Meridional response of Western North Pacific paleocyclone activity to tropical atmospheric circulation variability over the past millennium

• Published in: Palaeogeography, palaeoclimatology, palaeoecology palaeoclimatology, palaeoecology, 2023-01, Vol.610, p.111331, Article 111331
• Main Authors: Tan, Fei, Zhang, Yunfeng, Cao, Li, Xu, Huilong, Shi, Qi, Zhang, Xiyang, Tao, Shichen, Zhao, Jianxin, Yang, Hongqiang
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Intertropical Convergence Zone; Little Ice Age; Pacific Walker Circulation; Tropical cyclone; Western North Pacific
• ISSN: 0031-0182; 1872-616X
• DOI: 10.1016/j.palaeo.2022.111331

Sedimentary records of past tropical cyclone (TC) activity indicate large variability and spatial heterogeneity on the interannual-century scales. However, the meridional variation patterns and climatic forcing mechanisms for regional TC activity are not well understood because of the short and incomplete observational record. Here, we present a near-annually resolved record of intense TC activity derived from a back-reef lagoon at Anle Atoll in the southern South China Sea since the Little Ice Age (LIA). Our reconstruction indicates that TC activity was higher during the early LIA than what has been observed throughout the instrumental record. Basin-wide compiled records of the western North Pacific (WNP) cyclogenesis revealed strong evidence of a meridional seesaw pattern for storm activity between relatively low and high latitudes over the past millennium. This pattern suggests a centennial-scale link with Pacific hydroclimate atmospheric circulation shifts. A combination of southward displacement of the Intertropical Convergence Zone and westward migration of the Pacific Walker Circulation, as well as damped El Niño Southern Oscillation variability, likely contributed to enhanced TC activity during the LIA in the low latitudes of the WNP. External forcing of solar irradiance budgets profoundly affects the hydroclimate and TC climatology in the WNP. •Intense TC strikes were witnessed during the early LIA in the southern South China Sea.•Compiled records support evidence for meridional heterogeneity of cyclogenesis in the WNP.•Increased TC activity in low latitudes of WNP was driven by LIA circulation changes.•Solar irradiance represents a key external forcing of TC climatology in the WNP.