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Evidence for decreased precipitation variability in the Yucatán Peninsula during the mid-Holocene
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  • Gabriela Serrato Marks,
  • Martín Medina-Elizalde,
  • Stephen J Burns,
  • Syee Weldeab,
  • Fernanda Lases-Hernandez,
  • Gabriela Cazares,
  • David McGee,
  • Martín Medina-Elizalde
Gabriela Serrato Marks
Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Massachusetts Institute of Technology

Corresponding Author:gserrato@mit.edu

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Martín Medina-Elizalde
Auburn University
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Stephen J Burns
University of Massachusetts Amherst, University of Massachusetts Amherst, University of Massachusetts Amherst, University of Massachusetts Amherst
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Syee Weldeab
University of California, Santa Barbara, University of California, Santa Barbara, University of California, Santa Barbara, University of California, Santa Barbara
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Fernanda Lases-Hernandez
Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México, Unidad Sisal, UNAM Campus Juriquilla, UNAM Campus Juriquilla, UNAM Campus Juriquilla
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Gabriela Cazares
Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Massachusetts Institute of Technology
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David McGee
MIT, MIT, MIT, MIT
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Martín Medina-Elizalde
University of Massachusetts Amherst, University of Massachusetts Amherst, University of Massachusetts Amherst
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Abstract

The Yucatan Peninsula has a complex hydroclimate with many proposed drivers of interannual and longer-term variability, ranging from coupled ocean-atmosphere processes to frequency of tropical cyclones. The mid-Holocene, thought to have had warmer north Atlantic sea surface temperatures, provides an interesting opportunity to test the relationship between Yucatan Peninsula precipitation and ocean temperature. Here we present a new, ~annually resolved speleothem record of stable isotope (δ18O and δ13C) and trace element (Mg/Ca and Sr/Ca) ratios for a section of the mid-Holocene (5.2-5.7 kyr BP). A meter-long stalagmite from Rio Secreto, a cave system in Playa del Carmen, Mexico, was dated using U-Th geochronology and layer counting, yielding ~decadal age uncertainty. The new proxy data were compared to a previously published late Holocene stalagmite from the same cave system, allowing us to examine changes in hydrology over time without potential inter-cave differences. The δ18O, δ13C and trace element data consistently indicate higher mean precipitation and lower precipitation variability during the mid-Holocene compared to the late Holocene. Despite this reduced variability, spectral analysis suggests that multi-decadal precipitation variations were persistent in regional hydroclimate during the mid- and late Holocene. Wet-dry oscillations occurred in association with the higher summer solar input and higher mean precipitation of the mid-Holocene, though with reduced amplitude compared to the late Holocene. We therefore conclude that the Yucatan Peninsula is susceptible to dry periods across climate mean states.
May 2021Published in Paleoceanography and Paleoclimatology volume 36 issue 5. 10.1029/2021PA004219