Skip to main content

Thank you for visiting nature.com. You are using a browser version with limited support for CSS. To obtain the best experience, we recommend you use a more up to date browser (or turn off compatibility mode in Internet Explorer). In the meantime, to ensure continued support, we are displaying the site without styles and JavaScript.

  • Letter
  • Published:

Increasing Australian–Indonesian monsoon rainfall linked to early Holocene sea-level rise

Nature Geoscience volume 2, pages 636–639 (2009)Cite this article

Abstract

The Australian–Indonesian summer monsoon affects rainfall variability and hence terrestrial productivity in the densely populated tropical Indo–Pacific region. It has been proposed that the main control of summer monsoon precipitation on millennial timescales is local insolation1,2,3, but unravelling the mechanisms that have influenced monsoon variability and teleconnections has proven difficult, owing to the lack of high-resolution records of past monsoon behaviour. Here we present a precisely dated reconstruction of monsoon rainfall over the past 12,000 years, based on oxygen isotope measurements from two stalagmites collected in southeast Indonesia. We show that the summer monsoon precipitation increased during the Younger Dryas cooling event, when Atlantic meridional overturning circulation was relatively weak4. Monsoon precipitation intensified even more rapidly from 11,000 to 7,000 years ago, when the Indonesian continental shelf was flooded by global sea-level rise5,6,7. We suggest that the intensification during the Younger Dryas cooling was caused by enhanced winter monsoon outflow from Asia and a related southward migration of the intertropical convergence zone8. However, the early Holocene intensification of monsoon precipitation was driven by sea-level rise, which increased the supply of moisture to the Indonesian archipelago.

This is a preview of subscription content, access via your institution

Access options

Buy this article

  • Purchase on Springer Link
  • Instant access to full article PDF
Buy now

Prices may be subject to local taxes which are calculated during checkout

Figure 1: Moisture-source trajectories and rainwater isotope ratios for Liang Luar cave.
Figure 2: Liang Luar stalagmite δ18O record and other palaeoclimate records.
Figure 3: Comparison of palaeoclimate records between Flores, southern China and northern South America during the Younger Dryas cooling.

Similar content being viewed by others

References

  1. Wyrwoll, K. H. et al. Sensitivity of the Australian summer monsoon to tilt and precession forcing. Quat. Sci. Rev. 26, 3043–3057 (2007).

    Article  Google Scholar 

  2. Holbourn, A. et al. Orbitally paced paleoproductivity variations in the Timor Sea and Indonesian throughflow variability during the last 460 kyr. Paleoceanography 20, PA3002 (2005).

    Article  Google Scholar 

  3. Kershaw, A. P., van der Kaars, S. & Moss, P. T. Late Quaternary Milankovitch-scale climatic change and variability and its impact on monsoonal Australasia. Mar. Geol. 201, 81–95 (2003).

    Article  Google Scholar 

  4. McManus, J. F. et al. Collapse and rapid resumption of Atlantic meridional circulation linked to deglacial climate changes. Nature 428, 834–837 (2004).

    Article  Google Scholar 

  5. Siddall, M. et al. Sea-level fluctuations during the last glacial cycle. Nature 423, 853–858 (2003).

    Article  Google Scholar 

  6. Bard, E. et al. Deglacial sea-level record from Tahiti corals and the timing of global meltwater discharge. Nature 382, 241–244 (1996).

    Article  Google Scholar 

  7. Peltier, W. R. & Fairbanks, R. G. Global glacial ice volume and Last Glacial Maximum duration from an extended Barbados sea level record. Quat. Sci. Rev. 25, 3322–3337 (2006).

    Article  Google Scholar 

  8. Yancheva, G. et al. Influence of the intertropical convergence zone on the East Asian monsoon. Nature 445, 74–77 (2007).

    Article  Google Scholar 

  9. Miller, G. et al. Sensitivity of the Australian Monsoon to insolation and vegetation: Implications for human impact on continental moisture balance. Geology 33, 65–68 (2005).

