Multi-proxy records of Holocene fluvio-lacustrine sediments in the southern Liaodong Peninsula, China

Abstract

The Liaodong Peninsula is located in the present Asian summer monsoon (ASM) area and has frequent land-sea interactions that make it sensitive to climate change. Terrestrial sediments can continuously record climate change with high resolution. The range and time of the East Asian summer monsoon (EASM), the main Holocene climate change driver, can be better explained by the change in the sedimentary environment in the region. This paper presents the chronology, sedimentology and geochemistry of the Holocene fluvio-lacustrine sediments in the Paozi basin south of Liaodong Peninsula, China. The multi-agent records show that the temperature and humidity are slightly higher from before 5.2ka.cal.BP to warm / wet stage, and the relative transition time from the warmest / wet stage to cold / dry stage is from 5.2ka.cal.BP to 3.5ka.cal.BP. Then, the regional climate shifted to relatively drier and colder conditions after 3.5 ka.cal.BP. Compared with other records near our site, the climate and variations in the water level change of this palaeolake were controlled by the change in the Holocene EASM precipitation, and the insolation-driven temperature co-determined the dynamics. Furthermore, the formation and disappearance of the palaeolake was due to the strengthening and decline in the EASM, respectively.