Coupled Pacific Rim megadroughts contributed to the fall of the Ming Dynasty's capital in 1644 CE.

Autor: Chen F; Yunnan Key Laboratory of International Rivers and Transboundary Eco-Security, Institute of International Rivers and Eco-Security, Yunnan University, Kunming 650504, China; Southwest United Graduate School, Kunming 650504, China. Electronic address: feng653@163.com., Wang T; Climate Change Research Center and Nansen-Zhu International Research Centre, Institute of Atmospheric Physics, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100029, China., Zhao X; Yunnan Key Laboratory of International Rivers and Transboundary Eco-Security, Institute of International Rivers and Eco-Security, Yunnan University, Kunming 650504, China; Southwest United Graduate School, Kunming 650504, China., Esper J; Department of Geography, Johannes Gutenberg University, Mainz 55099, Germany; Global Change Research Institute (CzechGlobe), Czech Academy of Sciences, Brno 60300, Czech Republic., Ljungqvist FC; Department of History, Stockholm University, Stockholm 10691, Sweden; Bolin Centre for Climate Research, Stockholm University, Stockholm 10691, Sweden; Swedish Collegium for Advanced Study, Linneanum, Uppsala 75238, Sweden., Büntgen U; Department of Geography, University of Cambridge, Cambridge CB2 3EN, UK; Global Change Research Institute (CzechGlobe), Czech Academy of Sciences, Brno 60300, Czech Republic; Department of Geography, Faculty of Science, Masaryk University, Brno 61137, Czech Republic; Swiss Federal Research Institute (WSL), Birmensdorf 8903, Switzerland., Linderholm HW; Regional Climate Group, Department of Earth Sciences, University of Gothenburg, Gothenburg 40530, Sweden., Meko D; Laboratory of Tree-Ring Research, University of Arizona, Tucson AZ 85721, USA., Xu H; Collaborative Innovation Center on Forecast and Evaluation of Meteorological Disasters (CIC‑FEMD), Nanjing University of Information Science and Technology, Nanjing 210044, China., Yue W; Yunnan Key Laboratory of International Rivers and Transboundary Eco-Security, Institute of International Rivers and Eco-Security, Yunnan University, Kunming 650504, China., Wang S; Yunnan Key Laboratory of International Rivers and Transboundary Eco-Security, Institute of International Rivers and Eco-Security, Yunnan University, Kunming 650504, China; Southwest United Graduate School, Kunming 650504, China., Yuan Y; Key Laboratory of Tree-ring Physical and Chemical Research, Institute of Desert Meteorology, China Meteorological Administration, Urumqi 830002, China., Zheng J; Key Laboratory of Land Surface Pattern and Simulation, Institute of Geographical Sciences and Natural Resources Research, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100101, China., Pan W; Key Laboratory of Digital Human Technology R&D and Application of Yunnan Provincial Department of Education, Yunnan University, Kunming 650504, China., Roig F; Laboratorio de Dendrocronología e Historia Ambiental, IANIGLA-CCT CONICET-Universidad Nacional de Cuyo, Mendoza 5500, Argentina; Hémera Centro de Observación de La Tierra, Escuela de Ingeniería ForestalFacultad de Ciencias, Universidad Mayor, Huechuraba 8580745, Chile., Hadad M; Laboratorio de Dendrocronología de Zonas Áridas CIGEOBIO (CONICET-UNSJ), Gabinete de Geología Ambiental (INGEO-UNSJ), San Juan 3306, Argentina., Hu M; Yunnan Key Laboratory of International Rivers and Transboundary Eco-Security, Institute of International Rivers and Eco-Security, Yunnan University, Kunming 650504, China; Southwest United Graduate School, Kunming 650504, China., Wei J; Yunnan Key Laboratory of International Rivers and Transboundary Eco-Security, Institute of International Rivers and Eco-Security, Yunnan University, Kunming 650504, China., Chen F; ALPHA, State Key Laboratory of Tibetan Plateau Earth System, Environment and Resources (TPESER), Institute of Tibetan Plateau Research, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100101, China; College of Resources and Environment, University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100049, China; MOE Key Laboratory of Western China's Environmental System, Lanzhou University, Lanzhou 730000, China.
Jazyk: angličtina
Zdroj: Science bulletin [Sci Bull (Beijing)] 2024 Oct 15; Vol. 69 (19), pp. 3106-3114. Date of Electronic Publication: 2024 Apr 16.
DOI: 10.1016/j.scib.2024.04.029
Abstrakt: Historical documents provide evidence for regional droughts preceding the political turmoil and fall of Beijing in 1644 CE, when more than 20 million people died in northern China during the late Ming famine period. However, the role climate and environmental changes may have played in this pivotal event in Chinese history remains unclear. Here, we provide tree-ring evidence of persistent megadroughts from 1576 to 1593 CE and from 1628 to 1644 CE in northern China, which coincided with exceptionally cold summers just before the fall of Beijing. Our analysis reveals that these regional hydroclimatic extremes are part of a series of megadroughts along the Pacific Rim, which not only impacted the ecology and society of monsoonal northern China, but likely also exacerbated external geopolitical and economic pressures. This finding is corroborated by last millennium reanalysis data and numerical climate model simulations revealing internally driven Pacific sea surface temperature variations and the predominance of decadal scale La Niña-like conditions to be responsible for precipitation decreases over northern China, as well as extensive monsoon regions in the Americas. These teleconnection patterns provide a mechanistic explanation for reoccurring drought spells during the late Ming Dynasty and the environmental framework fostering the fall of Beijing in 1644 CE, and the subsequent demise of the Ming Dynasty.
(Copyright © 2024 Science China Press. Published by Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.)
Databáze: MEDLINE
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