Impact of mountains in Southern China on the Eocene climates of East Asia

Zijian Zhang (1, 2) , Zhongshi Zhang (3) , Zhilin He (1, 2) , Ning Tan (1) , Zhengtang Guo (1, 2) , Jiang Zhu (4) , Sebastian Steinig (5) , Yannick Donnadieu (6) , Jean‐baptiste Ladant (7, 8) , Wing‐le Chan (9) , Ayako Abe-Ouchi (9) , Igor Niezgodzki (10, 11) , Gregor Knorr (10) , David K. Hutchinson (12) , Agatha M. de Boer (13)

1 Key Laboratory of Cenozoic Geology & Environment
2 UCAS - University of Chinese Academy of Sciences [Beijing]
3 CUG - China University of Geosciences [Wuhan]
4 NCAR - National Center for Atmospheric Research [Boulder]
5 School of Geographical Sciences [Bristol]
6 CEREGE - Centre européen de recherche et d'enseignement des géosciences de l'environnement
7 LSCE - Laboratoire des Sciences du Climat et de l'Environnement [Gif-sur-Yvette]
8 CLIM - Modélisation du climat
9 AORI - Atmosphere and Ocean Research Institute [Kashiwa-shi]
10 Alfred Wegener Institute [Potsdam]
11 ING PAN - Institute of Geological Sciences [Warsaw]
12 CCRC - Climate Change Research Centre [Sydney]
13 Department of Geological Sciences [Stockholm]

Inconsistencies in the Eocene climates of East Asia have been revealed in both geological studies and simulations. Several earlier reconstructions showed an arid zonal band in mid-latitude China, but others showed a humid climate in the same region. Moreover, previous Eocene modeling studies have demonstrated that climate models can simulate both scenarios in China. Therefore, it is essential to investigate the cause of this model spread. We conducted a series of experiments using Norwegian Earth System Model 1-F and examined the impact of mountains in Southern China on the simulated Eocene climate. These mountains, including the Gangdese and Southeast Mountains, are located along the main path of water vapor transport to East Asia. Our results reveal that the Southeast Mountains play the dominant role in controlling the simulated precipitation in Eastern China during the Eocene. When the heights of the Southeast Mountains exceed ∼2,000 m, an arid zonal band appears in mid-latitude China, whereas humid climates appear in Eastern China when the elevation of the Southeast Mountains is relatively low.

Domaines: Océan, Atmosphère; Interfaces continentales, environnement

Zijian Zhang, Zhongshi Zhang, Zhilin He, Ning Tan, Zhengtang Guo, et al.. Impact of mountains in Southern China on the Eocene climates of East Asia. Journal of Geophysical Research: Atmospheres, 2022, 127 (17), ⟨10.1029/2022JD036510⟩. ⟨hal-03763407⟩