2134/8695
Curt J. Stager
Curt J.
Stager
David Ryves
David
Ryves
Brian M. Chase
Brian M.
Chase
Francesco S.R. Pausata
Francesco S.R.
Pausata
Catastrophic drought in the Afro-Asian monsoon region during Heinrich Event 1
Loughborough University
2011
untagged
Earth Sciences not elsewhere classified
2011-08-05 08:50:54
Journal contribution
https://repository.lboro.ac.uk/articles/journal_contribution/Catastrophic_drought_in_the_Afro-Asian_monsoon_region_during_Heinrich_Event_1/9483095
Between 18,000 and 15,000 years ago, large amounts of ice and meltwater entered
the North Atlantic during Heinrich Stadial 1. This caused substantial regional
cooling, but major climatic impacts also occurred in the tropics. Here we
demonstrate that the height of this stadial, ca. 17-16,000 years ago ("Heinrich Event
1"), coincided with one of the most extreme and widespread megadroughts of the
last 50,000 years or more in the Afro-Asian monsoon region, with potentially serious
consequences for Paleolithic cultures. Late Quaternary tropical drying commonly is
attributed to southward drift of the Intertropical Convergence Zone, but the broad
geographic range of the H1 Megadrought suggests that severe, systemic weakening
of Afro-Asian rainfall systems also occurred, probably in response to sea surface
cooling.