Skip to main content
SpringerLink
Log in

Circulation effect: response of precipitation δ18O to the ENSO cycle in monsoon regions of China

  • Published:
Climate Dynamics Aims and scope Submit manuscript

Abstract

Inter-annual variation in the ratio of 18O to 16O of precipitation (δ18Op) in the monsoon regions of China (MRC, area approximately east of 100°E) has not yet been fully analyzed. Based on an analysis of the relationships between the time series of amount-weighted mean annual δ18O in precipitation (δ18Ow) and meteorological variables such as temperature, precipitation as well as atmospheric/oceanic circulation indices, it is recognized that the El Niño-Southern Oscillation (ENSO) cycle appears to be the dominant control on the inter-annual variation in δ18Op in the MRC. Further analysis shows that the trade wind plays a role in governing δ18Ow through affecting the intensity of the different summer monsoon circulations which are closely linked to the weakening (weaker than normal) and strengthening (stronger than normal) of the trade wind and gives the δ18Ow different values at or over inter-annual timescales. The southwest monsoon (SWM) drives long-distance transport of water vapor from Indian Ocean to the MRC, and along this pathway increasing rainout leads to more negative δ18Ow via Rayleigh distillation processes. In contrast, the southeast monsoon (SEM), which is consistent with the changes in the strength of the West Pacific subtropical high, drives short-distance water vapor transport from the West Pacific Ocean to the MRC and leads to less negative δ18Ow. Therefore, the δ18Ow value directly reflects the differences in influence between the SWM, which is strong when the SE trade wind is strong, and the SEM, which is strong when the SE trade wind is weak. In addition, the South China Sea Monsoon also transports local water vapor as well as plays a role in achieving the synchronization between the δ18Ow and ENSO. The author thus terms the δ18Op rhythm in the MRC the “circulation effect”. In turn, the δ18Op variation in the MRC has the potential to provide information on atmospheric circulation and the signal of δ18Op recorded in natural archives can then be used to deduce a long-term behavior of the tropical climate system.

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this article

Log in via an institution

Price excludes VAT (USA)
Tax calculation will be finalised during checkout.

Instant access to the full article PDF.

Institutional subscriptions

Fig. 1
Fig. 2
Fig. 3
Fig. 4
Fig. 5
Fig. 6
Fig. 7
Fig. 8

Similar content being viewed by others

References

  • Aggarwal KP, Alduchov AO, Froehlich OK, Araguas-Araguas JL, Sturchio CN, Kurita N (2012) Stable isotopes in global precipitation: a unified based on atmospheric moisture residence time. Geophys Res Lett 39:L11705. doi:10.1029/2012GL051937

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Araguás-Araguás JL, Froehlich OK, Rozanski K (1998) Stable isotope composition of precipitation over southeast Asia. J Geophys Res 103(D22):28721–28742

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Baker A, Bradley C, Phipps SJ, Fischer M, Fairchild IJ, Fuller L, Spötl C, Azcurra C (2012) Millennial-length forward models and pseudoproxies of stalagmite δ18O: an example from NW Scotland. Clim Past 8:1153–1167

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Chen Z, Cheng J, Guo P, Lin Z, Zhang F (2010) Distribution characters and its control factors of stable isotope in precipitation over China. Trans Atmos Sci 33(6):667–679 (in Chinese with English abstract)

    Google Scholar 

  • Cheng H, Edwards RL, Broecker WS, Denton GH, Kong X, Wang Y, Zhang R, Wang X (2009) Ice age terminations. Science 326(5950):248–252

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Clemens SC, Prell WL, Sun Y (2010) Orbital-scale timing and mechanisms driving Late Pleistocene Indo—Asian summer monsoons: reinterpreting cave speleothem δ18O. Paleoceanography 25:PA4207. doi:10.1029/2010PA001926

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Dansgaard W (1953) The abundance of 0” in atmospheric water and water vapour. Tellus 6:461–469

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Dansgaard W (1964) Stable isotopes in precipitation. Tellus 16:436–468

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Dayem KE, Molnar P, Battisti DS, Roe GH (2010) Lessons learned from oxygen isotopes in modern precipitation applied to interpretation of speleothem records of paleoclimate from eastern Asia. Earth Planet Sci Lett 295:219–230

