eprintid: 10152838 rev_number: 9 eprint_status: archive userid: 699 dir: disk0/10/15/28/38 datestamp: 2022-07-29 10:58:42 lastmod: 2023-01-21 07:10:27 status_changed: 2022-07-29 10:58:42 type: article metadata_visibility: show sword_depositor: 699 creators_name: Zheng, Yanhong creators_name: Fedorov, Alexey creators_name: Burls, Natalie J creators_name: Zhang, Rui creators_name: Brierley, Chris M creators_name: Fang, Zhengkun creators_name: Yu, Xuefeng creators_name: Xian, Feng creators_name: Lu, Hongxuan title: Severe Drought Conditions in Northern East Asia During the Early Pliocene Caused by Weakened Pacific Meridional Temperature Gradient ispublished: pub divisions: C03 divisions: F26 divisions: B03 divisions: UCL keywords: drought conditions, meridional SST gradient, GDGTs, Asian summer monsoon, early pliocene note: This version is the version of record. For information on re-use, please refer to the publisher’s terms and conditions. abstract: The evolution of hydroclimate in East Asia during the Pliocene—a potential analog of the future greenhouse climate—remains highly uncertain. Here we reconstruct changes in the hydroclimate of Northern China during this epoch. Our results reveal previously undocumented severe drought conditions that persisted through the early Pliocene with a significantly greater magnitude than suggested by other records. Using a broad hierarchy of climate simulations, we find that reduction in the Pacific meridional sea surface temperature (SST) gradient has particularly strong impacts on precipitation over Northern China, which suggests its key role in maintaining drought conditions during the early Pliocene. The weaker Pacific meridional SST gradient causes the weakening of the East Asian summer monsoon precipitation over this region via a reduction of atmospheric northward moisture transport from the ocean, which enhances aridity inland. Our results highlight the fundamental control of the tropical ocean on the extra-tropical hydrological cycle. date: 2022-07-28 date_type: published publisher: AMER GEOPHYSICAL UNION official_url: https://doi.org/10.1029/2022GL098813 oa_status: green full_text_type: pub language: eng primo: open primo_central: open_green verified: verified_manual elements_id: 1967339 doi: 10.1029/2022GL098813 lyricists_name: Brierley, Christopher lyricists_id: CCBBR95 actors_name: Flynn, Bernadette actors_id: BFFLY94 actors_role: owner funding_acknowledgements: 41872031 [National Natural Science Foundation of China]; 41372033 [National Natural Science Foundation of China]; 41772027 [National Natural Science Foundation of China]; [Key Scientific and Technological Team Project in Shaanxi Province]; SKLLQG1731 [State Key Laboratory of Loess and Quaternary Geology]; ANR-18-MPGA-0001 [State Key Laboratory of Loess and Quaternary Geology] full_text_status: public publication: Geophysical Research Letters volume: 49 number: 14 article_number: e2022GL098813 pages: 10 issn: 0094-8276 citation: Zheng, Yanhong; Fedorov, Alexey; Burls, Natalie J; Zhang, Rui; Brierley, Chris M; Fang, Zhengkun; Yu, Xuefeng; ... Lu, Hongxuan; + view all <#> Zheng, Yanhong; Fedorov, Alexey; Burls, Natalie J; Zhang, Rui; Brierley, Chris M; Fang, Zhengkun; Yu, Xuefeng; Xian, Feng; Lu, Hongxuan; - view fewer <#> (2022) Severe Drought Conditions in Northern East Asia During the Early Pliocene Caused by Weakened Pacific Meridional Temperature Gradient. Geophysical Research Letters , 49 (14) , Article e2022GL098813. 10.1029/2022GL098813 <https://doi.org/10.1029/2022GL098813>. Green open access document_url: https://discovery.ucl.ac.uk/id/eprint/10152838/1/Geophysical%20Research%20Letters%20-%202022%20-%20Zheng.pdf