agricultural pro-ductivity, communities transitioned from millet farming to a mixed rainfed agriculture and animal husbandry system. Thus, our findings elucidate not only the variability of the EASM but also the profound implications of a remote forcing, such as surface transformations of the Sahara, on climatic changes and cultural evolution in northern China.
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12. |
- Jin, Yishuai, et al.
(author)
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Controls of Spring Persistence Barrier Strength in Different ENSO Regimes and Implications for 21st Century Changes
- 2020
-
In: Geophysical Research Letters. - 0094-8276. ; 47:11
-
Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- This paper investigates potential factors that control the El Niño–Southern Oscillation (ENSO) Spring Persistence Barrier (SPB) strength in two different ENSO regimes and apply it to explain the ENSO SPB strength modulation after the 21st century. In a damped, noise-driven model, the theoretical solution of SPB strength illustrates that a weaker ENSO growth rate strengthens SPB. In the self-sustained regime, as in the Cane-Zebiak model (chaotic system), the strengthened thermodynamic damping and weakened thermocline positive feedback lead to a more negative ENSO growth rate and, in turn, a stronger SPB. Therefore, in both ENSO regimes, a weaker ENSO growth rate intensifies the SPB. The application of the theory to the real world suggests that a more negative ENSO growth rate, corresponding to a more damped feedback system, is responsible for the stronger SPB in recent decades than in 1980–2000.
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13. |
- Jin, Yishuai, et al.
(author)
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Seasonal Cycle of Background in the Tropical Pacific as a Cause of ENSO Spring Persistence Barrier
- 2019
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In: Geophysical Research Letters. - 0094-8276. ; 46:22, s. 13371-13378
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- Statistical model results suggest that the declining growth rate from autumn to spring is the key to cause El Niño-Southern Oscillation (ENSO) spring persistence barrier (SPB). Using a dynamical approach, we develop the physical mechanisms responsible for ENSO SPB in the framework of recharge oscillator by adding a seasonally varying Bjerknes (BJ) stability index and linking it with ENSO growth rate. By decomposing BJ index, it is indicated that seasonal thermodynamic damping and thermocline positive feedback play an important role in determining the ENSO SPB. We further show that the increasing/decreasing upper-level cloud/low-level cloud and the deepening thermocline from autumn to spring are the main factors to control the SPB of ENSO. Our proposed mechanisms also have useful implications for the understanding of ENSO prediction.
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14. |
- Kukla, Tyler, et al.
(author)
-
The resilience of Amazon tree cover to past and present drying
- 2021
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In: Global and Planetary Change. - : Elsevier BV. - 0921-8181. ; 202
-
Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- The Amazon forest is increasingly vulnerable to dieback and encroachment of grasslands and agricultural fields. Threats to these forested ecosystems include drying, deforestation, and fire, but feedbacks among these make it difficult to determine their relative importance. Here, we reconstruct the central and western Amazon tree cover response to aridity and fire in the mid-Holocene—a time of less intensive human land use and markedly drier conditions than today—to assess the resilience of tree cover to drying and the strength of vegetation-climate feedbacks. We use pollen, charcoal, and speleothem oxygen isotope proxy data to show that Amazon tree cover in the mid-Holocene was resilient to drying in excess of the driest bias-corrected future precipitation projections. Experiments with a dynamic global vegetation model (LPJ-GUESS) suggest tree cover resilience may be owed to weak feedbacks that act to amplify tree cover loss with drying. We also compare these results to observational data and find that, under limited human interference, modern tree cover is likely similarly resilient to mid-Holocene levels of aridification. Our results suggest human-driven fire and deforestation likely pose a greater threat to the future of Amazon ecosystems than drying alone.
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15. |
- Li, Nannan, et al.