    Article  Google Scholar 

  10. Abram, N. J. et al. Seasonal characteristics of the Indian Ocean Dipole during the Holocene epoch. Nature 445, 299–302 (2007).

    Article  Google Scholar 

  11. Tudhope, A. W. et al. Variability in the El Nino–Southern oscillation through a glacial–interglacial cycle. Science 291, 1511–1517 (2001).

    Article  Google Scholar 

  12. Stott, L. et al. Decline of surface temperature and salinity in the western tropical Pacific Ocean in the Holocene epoch. Nature 431, 56–59 (2004).

    Article  Google Scholar 

  13. Visser, K., Thunell, R. & Stott, L. Magnitude and timing of temperature change in the Indo–Pacific warm pool during deglaciation. Nature 421, 152–155 (2003).

    Article  Google Scholar 

  14. Wang, Y. J. et al. The Holocene Asian monsoon: Links to solar changes and North Atlantic climate. Science 308, 854–857 (2005).

    Article  Google Scholar 

  15. Haug, G. H. et al. Southward migration of the intertropical convergence zone through the Holocene. Science 293, 1304–1308 (2001).

    Article  Google Scholar 

  16. Partin, J. W. et al. Millennial-scale trends in west Pacific warm pool hydrology since the Last Glacial Maximum. Nature 449, 452–455 (2007).

    Article  Google Scholar 

  17. Dykoski, C. A. et al. A high-resolution, absolute-dated Holocene and deglacial Asian monsoon record from Dongge Cave, China. Earth Planet. Sci. Lett. 233, 71–86 (2005).

    Article  Google Scholar 

  18. Rozanski, K., Araguasaraguas, L. & Gonfiantini, R. Relation between long-term trends of O-18 isotope composition of precipitation and climate. Science 258, 981–985 (1992).

    Article  Google Scholar 

  19. Hendy, C. H. The isotopic geochemistry of speleothems: The calculations of the effects of different modes of formation on the isotopic composition of speleothems and their applicability as palaeclimate indicators. Geochim. Cosmochim. Acta 35, 801–824 (1971).

    Article  Google Scholar 

  20. Schrag, D. P., Hampt, G. & Murray, D. W. Pore fluid constraints on the temperature and oxygen isotopic composition of the glacial ocean. Science 272, 1930–1932 (1996).

    Article  Google Scholar 

  21. Wang, X. F. et al. Interhemispheric anti-phasing of rainfall during the last glacial period. Quat. Sci. Rev. 25, 3391–3403 (2006).

    Article  Google Scholar 

  22. Kienast, M., Steinke, S., Stattegger, K. & Calvert, S. E. Synchronous tropical South China Sea SST change and Greenland warming during deglaciation. Science 291, 2132–2134 (2001).

    Article  Google Scholar 

  23. Turney, C. S. M. et al. Millennial and orbital variations of El Nino/Southern Oscillation and high-latitude climate in the last glacial period. Nature 428, 306–310 (2004).

    Article  Google Scholar 

  24. Members, E. C. One-to-one coupling of glacial climate variability in Greenland and Antarctica. Nature 444, 195–198 (2006).

    Article  Google Scholar 

  25. Wang, X. F. et al. Wet periods in northeastern Brazil over the past 210 kyr linked to distant climate anomalies. Nature 432, 740–743 (2004).

    Article  Google Scholar 

  26. Cruz, F. W. et al. Insolation-driven changes in atmospheric circulation over the past 116,000 years in subtropical Brazil. Nature 434, 63–66 (2005).

    Article  Google Scholar 

  27. Broecker, W. S. Does the trigger for abrupt climate change reside in the ocean or in the atmosphere? Science 300, 1519–1522 (2003).

    Article  Google Scholar 

  28. Zhang, R. & Delworth, T. L. Simulated tropical response to a substantial weakening of the Atlantic thermohaline circulation. J. Clim. 18, 1853–1860 (2005).

    Article  Google Scholar 

  29. Magee, J. W., Miller, G. H., Spooner, N. A. & Questiaux, D. Continuous 150 kyr monsoon record from Lake Eyre, Australia: Insolation-forcing implications and unexpected Holocene failure. Geology 32, 885–888 (2004).

