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Asian inland wildfires driven by glacial-interglacial climate change
Yongming Han1,2,3,4, Zhisheng An5,2,4,6, Jennifer R Marlon7
1State Key Laboratory of Loess and Quaternary Geology, Center for Excellence in Quaternary Science and Global Change, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Xi'an 710061, China.
Summary
Wildfire patterns over the past 2.6 million years show distinct glacial-interglacial cycles. These cycles suggest ice-volume-driven aridity controlled ancient fires and dust, potentially impacting global climate.
Area of Science:
- Paleoclimatology
- Geology
- Environmental Science
Background:
- Wildfire's influence on climate is significant but poorly understood, especially concerning Quaternary glacial-interglacial cycles.
- Understanding past wildfire dynamics is crucial for predicting future climate interactions.
Purpose of the Study:
- To reconstruct high-resolution wildfire patterns over the past 2.6 million years.
- To investigate the relationship between wildfire, climate, and dust fluxes during glacial-interglacial cycles.
- To explore potential links between ancient fires, atmospheric CO2, and the iron cycle.
Main Methods:
- Analysis of a high-resolution soot record from the Chinese Loess Plateau.
- Comparison of soot records with marine oxygen isotope (δ18O) and dust records.
- Correlation analysis with global atmospheric carbon dioxide (CO2) records.
Main Results:
- A distinct glacial-interglacial cyclicity in soot deposition was observed over the Quaternary Period.
- Soot cyclicity was synchronous with marine δ18O and dust records, indicating ice-volume-modulated aridity control.
- High-intensity fires showed an anticorrelation with global atmospheric CO2 records over the last eight cycles.
Conclusions:
- Ice-volume-modulated aridity in Central Asia controlled ancient wildfire occurrences and dust fluxes.
- A potential link exists between ancient wildfires, dust, and global climate through the iron cycle.
- Wildfire may play a more significant role in the global climate system than previously recognized.
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