(author)
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Phytolith and simulation evidence for precipitation-modulated vegetation dynamics along the East Asian monsoon margin
- 2022
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In: Palaeogeography, Palaeoclimatology, Palaeoecology. - : Elsevier BV. - 0031-0182. ; 590
-
Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- An improved understanding of past interactions between terrestrial vegetation and various forcings, such as climate change, human impact, and paleofire, is crucial for assessing impacts of future global change on terrestrial ecosystems. This study seeks to find the key factor or factors that have driven Holocene vegetation change along the East Asian monsoon margin. Several high-resolution pollen records are reviewed and new phytolith-based paleovegetation reconstructions and physical geochemical datasets are presented from a peatland in northeastern China. Using 108 modern topsoil samples as a training set, canopy cover and vegetation composition are estimated for the period since 5100 cal. yr BP. Variation partitioning analysis (VPA) is used to determine the relative importance of climate change, human impacts, and paleofire disturbance. The generalized dynamic vegetation model LPJ-GUESS is forced with climate anomaly output from an atmospheric general circulation model to simulate vegetation dynamics during the mid-Holocene and the pre-industrial era. The proxy-based estimates are compared to modelling output. Results indicate that regional tree cover varied from 10% to 40% during the past five millennia. The single-core, phytolith-based reconstructions are generally consistent with stacked tree pollen z-scores calculated from different records along the East Asian monsoon margin, implying that mid-Holocene tree cover decrease was persistent and almost synchronous over extensive areas. VPA demonstrates that long-term monsoon marginal vegetation successions were mainly caused by climate effects. Numerical modelling suggests that since the mid-Holocene the retreat of forests along the monsoon margin was primarily associated with precipitation deficits. Our investigation highlights that the precipitation associated with the East Asian monsoon system has exerted a stronger influence than the westerlies on the monsoon margin climate and vegetation change. With ongoing global change, close attention to variations in precipitation patterns and amounts should be especially helpful in efforts aimed at ecological monitoring, change prediction, and restoration.
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16. |
- Lindgren, Amelie, et al.
(author)
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Millennial-scale analysis of land >23 ˚N as a carbon source and sink since the Last Glacial Maximum
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Other publication (other academic/artistic)abstract
- The transfers of carbon between land, ocean and atmosphere, and their relation to temperature variability over glacial and interglacial cycles continue to intrigue the scientific community. Over the past four decades, many have focused on the role of the Southern Ocean to explain the atmospheric carbon dioxide (CO2) patterns seen in ice core records, but recent advances also include mentions of a possible terrestrial component. We quantify important terrestrial organic soil carbon (C) stocks north of 23˚, using palaeo-data and modeled climate to reconstruct terrestrial C dynamics from the Last Glacial Maximum until present at millennial time steps. During the deglaciation, C storage declined to reach a minimum around 10 kyr BP, a trend which then turned and led to progressively higher soil C stocks during the Holocene. Net changes in mineral soil C stocks are small, even though significant geographic shifts occurred; instead, deglacial and interglacial terrestrial C stock dynamics are dominated by losses from permafrost loess, inundation of continental shelves and gains in peatlands, processes commonly overlooked in complex Earth System Models.
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17. |
- Lindgren, Amelie, et al.
(author)
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Reconstructing Past Global Vegetation With Random Forest Machine Learning, Sacrificing the Dynamic Response for Robust Results
- 2021
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In: Journal of Advances in Modeling Earth Systems. - 1942-2466. ; 13:2
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- Vegetation is an important component in the Earth system, providing a direct link between the biosphere and atmosphere. As such, a representative vegetation pattern is needed to accurately simulate climate. We attempt to model global vegetation (biomes) with a data‐driven approach, to test if this allows us to create robust global and regional vegetation patterns. This not only provides quantitative reconstructions of past vegetation cover as a climate forcing, but also improves our understanding of past land cover‐climate interactions which have important implications for the future. By using a Random Forest (RF) machine learning tool, we train the vegetation reconstruction with available biomized pollen data of present and past conditions to produce broad‐scale vegetation patterns for the preindustrial (PI), the mid‐Holocene (MH, ∼6,000 years ago), and the Last Glacial Maximum (LGM, ∼21,000 years ago). We test the method's robustness by introducing a systematic temperature bias based on existing climate model spread and compare the result with that of LPJ‐GUESS, an individual‐based dynamic global vegetation model. The results show that the RF approach is able to produce robust patterns for periods and regions well constrained by evidence (the PI and the MH), but fails when evidence is scarce (the LGM). The apparent robustness of this method is achieved at the cost of sacrificing the ability to model dynamic vegetation response to a changing climate.
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18. |
- Lindgren, Amelie, et al.
