Reconstruction of temperature and hydroclimate in Serling Co (Central Tibet) since the last deglaciation

Abstract

Understanding the past climatic conditions and their possible driving mechanism can contribute to better constrain future climate projection, and to provide potential insights into the disputed Holocene temperature variations. In this study, we quantitatively reconstruct the mean annual air temperature (MAAT) of Serling Co since 17.3 cal kyr BP using a novel terrestrial thermometer (ring index of OH-GDGTs, RI-OH), and reconstructed the hydroclimatic evolutionary history in combination with n-alkanes and their associated proxies. Our temperature records indicate that Serling Co experienced a period of reduced temperatures during the Younger Dryas event, approximately 6 °C cooler than the present conditions. Subsequently, there was a rapid warming phase, leading to peak temperatures in the early Holocene, roughly 5.5 °C warmer than the modern MAAT, followed by a protracted cooling trend during the subsequent middle and late Holocene. The temperature and hydroclimate trends at Serling Co exhibit a synchronized evolutionary pattern since the last deglaciation, featuring an optimal hydrothermal combination in the early Holocene. This period witnessed the peak productivity of terrestrial and aquatic ecosystems, followed by a gradual decline. Summer insolation emerges as a primary controlling factor for temperature variations, with Indian Summer Monsoon intensity and internal climate system variability exerting dominance over atmospheric moisture and precipitation variations in the region.