Low latitude hydro-climatic changes during the plio-pleistocene: Evidence from high resolution alkane records in the southern South China Sea

dc.contributor.authorLi, L.
dc.contributor.authorLi, Q.
dc.contributor.authorTian, J.
dc.contributor.authorWang, H.
dc.contributor.authorWang, P.
dc.date.issued2013
dc.description.abstractHigh resolution records of long chain n-alkane biomarkers from the southern South China Sea reveal tightly response of n-alkane distribution to hydro-climate changes over the past 5Ma, with increasing longer chain n-C<inf>31</inf> alkanes indicating a correlation with drier conditions and increasing shorter chain n-C<inf>27</inf> alkanes with wetter conditions. The variations of the C<inf>31</inf>/C<inf>27</inf> ratio, or the alkane chain length index, imply humid conditions before 2.9Ma, progressively reduced moisture since then and to bigger fluctuations between wet and dry conditions since 1.2Ma. This long term hydro-climate trend is superimposed by glacial dry and interglacial wet patterns over the Plio-Pleistocene glacial cycles. Combined with other proxy records, our results indicate that precipitation over the tropical Asia-Pacific strengthened before the onset of the northern hemisphere glaciation and the mid-Pleistocene climate transition at about 1.2Ma. These dramatic humidity changes over major climate transitions imply a crucial role of tropical hydrology dynamics on global climate change in the late Cenozoic. © 2013 Elsevier Ltd.
dc.description.statementofresponsibilityLi Li, Qianyu Li, Jun Tian, Hui Wang, Pinxian Wang
dc.identifier.citationQuaternary Science Reviews: the international multidisciplinary research and review journal, 2013; 78:209-224
dc.identifier.doi10.1016/j.quascirev.2013.08.007
dc.identifier.issn0277-3791
dc.identifier.urihttp://hdl.handle.net/2440/81352
dc.language.isoen
dc.publisherPergamon-Elsevier Science Ltd
dc.rightsCopyright © 2013 Elsevier Ltd.
dc.source.urihttps://doi.org/10.1016/j.quascirev.2013.08.007
dc.subjectPlio-Pleistocene
dc.subjectPlant n-alkanes
dc.subjectn-Alkane chain lengths
dc.subjectHydro-climate
dc.titleLow latitude hydro-climatic changes during the plio-pleistocene: Evidence from high resolution alkane records in the southern South China Sea
dc.typeJournal article
pubs.publication-statusPublished

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