Beryllium isotopes in maar lake sediments respond to rapid climate change since the last deglaciation

The timing, amplitude, and mechanisms of rapid climate changes since the last deglaciation remain elusive in East Asia. In this study, high–resolution beryllium isotope and major element records from the annually laminated sediments of maar lake Xiaolongwan—a small, hydrologically closed basin with homogeneous lithology in northeastern China—offer new insights into East Asian climate variability. Abrupt increases in Al/Mg, Ca/Mg, and Ti/Mg ratios indicate intensified aeolian dust input at the onset of the Bølling-Allerød interstadial and the Early–Mid Holocene, synchronous with enhanced East Asian summer monsoon precipitation. Combined with previous dust provenance analyses, we infer a seasonal pattern of dust transport from the Central Asian deserts by southwesterly winds in spring to early summer, prior to peak monsoon rainfall. The ¹⁰Be/⁹Be record exhibits sharp declines that correspond closely to the timing of Dansgaard-Oeschger and Bond events in the North Atlantic. Spectral analysis reveals ∼ 1700-yr periodicity in the ¹⁰Be/⁹Be record, consistent with millennial-scale variability observed in the North Atlantic. These findings highlight a persistent climate teleconnection between East Asia and the North Atlantic and demonstrate that coupled dust and hydroclimate signals in maar lake sediments can reliably track sub-orbital climate variability.