East Gobi megalake systems reveal East Asian Monsoon dynamics over the last interglacial-glacial cycle.

Intense debate persists about the timing and magnitude of the wet phases in the East Asia deserts since the late Pleistocene. Here we show reconstructions of the paleohydrology of the East Gobi Desert since the last interglacial using satellite images and digital elevation models (DEM) combined with detailed section analyses. Paleolakes with a total area of 15,500 km during Marine Isotope Stage 5 (MIS 5) were identified.