Orbital controls on North Pacific dust flux during the Late Quaternary
Zhong, Y.; Liu, Y.G.; Yang, H.; Yin, Q.Z.; Wilson, D.J.; Lu, Z.Y.; Jaccard, S.L.; Struve, T.; Clift, P.D.; Kaboth-Bahr, S.; Larrasoana, J.C.; Bahr, A.; Gong, X.; Zhao, D.B.; Zhang, Y.A.; Xia, W.Y.; Liu, Q.S. (2024). Orbital controls on North Pacific dust flux during the Late Quaternary. Geophys. Res. Lett. 51(4): e2023GL106631. https://dx.doi.org/10.1029/2023GL106631
In: Geophysical Research Letters. American Geophysical Union: Washington. ISSN 0094-8276; e-ISSN 1944-8007, more
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| Authors | | Top |
- Zhong, Y.
- Liu, Y.G.
- Yang, H.
- Yin, Q., more
- Wilson, D.J.
- Lu, Z.Y.
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- Jaccard, S.L.
- Struve, T.
- Clift, P.D.
- Kaboth-Bahr, S.
- Larrasoana, J.C.
- Bahr, A.
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- Gong, X.
- Zhao, D.B.
- Zhang, Y.A.
- Xia, W.Y.
- Liu, Q.S.
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| Abstract |
Airborne mineral dust is sensitive to climatic changes, but its response to orbital forcing is still not fully understood. Here, we present a reconstruction of dust input to the Subarctic Pacific Ocean covering the past 190 kyr. The dust composition record is indicative of source moisture conditions, which were dominated by precessional variations. In contrast, the dust flux record is dominated by obliquity variations and displays an out-of-phase relationship with a dust record from the mid-latitude North Pacific Ocean. Climate model simulations suggest precession likely drove changes in the aridity and extent of dust source regions. Additionally, the obliquity variations in dust flux can be explained by meridional shifts in the North Pacific westerly jet, driven by changes in the meridional atmospheric temperature gradient. Overall, our findings suggest that North Pacific dust input was primarily modulated by orbital-controlled source aridity and the strength and position of the westerly winds.
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