Lake Qinghai, China 16,000 Year Alkenone Summer Temperature Reconstruction Hou, J.; Huang, Y.; Zhao, J.; Liu, Z.; Colman, S.M.; An, Z. Hou, J. Huang, Y. Zhao, J. Liu, Z. Colman, S.M. An, Z. Air Temperature Reconstruction earth science/paleoclimate/paleolimnology (alkenone,null,null,microgram per gram,null,paleolimnology,null,null,N,null) earth science/paleoclimate/climate reconstructions|paleolimnology (age,null,null,calendar year before present,null,climate reconstructions|paleolimnology,null,null,N,null) earth science/paleoclimate/climate reconstructions|paleolimnology (depth,null,null,centimeter,null,climate reconstructions|paleolimnology,null,null,N,null) earth science/paleoclimate/climate reconstructions|paleolimnology (lake surface temperature,null,null,degree Celsius,null,climate reconstructions|paleolimnology,null,null,N,null) earth science/paleoclimate/paleolimnology earth science/paleoclimate/paleolimnology (Lake Qinghai LQDP05-1Fs>LATITUDE 36.8112>LONGITUDE 100.137) Summer temperatures on the Tibetan Plateau (TP) significantly affect stability of glaciers that provide steady water resources to nearly half of the world population. However, lack of reliable, long-term proxy records greatly impedes understanding of regional temperature sensitivity to climate forcings. Here we present a 16 ka long, alkenone-based summer temperature record from Lake Qinghai, northeastern TP that demonstrates major regional temperature response to changes in summer insolation and Atlantic Meridional Overturning Circulation during the Holocene and late glacial. Importantly, we find a period of sustained summer temperature decline (>4C) between 5 and 3.5 ka, which coincides with expansion of Barents Sea ice coverage and is likely driven by intensification of the Westerlies. This unusually long and pronounced regional cooling event likely delayed permanent human settlements on the high-altitude regions (>3000 m) of the TP by at least 500 years. STUDY NOTES: Sediment alkenone concentration data and summer temperature reconstruction for the past 16,000 years from Lake Qinghai, China NCDC-Paleoclimatology https://www.ncdc.noaa.gov/data-access/paleoclimatology-data - Bauer Bruce Investigator : Hou, J. Investigator : Huang, Y. Investigator : Zhao, J. Investigator : Liu, Z. Investigator : Colman, S.M. Investigator : An, Z. 2016-09-16 ONLINE Files online, ASCII https://www.ncdc.noaa.gov/paleo/study/20518 https://www1.ncdc.noaa.gov/pub/data/paleo/paleolimnology/asia/china/qinghai2016uk37temp.txt https://www1.ncdc.noaa.gov/pub/data/paleo/paleolimnology/asia/china/qinghai2016uk37temp.txt English https://www.ncdc.noaa.gov/paleo/study/20518 https://www1.ncdc.noaa.gov/pub/data/paleo/paleolimnology/asia/china/qinghai2016uk37temp.txt Juzhi Hou, Yongsong Huang, Jiangtao Zhao, Zhonghui Liu, Steve Colman, Zhisheng An2016Large Holocene summer temperature oscillations and impact on the peopling of the northeastern Tibetan PlateauGeophysical Research Letters4331323-133010.1002/2015GL067317http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/2015GL067317/abstract START YEAR: 15629 cal yr BP * END YEAR: 0 cal yr BP 100.137 36.8112 100.137 36.8112