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Einstein A, Stern O (1913) Einige Argumente für die Annahme einer molekularen Agitation beim absoluten Nullpunkt. Ann Phys 345(3):551–560

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Fairchild IJ, Baker A (2012) Speleothem science: from process to past environments. Wiley, Chichester, p 432

    Book  Google Scholar 

  • Hu C, Henderson GM, Huang J, Xie S, Sun Y, Johnson KR (2008) Quatification of Holocene Asian monsoon rainfall from spatially separated cace records. Earth Planet Sci Lett 266(3–4):221–232

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Johnson KR, Ingram BL (2004) Spatial and temporal variability in the stable isotope systematics of modern precipitation in China: implications for paleoclimate reconstructions. Earth Planet Sci Lett 220:365–377

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Johnson KR, Ingram BL, Sharp DW, Zhang P (2006) East Asian summer monsoon variability during marine isotope stage 5 based on speleothem δ18O records from Wanxiang Cave, central China. Palaeogeogr Palaeoclimatol Palaeoecol 236:5–19

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Kurita N, Yoshida N, Inoue G, Chayanova AE (2004) Modern isotope climatology of Russia: a first assessment. J Geophys Res. doi:10.1029/2003JD003404

    Google Scholar 

  • Lee JE, Risi C, Fung I, Worden J, Scheepmaker RA, Lintner B, Frankenberg C (2012) Asian monsoon hydrometeorology from TES and SCIAMACHY water vapor isotope measurements and LMDZ simulations: implications for speleothem climate record interpretation. J Geophys Res 117:D15112. doi:10.1029/2011JD017133

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • LeGrande AN, Schmidt GA (2006) Global gridded data set of the oxygen isotopic composition in seawater. Geophys Res Lett 33:L12604. doi:10.1029/2006GL026011

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • LeGrande AN, Schmidt GA (2009) Sources of Holocene variability of oxygen isotopes in paleoclimate archives. Clim Past 5:441–455

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Lewis SC, LeGrande AN, Kelley M, Schmidt GA (2010) Water vapour source impacts on oxygen isotope variability in tropical precipitation during Heinrich events. Clim Past 6:325–343

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Li Q, Nakatsuka T, Kawamura K, Liu Y, Song H (2011a) Regional hydro-climate and precipitation δ18O revealed in tree-ring cellulose δ18O from different tree species in semi-arid Northern China. Chem Geol. doi:10.1016/j.chemgeo.2011.01.004

    Google Scholar 

  • Li Q, Nakatsuka T, Kawamura K, Liu Y, Song H (2011b) Hydroclimate variability in the North China Plain and its link with El Niño–Southern Oscillation since 1784 A.D.: insights from tree-ring cellulose δ18O. J Geophys Res 116:D22106. doi:10.1029/2011JD015987

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Liu J, Song X, Yuan G, Sun X, Liu X, Wang Z, Wang S (2008) Stable isotopes of summer monsoonal precipitation in southern China and the moisture sources evidence from δ18O signature. J Geogr Sci 18:155–165

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Liu J, Song X, Yuan G, Sun X, Liu X, Wang S (2010) Characteristics of δ18O in precipitation over Eastern Monsoon China and the water vapor sources. Chin Sci Bull 55:200–211

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Lu R, Ye H (2010) Inter-annual and seasonal changes of the West Pacific subtropical high. In: He J, Qi L, Zhang R (eds) The progress and application of the new research on the Western Pacific subtropical high. Meteorological Press, Beijing (in Chinese with English abstract)

    Google Scholar 

  • Luo W, Wang S (2008) Oxygen isotope signals of precipitation-soil water-drip water and its implications in Liangfeng Cave of Guizhou, China. Chin Sci Bull 53:3364–3370

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Maher BA (2008) Holocene variability of the East Asian summer monsoon from Chinese cave records: a re-assessment. Holocene 18:861–866

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Maher BA, Thompson R (2012) Oxygen isotopes from Chinese caves: records not of monsoon rainfall but of circulation regime. J Quat Sci. doi:10.1002/jqs.2553

    Google Scholar 

  • Miller AJ, Cayan DR, Barnett TP, Graham NE, Oberhuber JM (1994) The 1976–1977 climate shift of the Pacific Ocean. Oceanography 7:21–26

