%0 Journal article
%A Prud’homme, Charlotte
%A Scardia, Giancarlo
%A Vonhof, Hubert
%A Guinoiseau, Damien
%A Nigmatova, Saida
%A Fiebig, Jens
%A Gerdes, Axel
%A Janssen, Renee
%A Fitzsimmons, Kathryn E.
%T Central Asian modulation of Northern Hemisphere moisture transfer over the Late Cenozoic
%R 10.1038/s43247-021-00173-z
%J Communications Earth & Environment
%V 2
%N 1

%I Nature Publishing Group UK
%X Earth’s climatic evolution over the last 5 million years is primarily understood from the perspective of marine mechanisms, however, the role of terrestrial feedbacks remains largely unexplored. Here we reconstruct the last 5 million years of soil moisture variability in Central Asia using paleomagnetism data and isotope geochemistry of an 80 m-thick sedimentary succession at Charyn Canyon, Kazakhstan. We identify a long-term trend of increasing aridification throughout the period, along with shorter-term variability related to the interaction between mid-latitude westerlies and the Siberian high-pressure system. This record highlights the long-term contribution of mid-latitude Eurasian terrestrial systems to the modulation of moisture transfer into the Northern Hemisphere oceans and back onto land via westerly air flow. The response of Earth-surface dynamics to Plio-Pleistocene climatic change in Central Asia likely generated terrestrial feedbacks affecting ocean and atmospheric circulation. This missing terrestrial link elucidates the significance of land-water feedbacks for long-term global climate.
%U http://resolver.sub.uni-goettingen.de/purl?gldocs-11858/11088
%~  FID GEO-LEO e-docs