Northern hemisphere ice sheet expansion intensified Asian aridification and the winter monsoon across the mid-Pleistocene transition

Abstract The mid-Pleistocene transition 1.25 to 0.6 million years ago marked a major shift in global climate periodicity from 41,000 around 100,000 without concomitant orbital forcing shift. Here, we investigate Asian dynamics associated with two extreme glacial loess coarsening events at the onset and middle of by combining new existing grain size magnetic susceptibility records Chinese Loess Plateau spanning last 1.6 general circulation model simulations. We find that reflect exceptionally enhanced aridification winter monsoon activity. They coincided notable Northern Hemisphere ice sheet expansion 0.9 when 100,000-year initiated intensified, respectively. Our results indicate these anomalously dry windy glacials were probably driven an amplified terrestrial response coincident expansion.