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Volume 21 Issue 2

Mar.  2004

Article Contents
Article >  ADVANCES IN ATMOSPHERIC SCIENCES  > 2004 >  21(2): 291-295

Abrupt Climate Change around 4 ka BP: Role of the Thermohaline Circulation as Indicated by a GCM Experiment

  • 1.

    Department of Atmospheric Sciences,School of Physics, Peking University,Beijing 100871,State Key Laboratory of Numerical Modeling for Atmospheric Sciences and Geophysical Fluid Dynamics,Institute of Atmospheric Physics,Chinese Academy of Sciences,Beijing 100029,Department of Atmospheric Sciences,School of Physics, Peking University,Beijing 100871,Department of Atmospheric Sciences,School of Physics, Peking University,Beijing 100871,Department of Atmospheric Sciences,School of Physics, Peking University,Beijing 100871,Key Lab of Environmental Change and Natural Disaster,Ministry of Education,Institute of Resources Science,Beijing Normal University,Beijing 100875


doi: 10.1007/BF02915716

  • A great deal of palaeoenvironmental and palaeoclimatic evidence suggests that a predominant temperature drop and an aridification occurred at ca. 4.0 ka BP. Palaeoclimate studies in China support this dedution. The collapse of ancient civilizations at ca. 4.0 ka BP in the Nile Valley and Mesopotamia has been attributed to climate-induced aridification. A widespread alternation of the ancient cultures was also found in China at ca. 4.0 ka BP in concert with the collapse of the civilizations in the Old World. Palaeoclimatic studies indicate that the abrupt climate change at 4.0 ka BP is one of the realizations of the cold phase in millennial scale climate oscillations, which may be related to the modulation of the Thermohaline Circulation (THC) over the Atlantic Ocean. Therefore, this study conducts a numerical experiment of a GCM with SST forcing to simulate the impact of the weakening of the THC. Results show a drop in temperature from North Europe, the northern middle East Asia, and northern East Asia and a significant reduction of precipitation in East Africa, the Middle East, the Indian Peninsula, and the Yellow River Valley. This seems to support the idea that coldness and aridification at ca. 4.0 ka BP was caused by the weakening of the THC.
  • [1] Zhengyu LIU, 2006: Glacial Thermohaline Circulation and Climate: Forcing from the North or South?, ADVANCES IN ATMOSPHERIC SCIENCES, 23, 199-206.  doi: 10.1007/s00376-006-0199-7
    [2] MA Hao, WU Lixin, LI Chun, 2010: The Role of Southern High Latitude Wind Stress in Global Climate, ADVANCES IN ATMOSPHERIC SCIENCES, 27, 371-381.  doi: 10.1007/s00376-009-9047-x
    [3] YU Yongqiang, ZHENG Weipeng, WANG Bin, LIU Hailong, LIU Jiping, 2011: Versions g1.0 and g1.1 of the LASG/IAP Flexible Global Ocean--Atmosphere--Land System Model, ADVANCES IN ATMOSPHERIC SCIENCES, 28, 99-117.  doi: 10.1007/s00376-010-9112-5
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    [6] BAI Jie, GE Quansheng, DAI Junhu, 2011: The Response of First Flowering Dates to Abrupt Climate Change in Beijing, ADVANCES IN ATMOSPHERIC SCIENCES, 28, 564-572.  doi: 10.1007/s00376-010-9219-8
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    • Manuscript History

    Manuscript received: 10 March 2004
    Manuscript revised: 10 March 2004
    通讯作者: 陈斌, bchen63@163.com
    • 1. 

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    Abrupt Climate Change around 4 ka BP: Role of the Thermohaline Circulation as Indicated by a GCM Experiment

    • 1. Department of Atmospheric Sciences,School of Physics, Peking University,Beijing 100871,State Key Laboratory of Numerical Modeling for Atmospheric Sciences and Geophysical Fluid Dynamics,Institute of Atmospheric Physics,Chinese Academy of Sciences,Beijing 100029,Department of Atmospheric Sciences,School of Physics, Peking University,Beijing 100871,Department of Atmospheric Sciences,School of Physics, Peking University,Beijing 100871,Department of Atmospheric Sciences,School of Physics, Peking University,Beijing 100871,Key Lab of Environmental Change and Natural Disaster,Ministry of Education,Institute of Resources Science,Beijing Normal University,Beijing 100875
    • Manuscript received: 2004-03-10
    • Manuscript revised: 2004-03-10

    Abstract: A great deal of palaeoenvironmental and palaeoclimatic evidence suggests that a predominant temperature drop and an aridification occurred at ca. 4.0 ka BP. Palaeoclimate studies in China support this dedution. The collapse of ancient civilizations at ca. 4.0 ka BP in the Nile Valley and Mesopotamia has been attributed to climate-induced aridification. A widespread alternation of the ancient cultures was also found in China at ca. 4.0 ka BP in concert with the collapse of the civilizations in the Old World. Palaeoclimatic studies indicate that the abrupt climate change at 4.0 ka BP is one of the realizations of the cold phase in millennial scale climate oscillations, which may be related to the modulation of the Thermohaline Circulation (THC) over the Atlantic Ocean. Therefore, this study conducts a numerical experiment of a GCM with SST forcing to simulate the impact of the weakening of the THC. Results show a drop in temperature from North Europe, the northern middle East Asia, and northern East Asia and a significant reduction of precipitation in East Africa, the Middle East, the Indian Peninsula, and the Yellow River Valley. This seems to support the idea that coldness and aridification at ca. 4.0 ka BP was caused by the weakening of the THC.

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