Triple oxygen isotope reveals insolation-forced tropical moisture cycles.
basic_science · Level V
Where this comes from
- Record sourced from PubMed, PMID 39259794.
- Also identified by DOI 10.1126/sciadv.adp7855 and PMC identifier 11389795.
- Licence recorded as CC BY-NC.
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Abstract
Tropical oceans are the main global water vapor and latent heat sources, but their responses to radiative forcing remain unclear. Here, we investigate oceanic moisture dynamics of the western tropical Pacific (WTP) over the past 210,000 years through an approach of planktonic foraminiferal triple oxygen isotope (Δ'<sup>17</sup>O). The Δ'<sup>17</sup>O record is dominated by the precession cycles (~23,000 years), with lower values reflecting higher humidity in concert with higher Northern Hemisphere summer insolation. Our empirical and modeling results, combined with other geological archives, suggest that the enhanced moisture convergence over the WTP largely intensifies changes in the meridional and zonal hydrological cycles, affecting rainfall patterns in East Asia and northern South America. We propose that the insolation-driven WTP moisture dynamics play a pivotal role in regulating tropical hydroclimate.