Change in dust seasonality as the primary driver for orbital-scale dust storm variability in East Asia

Abstract

Glacial periods are recognized to be dustier than interglacials, but the conditions leading to greater dust mobilization are poorly defined. Here we present a new high-resolution dust record based on 230Th-normalized 4He flux from Ocean Drilling Program site 882 in the Subarctic North Pacific covering the last 170,000 years. By analogy with modern relationships, we infer the mechanisms controlling orbital-scale dust storm variability in East Asia. We propose that orbital-scale dust flux variability is the result of an expansion of the dust season into summer, in addition to more intense dust storms during spring and fall. The primary drivers influencing dust flux include summer insolation at subarctic latitudes and variable Siberian alpine glaciation, which together control the cold air reservoir in Siberia. Changes in the extent of the Northern Hemisphere ice sheets may be a secondary control.