(author)
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Reconstructing past vegetation with Random Forest Machine Learning, sacrificing the dynamic response for robust results
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Other publication (other academic/artistic)abstract
- Vegetation is an important feature in the Earth system, providing a direct link between the biosphere and atmosphere. As such, a representative vegetation pattern is needed to accurately simulate climate. We attempt to reconstruct past and present vegetation with a data driven approach, to test if this allows us to create robust global and regional vegetation patterns. The motivation for this stems from the possibility of avoiding circular arguments when studying past time periods where vegetation is used to reconstruct climate, and climate is used to construct vegetation. By using the Random Forest machine learning tool, we train the vegetation reconstruction with available biomized pollen data of present and past conditions and are able to produce reasonable broad-scale vegetation patterns for the Pre-Industrial and the Mid-Holocene together with a few modeled climate variables. We test the methods robustness by introducing a systematic temperature bias based on existing climate model spread and compare the result with that of LPJ-GUESS, a process-based dynamic global vegetation model. Results prove that the Random Forest approach is able to produce robust patterns for periods and regions well constrained by evidence, but fails when evidence is scarce. The robustness is achieved by sacrificing a dynamic vegetation response to a changing climate.
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19. |
- Long, Jingchao, et al.
(author)
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Large-scale photovoltaic solar farms in the Sahara affect solar power generation potential globally
- 2024
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In: Communications Earth & Environment. - 2662-4435. ; 5
-
Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- Globally, solar projects are being rapidly built or planned, particularly in high solar potential regions with high energy demand. However, their energy generation potential is highly related to the weather condition. Here we use state-of-the-art Earth system model simulations to investigate how large photovoltaic solar farms in the Sahara Desert could impact the global cloud cover and solar generation potential through disturbed atmospheric teleconnections. The results indicate negative impacts on solar potential in North Africa (locally), Middle East, Southern Europe, India, Eastern China, Japan, Eastern Australia, and Southwestern US, and positive impacts in Central and South America, the Caribbean, Central & Eastern US, Scandinavia and South Africa, reaching a magnitude of ±5% in remote regions seasonally. Diagnostics suggest that large-scale atmospheric circulation changes are responsible for the global impacts. International cooperation is essential to mitigate the potential risks of future large-scale solar projects in drylands, which could impact energy production.
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20. |
- Lu, Zhengyao, et al.
(author)
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A review of paleo El Niño-Southern Oscillation
- 2018
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In: Atmosphere. - : MDPI AG. - 2073-4433. ; 9:4
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Research review (peer-reviewed)abstract
- The Earth has seen El Niño-Southern Oscillation (ENSO)-the leading mode of interannual climate variability-for at least millennia and likely over millions of years. This paper reviews previous studies from perspectives of both paleoclimate proxy data (from traditional sediment records to the latest high-resolution oxygen isotope records) and model simulations (including earlier intermediate models to the latest isotope-enabled coupled models). It summarizes current understanding of ENSO's past evolution during both interglacial and glacial periods and its response to external climatic forcings such as volcanic, orbital, ice-sheet and greenhouse gas forcings. Due to the intrinsic irregularity of ENSO and its complicated relationship with other climate phenomena, reconstructions and model simulations of ENSO variability are subject to inherent difficulties in interpretations and biases. Resolving these challenges through new data syntheses, new statistical methods, more complex climate model simulations as well as direct model-data comparisons can potentially better constrain uncertainty regarding ENSO's response to future global warming.
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21. |
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22. |
- Lu, Zhengyao, et al.
(author)
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Gigantic solar farms of the future might impact how much solar power can be generated on the other side of the world
- 2024
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In: The Conversation. - 2201-5639.
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Journal article (other academic/artistic)abstract
- The Sun’s energy is effectively limitless. While resources such as coal or gas are finite, if you are able to capture and use solar power it doesn’t prevent anyone else from also using as much sunshine as they need.Except that isn’t quite the full story. Beyond a certain size, solar farms become large enough to affect the weather around them and ultimately the climate as a whole. In our new research we have looked at the effect such climate-altering solar farms might have on solar power production elsewhere in the world.We know that solar power is affected by weather conditions and output varies through the days and seasons. Clouds, rain, snow and fog can all block sunlight from reaching solar panels. On a cloudy day, output can drop by 75%, while their efficiency also decreases at high temperatures.In the long term, climate change could affect the cloud cover of certain regions and how much solar power they can generate. Northern Europe is likely to see a solar decrease for instance, while there should be a slight increase of available solar radiation in the rest of Europe, the US east coast and northern China.
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23. |
- Lu, Zhengyao, et al.