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Mu Q, Wang S, Zhu J, Gong D (2002) Variations of Western Pacific Subtropical High in summer during the last hundred years. Chin J Atmos Sci 25:787–797

    Google Scholar 

  • Pausata FSR, Battisti DS, Nisancioglu KH, Bitz CM (2011) Chinese stalagmite δ18O controlled by changes in the Indian monsoon during a simulated Heinrich event. Nat Geosci 4:474–480

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Qiao Y, Chen L, Zhang Q (2002) The definition of East Asian monsoon indices and their relationship to climate in China. Chin J Atmos Sci 26(1):69–82 (in Chinese with English abstract)

    Google Scholar 

  • Rasmusson EM, Carpenter TH (1983) The relationship between Eastern equatorial Pacific sea surface temperatures and rainfall over India and Sri Lanka. Mon Wea Rev 111:517–528

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Rayleigh JWS (1896) Theoretical considerations respecting the separation of gases by diffusion and similar processes. Philos Mag 42:493–498

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Risi C, Bony S, Vimeux F (2008) Influence of convective processes on the isotopic composition (δ18O and δD) of precipitation and water vapor in the tropics: 2. physical interpretation of the amount effect. J Geophys Res 113:D19306. doi:10.1029/2008JD009943

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Shen H, Kuang Y, Zi L (2011) Genesis of 2012 storm–flood in Yangtze river basin and its comparison with 1998 flood. Yangtze River 42(6):11–14 (in Chinese with English abstract)

    Google Scholar 

  • Siegenthaler U (1979) Stable hydrogen and oxygen isotopes in the water cycle. In: Jäger E, Hunziker JC (eds) Lectures in isotope geology. Springer, Berlin, pp 264–273

    Chapter  Google Scholar 

  • Sinha A, Berkelhammer M, Stott L, Mudelsee M, Cheng H, Biswas J (2011a) The leading mode of Indian Summer Monsoon precipitation variability during the last millennium. Geophys Res Lett 38:L15703. doi:10.1029/2011GL047713

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Sinha A, Stott L, Berkelhammer M, Cheng H, Edwards RL, Buckley B, Aldenderfer M, Mudelsee M (2011b) A global context for mega droughts in monsoon Asia during the past millennium. Quatern Sci Rev 30:47–62

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Tan M (2009) Circulation effect: climatic significance of the short term variability of the oxygen isotopes in stalagmites from monsoonal China. Quat Sci 29(5):851–862 (in Chinese with English abstract)

    Google Scholar 

  • Tian L, Yao T, Schuster PF, White JWC, Ichiyanagi K, Pendall E, Pu J, Yu W (2003) Oxygen-18 concentrations in recent precipitation and ice cores on the Tibetan Plateau. J Geophys Res 108(D9):4293. doi:10.1029/2002JD002173

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Tian H, Guo P, Lu W (2004) Characteristics of vapor inflow corridors related to summer rainfall in China and impact factors. J Trop Meteorol 20:401–408 (in Chinese with English abstract)

    Google Scholar 

  • Tracy AM, David WL, Howard JS (1999) Glacial–interglacial changes in subantarctic sea surface temperature and δ18O-water using foraminiferal Mg. Earth Planet Sci Lett 170(4):417–432

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Vuille M, Werner M, Bradley RS, Keimig F (2005) Stable isotopes in precipitation in the Asian monsoon region. J Geophys Res 110:D23108. doi:10.1029/2005JD006022

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Walker GT (1918) Correlation in seasonal variation of weather. Q J R Meteorol Soc 44:223–224

    Google Scholar 

  • Wang Y, Cheng H, Edwards RL, An Z, Wu J, Shen C, Dorale JA (2001) High-resolution absolute-dated Late Pleistocene monsoon record from Hulu cave, China. Science 294:2345–2348

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Wang Y, Cheng H, Edwards RL, Kong X, Shao X, Chen S, Wu J, Jiang X, Wang X, An Z (2008) Millennial- and orbital-scale changes in the East Asian monsoon over the past 224,000 years. Nature 45:1090–1093

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Wang B, Xiang B, Lee JY (2013) Subtropical high predictability establishes a promising way for monsoon and tropical storm predictions. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences. doi:10.1073/pnas.1214626110PNAS January 22, 2013 201214626

