Environmental change during the penultimate glacial cycle: a high-resolution pollen record from ODP Site 1144, South China Sea

In order to study environmental change within the penultimate glacial cycle (MIS 6-5), a total of 385 pollen samples with an average time resolution of 530 years were analyzed from ODP Site 1144 (20°3.18′N, 1170°25.14′E), northeastern South China Sea. A characteristic feature of pollen diagram is the alternating peaks of pine and herbs, generally corresponding to the glacial cycle. Pine dominates in the interglacial, herb pollen dominates in the glacial. A detailed comparison shows that the pollen assemblages changed earlier at the glacial–interglacial transition between MIS 6 and 5 (Termination II) than the ice volume indicated by the oxygen isotope record, implying that mid–low latitude climate warming preceded high latitude ice sheet retreat. Responses of pollen assemblages to orbital and suborbital cyclicities and to monsoon variations are also discussed.