Burns, Stephen J. and McGee, David and Scroxton, Nick and Kinsley, Christopher W. and Godfrey, Laurie R. and Faina, Peterson and Ranivoharimanana, Lovasoa (2022) Southern Hemisphere controls on ITCZ variability in southwest Madagascar over the past 117,000 years. Quaternary Science Reviews, 276 (107317). pp. 1-14. ISSN 02773791

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Abstract

Migration of the inter-tropical convergence zone, driven by changes in seasonal insolation and high northern latitude temperatures, is the primary control on tropical rainfall on geologic timescales. We test this paradigm using the timing of growth of stalagmites from southwest Madagascar to infer the timing of expansion of the ITCZ to the south at its southern limit. Over the past 117 ky, speleothems grew in the study area primarily when two conditions are met: summer insolation greater than the mean and relatively high Southern Hemisphere temperatures as indicted by maxima in Antarctic ice core oxygen isotope ratios. We observe little influence of Northern Hemisphere, millennial scale temperature variability on the pluvial periods. Further, we observe periods during which the ITCZ simultaneously expands or contracts in both hemispheres. Because Antarctic isotope maxima are periods of increased atmospheric CO2, our results have implications for how tropical rainfall in the Southern Hemisphere might respond to global warming.

Item Type:	Article
Keywords:	Speleothems; Paleoclimatology; Madagascar; Southern hemisphere; Millennial-scale climate variability; Last glacial period;
Academic Unit:	Faculty of Social Sciences > Geography Faculty of Social Sciences > Research Institutes > Irish Climate Analysis and Research Units, ICARUS
Item ID:	17478
Identification Number:	https://doi.org/10.1016/j.quascirev.2021.107317
Depositing User:	Nick Scroxton
Date Deposited:	04 Sep 2023 11:43
Journal or Publication Title:	Quaternary Science Reviews
Publisher:	Elsevier
Refereed:	Yes
URI:	Publisher
Use Licence:	This item is available under a Creative Commons Attribution Non Commercial Share Alike Licence (CC BY-NC-SA). Details of this licence are available here

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