Asynchronicity of deglacial permafrost thawing controlled by millennial-scale climate variability
Abstract Permafrost is a potentially important source of deglacial carbon release alongside deep-sea carbon outgassing. However, limited proxies have restricted our understanding in circumarctic regions and the last deglaciation. Tibetan Plateau (TP), the Earth’s largest low-latitude and alpine perm...
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2025-01-01
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| Series: | Nature Communications |
| Online Access: | https://doi.org/10.1038/s41467-024-55184-z |
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| author | Xinwei Yan Xu Zhang Bo Liu Huw T. Mithan John Hellstrom Sophie Nuber Russell Drysdale Junjie Wu Fangyuan Lin Ning Zhao Yuao Zhang Wengang Kang Jianbao Liu |
| author_facet | Xinwei Yan Xu Zhang Bo Liu Huw T. Mithan John Hellstrom Sophie Nuber Russell Drysdale Junjie Wu Fangyuan Lin Ning Zhao Yuao Zhang Wengang Kang Jianbao Liu |
| author_sort | Xinwei Yan |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Abstract Permafrost is a potentially important source of deglacial carbon release alongside deep-sea carbon outgassing. However, limited proxies have restricted our understanding in circumarctic regions and the last deglaciation. Tibetan Plateau (TP), the Earth’s largest low-latitude and alpine permafrost region, remains underexplored. Using speleothem growth phases, we reconstruct TP permafrost thawing history over the last 500,000 years, standardizing chronology to investigate Northern Hemisphere permafrost thawing patterns. We find that, unlike circumarctic permafrost, TP permafrost generally initiates thawing at the onset of deglaciations, coinciding with Weak Monsoon Intervals and sluggish Atlantic Meridional Overturning Circulation (AMOC) during Terminal Stadials. Modeling elaborates that the associated Asian monsoon weakening induces anomalous TP warming through local cloud–precipitation–soil moisture feedback. This, combined with high-latitude cooling, results in asynchronous boreal permafrost thawing. During the last deglaciation, however, anomalous AMOC variability delayed TP and advanced circumarctic permafrost thawing. Our results indicate that permafrost carbon release, influenced by millennial-scale AMOC variability, may have been a non-trivial contributor to deglacial CO2 rise. |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj-art-537bc0cfe36c4062819d70137dd314fa |
| institution | Kabale University |
| issn | 2041-1723 |
| language | English |
| publishDate | 2025-01-01 |
| publisher | Nature Portfolio |
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| series | Nature Communications |
| spelling | doaj-art-537bc0cfe36c4062819d70137dd314fa2025-01-05T12:37:56ZengNature PortfolioNature Communications2041-17232025-01-0116111210.1038/s41467-024-55184-zAsynchronicity of deglacial permafrost thawing controlled by millennial-scale climate variabilityXinwei Yan0Xu Zhang1Bo Liu2Huw T. Mithan3John Hellstrom4Sophie Nuber5Russell Drysdale6Junjie Wu7Fangyuan Lin8Ning Zhao9Yuao Zhang10Wengang Kang11Jianbao Liu12College of Urban and Environmental Sciences, Peking UniversityBritish Antarctic SurveyPlateau Atmosphere and Environment Key Laboratory of Sichuan Province, School of Atmospheric Sciences, Chengdu University of Information TechnologyDepartment of Earth and Space Sciences, University of WashingtonSchool of Geography, Earth and Atmospheric Sciences, University of MelbourneSchool of Oceanography, University of WashingtonSchool of Geography, Earth and Atmospheric Sciences, University of MelbourneDepartment of Environmental Science, Bolin Centre for Climate Research, Stockholm UniversityState Key Laboratory of Loess and Quaternary Geology, Institute of Earth Environment, Chinese Academy of SciencesState Key Laboratory of Estuarine and Coastal Research and Institute of Eco-Chongming, East China Normal UniversityState Key Laboratory of Tibetan Plateau Earth System, Resources and Environment (TPESRE), Institute of Tibetan Plateau Research, Chinese Academy of SciencesState Key Laboratory of Tibetan Plateau Earth System, Resources and Environment (TPESRE), Institute of Tibetan Plateau Research, Chinese Academy of SciencesCollege of Urban and Environmental Sciences, Peking UniversityAbstract Permafrost is a potentially important source of deglacial carbon release alongside deep-sea carbon outgassing. However, limited proxies have restricted our understanding in circumarctic regions and the last deglaciation. Tibetan Plateau (TP), the Earth’s largest low-latitude and alpine permafrost region, remains underexplored. Using speleothem growth phases, we reconstruct TP permafrost thawing history over the last 500,000 years, standardizing chronology to investigate Northern Hemisphere permafrost thawing patterns. We find that, unlike circumarctic permafrost, TP permafrost generally initiates thawing at the onset of deglaciations, coinciding with Weak Monsoon Intervals and sluggish Atlantic Meridional Overturning Circulation (AMOC) during Terminal Stadials. Modeling elaborates that the associated Asian monsoon weakening induces anomalous TP warming through local cloud–precipitation–soil moisture feedback. This, combined with high-latitude cooling, results in asynchronous boreal permafrost thawing. During the last deglaciation, however, anomalous AMOC variability delayed TP and advanced circumarctic permafrost thawing. Our results indicate that permafrost carbon release, influenced by millennial-scale AMOC variability, may have been a non-trivial contributor to deglacial CO2 rise.https://doi.org/10.1038/s41467-024-55184-z |
| spellingShingle | Xinwei Yan Xu Zhang Bo Liu Huw T. Mithan John Hellstrom Sophie Nuber Russell Drysdale Junjie Wu Fangyuan Lin Ning Zhao Yuao Zhang Wengang Kang Jianbao Liu Asynchronicity of deglacial permafrost thawing controlled by millennial-scale climate variability Nature Communications |
| title | Asynchronicity of deglacial permafrost thawing controlled by millennial-scale climate variability |
| title_full | Asynchronicity of deglacial permafrost thawing controlled by millennial-scale climate variability |
| title_fullStr | Asynchronicity of deglacial permafrost thawing controlled by millennial-scale climate variability |
| title_full_unstemmed | Asynchronicity of deglacial permafrost thawing controlled by millennial-scale climate variability |
| title_short | Asynchronicity of deglacial permafrost thawing controlled by millennial-scale climate variability |
| title_sort | asynchronicity of deglacial permafrost thawing controlled by millennial scale climate variability |
| url | https://doi.org/10.1038/s41467-024-55184-z |
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