Glacial aridity in central Indonesia coeval with intensified monsoon circulation

The Last Glacial Maximum was cool and dry over the Indo-Pacific Warm Pool (IPWP), a key region driving global oceanic–atmospheric circulation. Both low- and high-latitude teleconnections with insolation, ice sheets, and sea level have been suggested to explain the pervasive aridity observed in paleoecological and geomorphic data. However, proxies tracking the H- and O-isotopic composition of rainfall (e.g., speleothems, sedimentary biomarkers) suggest muted aridity or even wetter conditions than the present, complicating interpretations of glacial IPWP climate. Here we use multiproxy reconstructions from lake sediments and modern rainfall isotopic measurements from central Indonesia to show that, contrary to the classical “amount effect,” intensified Australian–Indonesian monsoon circulation drove lighter H- and O-isotopic composition of IPWP rainfall during the LGM, while at the same time, dry conditions prevailed. Precipitation isotopes are particularly sensitive to the apparent increase in monsoon circulation and perhaps also decreased moisture residence time implied by our data, explaining contrasts among proxy records while illuminating glacial IPWP atmospheric circulation, a key target for climate models. •60 kyr of leaf wax δD and sediment geochemistry from Lake Towuti, Indonesia.•2 years of modern data support regional, not local, controls on precipitation δD.•The Last Glacial Maximum was dry, but regional precipitation was isotopically light.•Convergence of depleted moisture sources intensified during the glacial period.