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Orbital precession modulates interannual rainfall variability, as recorded in an Early Pleistocene speleothem

Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › peer-review

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Orbital precession modulates interannual rainfall variability, as recorded in an Early Pleistocene speleothem. / Hopley, Philip J.; Weedon, Graham P.; Brierley, Chris M.; Thrasivoulou, Christopher; Herries, Andy I. R.; Dinckal, Ada; Richards, David A.; Nita, Dan C.; Parrish, Randall R.; Roberts, Nick M. W.; Sahy, Diana; Smith, Claire L.

In: Geology, Vol. 46, No. 8, 01.08.2018, p. 731-734.

Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › peer-review

Harvard

Hopley, PJ, Weedon, GP, Brierley, CM, Thrasivoulou, C, Herries, AIR, Dinckal, A, Richards, DA, Nita, DC, Parrish, RR, Roberts, NMW, Sahy, D & Smith, CL 2018, 'Orbital precession modulates interannual rainfall variability, as recorded in an Early Pleistocene speleothem', Geology, vol. 46, no. 8, pp. 731-734. https://doi.org/10.1130/G45019.1

APA

Hopley, P. J., Weedon, G. P., Brierley, C. M., Thrasivoulou, C., Herries, A. I. R., Dinckal, A., Richards, D. A., Nita, D. C., Parrish, R. R., Roberts, N. M. W., Sahy, D., & Smith, C. L. (2018). Orbital precession modulates interannual rainfall variability, as recorded in an Early Pleistocene speleothem. Geology, 46(8), 731-734. https://doi.org/10.1130/G45019.1

Vancouver

Hopley PJ, Weedon GP, Brierley CM, Thrasivoulou C, Herries AIR, Dinckal A et al. Orbital precession modulates interannual rainfall variability, as recorded in an Early Pleistocene speleothem. Geology. 2018 Aug 1;46(8):731-734. https://doi.org/10.1130/G45019.1

Author

Hopley, Philip J. ; Weedon, Graham P. ; Brierley, Chris M. ; Thrasivoulou, Christopher ; Herries, Andy I. R. ; Dinckal, Ada ; Richards, David A. ; Nita, Dan C. ; Parrish, Randall R. ; Roberts, Nick M. W. ; Sahy, Diana ; Smith, Claire L. / Orbital precession modulates interannual rainfall variability, as recorded in an Early Pleistocene speleothem. In: Geology. 2018 ; Vol. 46, No. 8. pp. 731-734.

Bibtex

@article{17f3fa97974a4cdbb062f5a8e9b91655,
title = "Orbital precession modulates interannual rainfall variability, as recorded in an Early Pleistocene speleothem",
abstract = "Interannual variability of African rainfall impacts local and global communities, but its past behavior and response in future climate projections are poorly understood. This is primarily due to short instrumental records and a lack of long high-resolution palaeoclimate proxy records. Here we present an annually resolved 91,000 year Early Pleistocene record of hydroclimate from the early hominin-bearing Makapansgat Valley, South Africa. Changes in speleothem annual band thickness are dominated by precession over four consecutive orbital cycles with strong millennial-scale periodicity. The frequency of interannual variability (2.0–6.5 yr oscillations) does not change systematically, yet its amplitude is modulated by the orbital forcing. These long-term characteristics of interannual variability are reproduced with transient climate model simulations of water balance for South Africa from the Late Pleistocene to Recent. Based on these results, we suggest that the frequency of interannual variations in southern African rainfall is likely to be stable under anthropogenic warming, but that the size of year-to-year variations may increase. We see an orbitally forced increase in the amplitude of interannual climate variability between 1.8 Ma and 1.7 Ma coincident with the first evidence for the Acheulean stone tool technology.",
keywords = "RCUK, NERC, NE/J00443X/1, IP/1065/1108",
author = "Hopley, {Philip J.} and Weedon, {Graham P.} and Brierley, {Chris M.} and Christopher Thrasivoulou and Herries, {Andy I. R.} and Ada Dinckal and Richards, {David A.} and Nita, {Dan C.} and Parrish, {Randall R.} and Roberts, {Nick M. W.} and Diana Sahy and Smith, {Claire L.}",
year = "2018",
month = aug,
day = "1",
doi = "10.1130/G45019.1",
language = "English",
volume = "46",
pages = "731--734",
journal = "Geology",
issn = "0091-7613",
publisher = "Geological Society of America",
number = "8",

}

RIS

TY - JOUR

T1 - Orbital precession modulates interannual rainfall variability, as recorded in an Early Pleistocene speleothem

AU - Hopley, Philip J.

AU - Weedon, Graham P.

AU - Brierley, Chris M.

AU - Thrasivoulou, Christopher

AU - Herries, Andy I. R.

AU - Dinckal, Ada

AU - Richards, David A.

AU - Nita, Dan C.

AU - Parrish, Randall R.

AU - Roberts, Nick M. W.

AU - Sahy, Diana

AU - Smith, Claire L.

PY - 2018/8/1

Y1 - 2018/8/1

N2 - Interannual variability of African rainfall impacts local and global communities, but its past behavior and response in future climate projections are poorly understood. This is primarily due to short instrumental records and a lack of long high-resolution palaeoclimate proxy records. Here we present an annually resolved 91,000 year Early Pleistocene record of hydroclimate from the early hominin-bearing Makapansgat Valley, South Africa. Changes in speleothem annual band thickness are dominated by precession over four consecutive orbital cycles with strong millennial-scale periodicity. The frequency of interannual variability (2.0–6.5 yr oscillations) does not change systematically, yet its amplitude is modulated by the orbital forcing. These long-term characteristics of interannual variability are reproduced with transient climate model simulations of water balance for South Africa from the Late Pleistocene to Recent. Based on these results, we suggest that the frequency of interannual variations in southern African rainfall is likely to be stable under anthropogenic warming, but that the size of year-to-year variations may increase. We see an orbitally forced increase in the amplitude of interannual climate variability between 1.8 Ma and 1.7 Ma coincident with the first evidence for the Acheulean stone tool technology.

AB - Interannual variability of African rainfall impacts local and global communities, but its past behavior and response in future climate projections are poorly understood. This is primarily due to short instrumental records and a lack of long high-resolution palaeoclimate proxy records. Here we present an annually resolved 91,000 year Early Pleistocene record of hydroclimate from the early hominin-bearing Makapansgat Valley, South Africa. Changes in speleothem annual band thickness are dominated by precession over four consecutive orbital cycles with strong millennial-scale periodicity. The frequency of interannual variability (2.0–6.5 yr oscillations) does not change systematically, yet its amplitude is modulated by the orbital forcing. These long-term characteristics of interannual variability are reproduced with transient climate model simulations of water balance for South Africa from the Late Pleistocene to Recent. Based on these results, we suggest that the frequency of interannual variations in southern African rainfall is likely to be stable under anthropogenic warming, but that the size of year-to-year variations may increase. We see an orbitally forced increase in the amplitude of interannual climate variability between 1.8 Ma and 1.7 Ma coincident with the first evidence for the Acheulean stone tool technology.

KW - RCUK

KW - NERC

KW - NE/J00443X/1

KW - IP/1065/1108

U2 - 10.1130/G45019.1

DO - 10.1130/G45019.1

M3 - Article

VL - 46

SP - 731

EP - 734

JO - Geology

JF - Geology

SN - 0091-7613

IS - 8

ER -

ID: 11304180