Asian inland wildfires driven by glacial–interglacial climate change
Yongming Han, Zhisheng An, Jennifer R. Marlon, Raymond S. Bradley, Changlin Zhan, R. Arimoto, Youbin Sun, Weijian Zhou, Feng Wu, Qiyuan Wang, George S. Burr, Junji Cao
Abstract
Significance We reconstructed a unique record of soot variations from a classic Chinese loess section that reflects regional-to-continental scale high-intensity fires in central Asia over the entire Quaternary. This study shows cyclicity of wildfire over glacial–interglacial intervals. High-intensity wildfires were more common and dust loads were high during dry and cold glacial periods, implying a synchronous response to climate change. Our study suggests potential linkages among wildfire, mineral dust, marine biogeochemical cycles, atmospheric CO 2 , and glacial–interglacial climate change. Understanding these connections among earth systems provides insights into climate dynamics during the geological past and may improve predictions for the future.