1993年9月-1997年7月西北大學地質系，地質學專業(yè)學習，獲理學學士學位。1997年9月-2003年6月中國科學院地球環(huán)境研究所(碩博連讀)，第四紀地質學專業(yè)，獲博士學位。畢業(yè)后進入地球環(huán)境研究所工作，從事洞穴石筍與全球變化的研究工作。2002年7月-9月, 2006年2-8月先后在美國明尼蘇達大學進行ICP-MS鈾系測年的學習和訪問研究工作。

主要從事巖溶石筍記錄的氣候環(huán)境變化，以及含人類化石洞穴地層及其鈾系測年的研究工作。

1)揭示南半球氣候對冰期千年尺度印度季風的影響；發(fā)現印度季風降水變化具有冰期-間冰期旋回的變化，結合數值模擬，回答了東部季風區(qū)石筍δ18O記錄與海洋和黃土等記錄在冰期-間冰期尺度變化不同的問題；

2)首次在青藏高原上開展洞穴石筍研究，對高原南部冰心氧同位素的解釋和降水同位素古高度重建提出新認識；

3)揭示全新世夏季風降水南北差異的變化特點，提出東亞大陸溫度以及西太平洋海溫通過調制副熱帶高壓而對我國夏季風降雨產生重要影響；

4)通過鈾系定年，確定廣西智人化石的埋藏年代不晚于10萬年，為東亞最古老早期現代人的發(fā)現做出貢獻。

5)對湖南道縣福巖洞開展洞穴地層和鈾系測年研究，確定古人類牙齒化石的年齡為距今8-12萬年

6)通過新疆全新世石筍記錄和數值模擬的對比分析，指出東地中海、黑海、里海以及周邊區(qū)域再蒸發(fā)水汽貢獻對我國新疆地區(qū)降水及其同位素組成的重要影響，為內陸干旱區(qū)石筍氧同位素解譯提供了新認識。

1.2016年國家自然科學二等獎（第三完成人）

2.2010年陜西省“青年科技新星”稱號

3.第五屆中國青年科技工作者協會個人會員

4.2012年度中國科學院王寬誠西部學者突出貢獻獎

5.2006年度陜西省科學技術一等獎（第十完成人）

現任中國第四紀科學研究會喀斯特與環(huán)境專業(yè)委員會副主任

中國礦物巖石地球化學學會理事會理事

《中國巖溶》編委會委員

2018

Tan L, Cai Y, Cheng H, et al. Centennial-to decadal-scale monsoon precipitation variations in the upper Hanjiang River region, China over the past 6650 years[J]. Earth and Planetary Science Letters, 2018, 482: 580-590.

2017

Shi Z, Cai Y, Liu X, et al. Distinct responses of East Asian and Indian summer monsoons to astronomical insolation during Marine Isotope Stages 5c and 5e[J]. Palaeogeography, Palaeoclimatology, Palaeoecology, 2017.

Deng L, Wang W, Cai Y, et al. A 70-year groundwater recharge record from sandy loess in northwestern China and its climatic implications[J]. Environmental Earth Sciences, 2017, 76(24): 820.

Cai Y*, Qiang X, Wang X, et al. The age of human remains and associated fauna from Zhiren Cave in Guangxi, southern China[J]. Quaternary International, 2017, 434: 84-91.

Tan L, Cai Y, An Z, et al. Decreasing monsoon precipitation in southwest China during the last 240 years associated with the warming of tropical ocean[J]. Climate Dynamics, 2017, 48(5-6): 1769-1778.

Cai Y*, Chiang J C H, Breitenbach S F M, et al. Holocene moisture changes in western China, Central Asia, inferred from stalagmites[J]. Quaternary Science Reviews, 2017, 158: 15-28.

2016

Tan L, Song Y, Cai Y, et al. Preliminary Studies of Speleothem in Central Asia[J]. Acta Geologica Sinica (English Edition), 2016, 90(6): 2279-2280.

Zhang, H., Griffiths, M. L., Huang, J., Cai, Y., Wang, C., Zhang, F., ... & Xie, S. (2016). Antarctic link with East Asian summer monsoon variability during the Heinrich Stadialu2013B?lling interstadial transition. Earth and Planetary Science Letters, 453, 243-251.

