科技科学

Cave stalagmites document global patterns in monsoon rainfall over the past 450,000 years

Nature2026年10月21日查看原文 ↗
  • RESEARCH BRIEFINGS

A 450,000-year stalagmite record of rainfall in the Amazon Basin , combined with existing Asian records, shows that the global monsoon system has oscillated regularly, strengthening in one hemisphere while weakening in the other. However, during intervals of warmth and warming climate, monsoons in both hemispheres failed for millennia.

This is a summary of: Olson, E. J. et al. Interhemispheric monsoon dynamics over the past 450,000 years. Nature 658, 943–950 (2026).

doi: https://doi.org/10.1038/d41586-026-03285-8

‘Expert opinion’ is published under a CC BY 4.0 licence.

References

  1. Cheng, H. et al. Nature 534, 640–646 (2016).

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  2. Kanner, L. C., Burns, S. J., Cheng, H., Edwards, R. L. & Vuille, M. Quat. Sci. Rev. 75, 1–10 (2013).

    Article  Google Scholar 

  3. Rodbell, D. T. et al. Nature 607, 301–306 (2022).

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  4. Pfeffer, W. T., Harper, J. T. & O’Neel, S. Science 321, 1340–1343 (2008).

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

Download references

Subjects

Latest on:

  • Climate sciences
  • Climate change

  • Global emissions slow — but world hurtles towards 2 °C of warming

    News

  • The contribution of salt marshes to wave attenuation during extreme storms

    Article

  • Amazon carbon emissions driven by human actions amplified by droughts

    Article

  • Global emissions slow — but world hurtles towards 2 °C of warming

    News

  • Drought and disease trigger novel interactions among top predators

    Article

  • Nepal’s disaster is an urgent wake-up call

    Comment