Holocene and deglaciation hydroclimate changes in northern China as inferred from stalagmite growth frequency

Precipitation is the most important factor affecting the formation of speleothems in arid and semi-arid areas; therefore, their growth frequency could be a potential indicator of hydroclimate changes in these areas. Here, we present a cumulative growth frequency record over the past 16 ka B.P. (before 1950), as obtained from 58 ²³⁰Th dates taken from 26 individual stalagmites from Longfeng Cave, Shanxi Province, northern China. The results show that fewer stalagmites formed during 16–12 ka B.P. and that the growth frequency then increased from 12.0–9.5 ka B.P. The cumulative growth frequency was highest between 9.5 and 5.0 ka B.P., and it then declined significantly after 5 ka B.P. The pattern is confirmed not only by the similarity of the growth rate record from the same set of stalagmites and the speleothem δ¹⁸O record from the same region, but also by synchronization with other paleoclimatic records from surrounding areas. These consistencies show that our reconstruction of the local hydroclimate using the cumulative growth frequency of stalagmites is robust.