  • Wyrtki K (1975) El Nino—the dynamic response of equatorial Pacific ocean to the atmospheric forcing. J Phys Oceanogr 5:572–584

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Xu C, Sano M, Nakatsuka T (2011) Tree ring cellulose δ18O of Fokienia hodginsii in northern Laos: a promising proxy to reconstruct ENSO? J Geophys Res 116:D24109. doi:10.1029/2011JD016694

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Xue J, Zhong W, Zhao Y (2007) Variations of δ18O in precipitation in the Zhujiang (Pearl) river delta and its relationship with ENSO event. Sci Geogr Sin 27(6):825–830 (in Chinese with English abstract)

    Google Scholar 

  • Yamanaka T, Shimada J, Hamada Y, Tanaka T, Yang Y, Zhang W, Hu C (2004) Hydrogen and oxygen isotopes in precipitation in the northern part of the North China Plain: climatology and inter-storm variability. Hydrol Process 18:2211–2222 (Special issue: water crises and hydrology in North China)

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Yuan D, Cheng H, Edwards RL, Dykoski CA, Keelly MJ, Zhang M, Qing J, Lin Y, Wang Y, Wu J, Dorale JA, An Z, Cai Y (2004) Timing, duration, and transitions of the last interglacial Asian monsoon. Science 304:575–578

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Zhang X, Li J, Wang D (2002) Research on relationship between subsurface sea temperature in tropical area and SCS summer monsoon. Acta Meteorol Sin 60:156–163 (in Chinese with English abstract)

    Google Scholar 

  • Zhang P, Cheng H, Lawrence RE, Chen F, Wang Y, Yang X, Liu J, Tan M, Wang X, Liu J, An C, Dai Z, Zhou J, Zhang D, Jia J, Jin L, Johnson RK (2008) A test of climate, Sun, and culture relationships from an 1810-year Chinese cave record. Science 322:940–942

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Zheng B, Gu D, Li C (2006) Differences of South China Sea summer monsoon derived by NCEP and ECMWF reanalysis data. J Trop Meteorol 12(2):197–200

    Google Scholar 

  • Zheng Y, Zhong W, Peng X, Xue J, Zhao Y, Ma Q, Cai Y (2009) Correlation of δ18O in precipitation and moisture sources at Yunfu, Western Guangdong Province, China. Environ Sci 30(3):637–643 (in Chinese with English abstract)

    Google Scholar 

  • Zhou T, Yu R, Zhang J, Drange H, Cassou C, Deser C, Hodson DLR, Sanchez-Gomez E, Li J, Keenlyside N, Xin X, Okumura Y (2009) Why the Western Pacific subtropical high has extended Westward since the Late 1970s. J Clim 22:2199–2215

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Zhu M, Stott L, Buckley B, Yoshimura K, Ra K (2012) Indo-Pacific warm pool convection and ENSO since 1867 derived from Cambodian pine tree cellulose oxygen isotopes. J Geophys Res 117:D11307. doi:10.1029/2011JD017198

    Article  Google Scholar 

Download references

Acknowledgments

Thanks to Ian Fairchild and Andy Baker for reviewing the manuscript and giving many encouragements and constructive suggestions. The author also thanks Zheng Bin for the SCSMI data, Lu Riyu for the WPSHIw data, Wang Huijun for providing the map of Fig. 7 and Nan Sulan for providing base map of Fig. 6. Thanks to Duan Wuhui for assisting to build the multiple linear regression as well as Table 1. The author is very grateful to the three anonymous reviewers for their detailed and very helpful comments. This research was supported by CAS Strategic Priority Research Program (Grant XDA05080501), the NSFC (Grant 41030103) and the National Basic Research Program of China (Grant 2010CB950201).

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Key Laboratory of Cenozoic Geology and Environment, Institute of Geology and Geophysics, Chinese Academy of Sciences, No.19 Beitucheng West Road, Chaoyang District, Beijing, 100029, China

    Ming Tan

Authors
  1. Ming Tan
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Ming Tan.

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

About this article

Cite this article

Tan, M. Circulation effect: response of precipitation δ18O to the ENSO cycle in monsoon regions of China. Clim Dyn 42, 1067–1077 (2014). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00382-013-1732-x

Download citation

  • Received:

  • Accepted:

  • Published:

  • Issue Date:

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00382-013-1732-x

Keywords

Search

Navigation