(author)
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Impacts of Large-Scale Sahara Solar Farms on Global Climate and Vegetation Cover
- 2021
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In: Geophysical Research Letters. - 0094-8276 .- 1944-8007. ; 48:2
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- Large-scale photovoltaic solar farms envisioned over the Sahara desert can meet the world's energy demand while increasing regional rainfall and vegetation cover. However, adverse remote effects resulting from atmospheric teleconnections could offset such regional benefits. We use state-of-the-art Earth-system model simulations to evaluate the global impacts of Sahara solar farms. Our results indicate a redistribution of precipitation causing Amazon droughts and forest degradation, and global surface temperature rise and sea-ice loss, particularly over the Arctic due to increased polarward heat transport, and northward expansion of deciduous forests in the Northern Hemisphere. We also identify reduced El Niño-Southern Oscillation and Atlantic Niño variability and enhanced tropical cyclone activity. Comparison to proxy inferences for a wetter and greener Sahara ∼6,000 years ago appears to substantiate these results. Understanding these responses within the Earth system provides insights into the site selection concerning any massive deployment of solar energy in the world's deserts.
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24. |
- Lu, Zhengyao, et al.
(author)
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Natural decadal variability of global vegetation growth in relation to major decadal climate modes
- 2023
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In: Environmental Research Letters. - : IOP Publishing. - 1748-9326 .- 1748-9318. ; 18:1
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- The ongoing climate change can modulate the behavior of global vegetation and influence the terrestrial biosphere carbon sink. Past observation-based studies have mainly focused on the linear trend or interannual variability of the vegetation greenness, but could not explicitly deal with the effect of natural decadal variability due to the short length of observations. Here we put the variabilities revealed by remote sensing-based global leaf area index (LAI) from 1982 to 2015 into a long-term perspective with the help of ensemble Earth system model simulations of the historical period 1850-2014, with a focus on the low-frequency variability in the global LAI during the growing season. Robust decadal variability in the observed and modelled LAI was revealed across global terrestrial ecosystems, and it became stronger toward higher latitudes, accounting for over 50% of the total variability north of 40 degrees N. The linkage of LAI decadal variability to major natural decadal climate modes, such as the El Nino-Southern Oscillation decadal variability (ENSO-d), the Pacific decadal oscillation (PDO), and the Atlantic multidecadal oscillation (AMO), was analyzed. ENSO-d affects LAI by altering precipitation over large parts of tropical land. The PDO exerts opposite impacts on LAI in the tropics and extra-tropics due to the compensation between the effects of temperature and growing season length. The AMO effects are mainly associated with anomalous precipitation in North America and Europe but are mixed with long-term climate change impacts due to the coincident phase shift of the AMO which also induces North Atlantic basin warming. Our results suggest that the natural decadal variability of LAI can be largely explained by these decadal climate modes (on average 20% of the variance, comparable to linear changes, and over 40% in some ecosystems) which also can be potentially important in inducing the greening of the Earth of the past decades.
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25. |
- Lu, Zhengyao, et al.
(author)
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Orbital modulation of ENSO seasonal phase locking
- 2019
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In: Climate Dynamics. - : Springer Science and Business Media LLC. - 0930-7575 .- 1432-0894. ; 52:7-8, s. 4329-4350
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- Modern El Niño-Southern Oscillation (ENSO) events are characterized by their phase locking of variability to the seasonal cycle and tend to peak at the end of calendar year. Here, we show that in an idealized NCAR-CCSM3 simulation of the climate of the last 300,000 years, ENSO seasonal phase locking is shifted periodically following the precessional forcing: ENSO tends to peak in boreal winter when perihelion is near vernal equinox, but to peak in boreal summer when perihelion lies in between autumnal equinox and winter solstice. The mechanism for the change of ENSO’s phase locking is proposed to be caused by the change of seasonality of the growth rate, or the intensity of ocean–atmosphere feedbacks, of ENSO. It is found that the December peak of ‘winter ENSO’ is caused by the continuous growth of ENSO anomaly from June to November, while the May–June peak of ‘summer ENSO’ appears to be caused jointly by the seasonal shift of higher growth rate into spring and stronger stochastic noise towards the first half of the year. Furthermore, the change of the seasonal cycle of feedbacks is contributed predominantly by that of the thermodynamic damping. The summer peak of ENSO is proposed to be caused by the following mechanism. A perihelion in the late fall to early winter leads to a cooling of the surface eastern equatorial Pacific (EEP) due to reduced insolation in spring. This cooling, reinforced by an oceanic process, reduces the latent heat flux damping in spring, and therefore favors the growth of the eastern Pacific-like ENSO (as opposed to the central Pacific-like ENSO). This EEP cooling is also likely to generate more effective short wave-cloud-SST feedback and, in turn, increased instability. Ultimately, the weakened thermodynamic damping in spring, combined with relatively intensive stochastic forcing, benefits the subsequent summer peak of ENSO.
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