    Article  Google Scholar 

  30. Draxler, R. R. & Rolph, G. D. HYSPLIT—HYbrid Single-Particle Lagrangian Integrated Trajectory Model <http://www.arl.noaa.gov/ready/hysplit4.html>.

Download references

Acknowledgements

We thank N. Anderson, G. Smith and the Indonesian Institute of Sciences (LIPI) for logistical support and technical assistance with fieldwork, which was carried out under LIPI Research Permit number 3551/I/KS/2006. We also thank H. Scott-Gagan, J. Cowley and J. Cali for laboratory assistance and O. Ray-Lescure for help with Fig. 1. Comments by F. W. Cruz significantly improved the manuscript. This study was supported by an Australian Postgraduate Award to M.L.G. and an Australian Research Council grant (DP0663274) to M.K.G., J.-x. Z., R.N.D. and W.S.H. The authors gratefully acknowledge the NOAA Air Resources Laboratory (ARL) for providing the HYSPLIT transport and dispersion model and/or READY website (http://www.arl.noaa.gov/ready.html) used in this publication.

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Environmental and Climate Change Group, The University of Newcastle, Callaghan, New South Wales 2308, Australia

    M. L. Griffiths, R. N. Drysdale & S. Frisia

  2. Research School of Earth Sciences, The Australian National University, Canberra, Australian Capital Territory 0200, Australia

    M. K. Gagan & L. K. Ayliffe

  3. Centre for Microscopy and Microanalysis, The University of Queensland, Brisbane, Queensland 4072, Australia

    J.-x. Zhao, Y.-x. Feng & E. St. Pierre

  4. School of Earth Sciences, The University of Melbourne, Parkville, Victoria 2010, Australia

    J. C. Hellstrom

  5. Research and Development Center for Geotechnology, Indonesian Institute of Sciences, Bandung, 40135, Indonesia

    W. S. Hantoro & B. W. Suwargadi

  6. School of Geosciences, Monash University, Clayton, Victoria 3800, Australia

    I. Cartwright

  7. Australian Nuclear Science and Technology Organisation, PMB1, Menai, New South Wales 2234, Australia

    M. J. Fischer

Authors
  1. M. L. Griffiths
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  2. R. N. Drysdale
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  3. M. K. Gagan
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  4. J.-x. Zhao
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  5. L. K. Ayliffe
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  6. J. C. Hellstrom
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  7. W. S. Hantoro
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  8. S. Frisia
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  9. Y.-x. Feng
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  10. I. Cartwright
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  11. E. St. Pierre
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  12. M. J. Fischer
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  13. B. W. Suwargadi
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

Contributions

M.L.G. and L.K.A. were responsible for the geochemical analysis of the oxygen isotopes. M.K.G. was Chief Investigator and R.N.D., J.-x.Z., and W.S.H. were Partner Investigators. J.C.H., Y.-x.F., J.-x.Z and E.St.P. were responsible for the U/Th dating. I.C. was responsible for the isotopic analysis of the rainwater. M.J.F. helped with the interpretation of the oxygen isotopes. B.W.S. assisted in the collection of samples in June 2006. M.L.G., R.N.D., M.K.G. and S.F. wrote the paper.

Corresponding authors

Correspondence to M. L. Griffiths or M. K. Gagan.

Supplementary information

Supplementary Information

Supplementary Information (PDF 1843 kb)

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

About this article

Cite this article

Griffiths, M., Drysdale, R., Gagan, M. et al. Increasing Australian–Indonesian monsoon rainfall linked to early Holocene sea-level rise. Nature Geosci 2, 636–639 (2009). https://doi.org/10.1038/ngeo605

Download citation

  • Received:

  • Accepted:

  • Published:

  • Issue Date:

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/ngeo605

This article is cited by

Search

Advanced search

Quick links

Nature Briefing

Sign up for the Nature Briefing newsletter — what matters in science, free to your inbox daily.

Get the most important science stories of the day, free in your inbox. Sign up for Nature Briefing