title: Cyclic precipitation variation on the western Loess Plateau of China during the past four centuries.
abstract: Precipitation variation on the Loess Plateau (LP) of China is not only important for rain-fed agriculture in this environmentally sensitive region, but also critical for the water and life securities over the whole Yellow River basin. Here we reconstruct high resolution precipitation variation on the western LP during the past 370 years by using two replicated, annually-laminated stalagmites. Spatial analysis suggests that the reconstruction can be also representative for the whole LP region. The precipitation variations show a significant quasi-50 year periodicity during the last 370 years, and have an important role in determining the runoff of the middle Yellow River. The main factor controlling the decadal scale variations and long-term trend in precipitation over this region is southerly water vapour transport associated with the Asian summer monsoon. The Pacific Decadal Oscillation is also an important influence on precipitation variation in this region, as it can affect the East Asian summer monsoon and the West Pacific Subtropical High.
authors.affiliation: State Key Laboratory of Loess and Quaternary Geology, Institute of Earth Environment, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Xi'an 710075, China.
authors.forename: Liangcheng
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Tan
authors.affiliation: State Key Laboratory of Loess and Quaternary Geology, Institute of Earth Environment, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Xi'an 710075, China.
authors.forename: Zhisheng
authors.initials: Z
authors.lastname: An
authors.affiliation: Institute of Earth Sciences, Academia Sinica, Taipei 11529, Taiwan.
authors.forename: Chih-An
authors.initials: CA
authors.lastname: Huh
authors.affiliation: State Key Laboratory of Loess and Quaternary Geology, Institute of Earth Environment, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Xi'an 710075, China.
authors.forename: Yanjun
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Cai
authors.affiliation: High-precision Mass Spectrometry and Environment Change Laboratory (HISPEC), Department of Geosciences, National Taiwan University, Taipei 106, Taiwan.
authors.forename: Chuan-Chou
authors.initials: CC
authors.lastname: Shen
authors.affiliation: Institute of Earth Sciences, Academia Sinica, Taipei 11529, Taiwan.
authors.forename: Liang-Jian
authors.initials: LJ
authors.lastname: Shiau
authors.affiliation: State Key Laboratory of Loess and Quaternary Geology, Institute of Earth Environment, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Xi'an 710075, China.
authors.forename: Libin
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Yan
authors.affiliation: 1] Institute of Global Environmental Change, Xi'an Jiaotong University, Xi'an 710049, China [2] Department of Earth Sciences, University of Minnesota, Minneapolis 55455, USA.
authors.forename: Hai
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Cheng
authors.affiliation: Department of Earth Sciences, University of Minnesota, Minneapolis 55455, USA.
authors.forename: R Lawrence
authors.initials: RL
authors.lastname: Edwards