Higher sea surface temperature in the Indian Ocean during the Last Interglacial weakened the South Asian monsoon

Addressing and anticipating future South Asian monsoon changes under continuing global warming is of critical importance for the food security and socioeconomic well-being of one-quarter of the world’s population. However, climate model projections show discrepancies in future monsoon variability in South Asian monsoon domains, largely due to our still limited understanding of the monsoon response to warm climate change scenarios. Particularly, climate models are largely based on the assumption that higher solar insolation causes higher rainfall during similar warm climatic regimes, but this has not been verified by proxy data for different interglacial periods. Here, we compare Indian summer monsoon (ISM) variability during the Last Interglacial and Holocene using a sedimentary leaf wax δD and δ13C record from the northern Bay of Bengal, representing the Ganges–Brahmaputra–Meghna (G-B-M) river catchment. In combination with a seawater salinity record, our results show that ISM intensity broadly follows summer insolation on orbital scales, but ISM intensity during the Last Interglacial was lower than during the Holocene despite higher summer insolation and greenhouse gas concentrations. We argue that sustained warmer sea surface temperature in the equatorial and tropical Indian Ocean during the Last Interglacial increased convective rainfall above the ocean but dampened ISM intensity on land. Our study demonstrates that besides solar insolation, internal climatic feedbacks also play an important role for South Asian monsoon variability during warm climate states. This work can help to improve future climate model projections and highlights the importance of understanding controls of monsoonal rainfall under interglacial boundary conditions.Geological Setting and Proxy Records Results - Variations of n-Alkane δD and δ13C Values. - δDivc Values in Sediment Core 17286-1 Reflect ISM Intensity and Rainfall Amount. - ISM Rainfall Shifts in South Asia. - Vegetation Changes in South Asia. Discussion - Climatic Controls on ISM Intensity at Millennial to Orbital Time Scales. - Internal Climatic Feedback of South Asian Monsoon Variability during the Last Interglacial and the Holocene - Mechanisms Controlling Vegetation Variability in South Asia. - Perspectives. Method