Kathayat, G., Cheng, H., Sinha, A., Sp?tl, C., Edwards, R. L., Zhang, H., Li, X., Yi, L., Ning, Y., Cai, Y., Lui, W., Breitenbach, S. F. M. (2016). Indian monsoon variability on millennial-orbital timescales. Scientific reports, 6, 24374.

2015

Liu W, Martinón-Torres M, Cai Y, et al. The earliest unequivocally modern humans in southern China[J]. Nature, 2015, 526(7575): 696-699.

Deng L, Wang W, Cai Y, et al. Groundwater Diffuse Recharge and its Response to Climate Changes in Semi-Arid Northwestern China[J]. Terrestrial, Atmospheric & Oceanic Sciences, 2015, 26(4).

Zhang H, Cai Y*, Tan L, et al. Large variations of δ13C values in stalagmites from southeastern China during historical times: implications for anthropogenic deforestation[J]. Boreas, 2015, 44(3): 511-525.

Tan L, Cai Y, Cheng H, et al. Climate significance of speleothem δ 18 O from central China on decadal timescale[J]. Journal of Asian Earth Sciences, 2015, 106: 150-155.

Cai Y*, Fung I Y, Edwards R L, et al. Variability of stalagmite-inferred Indian monsoon precipitation over the past 252,000 y[J]. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, 2015, 112(10): 2954-2959.

Chiang, J. C., Fung, I. Y., Wu, C. H., Cai, Y., Edman, J. P., Liu, Y., ... & Labrousse, C. A. (2015). Role of seasonal transitions and westerly jets in East Asian paleoclimate. Quaternary Science Reviews, 108, 111-129.

Tan L, Cai Y, Cheng H, et al. Climate significance of speleothem δ 18 O from central China on decadal timescale[J]. Journal of Asian Earth Sciences, 2015, 106: 150-155.

Tan L, Cai Y, An Z, et al. A Chinese cave links climate change, social impacts, and human adaptation over the last 500 years[J]. Scientific reports, 2015, 5.

Wu, Y., Tan, L., Liu, W., Wang, B., Wang, J., Cai, Y., & Lin, X. (2015). Profiling bacterial diversity in a limestone cave of the western Loess Plateau of China. Frontiers in microbiology, 6.

2014

Zhang Y, Jin C, Cai Y, et al. New 400u2013320 ka Gigantopithecus blacki remains from hejiang cave, chongzuo City, guangxi, South China[J]. Quaternary International, 2014, 354: 35-45.

Zhang H, Cai Y*, Tan L, et al. Stable isotope composition alteration produced by the aragonite-to-calcite transformation in speleothems and implications for paleoclimate reconstructions[J]. Sedimentary Geology, 2014, 309: 1-14.

Tan L, Shen C C, Cai Y, et al. Trace-element variations in an annually layered stalagmite as recorders of climatic changes and anthropogenic pollution in Central China[J]. Quaternary Research, 2014, 81(2): 181-188.

Breitenbach S F M, Cai Y, Kwiecien O, et al. A high-altitude cave as an example of active karstification in the eastern Tibetan Plateau[J]. Cave and Karst Science, 2014, 41(3): 132-137.

Tan, L., An, Z., Huh, C. A., Cai, Y., Shen, C. C., Shiau, L. J., ... & Edwards, R. L. (2014). Cyclic precipitation variation on the western Loess Plateau of China during the past four centuries. Scientific reports, 4.

Cai Y, Jin Z, Zhou W, et al. Asian monsoon variability recorded in other archives[M]//Late Cenozoic Climate Change in Asia. Springer Netherlands, 2014: 145-337.

An, Z., Sun, Y., Chang, H., Zhang, P., Liu, X., Cai, Y., ... & Shi, Z. (2014). Late Cenozoic climate change in monsoon-arid Asia and global changes. In Late Cenozoic Climate Change in Asia (pp. 491-581). Springer Netherlands.

2013

Tan L, Yi L, Cai Y, et al. Quantitative temperature reconstruction based on growth rate of annually-layered stalagmite: a case study from central China[J]. Quaternary Science Reviews, 2013, 72: 137-145.

Li, Y.Y., Pei, S.W., Tong, H.W., Yang, X.X., Cai, Y.J., Liu, W., & Wu, X.J. (2013). A preliminary report on the 2011 excavation at Houbeishan Fuyan Cave, Daoxian, Hunan Province. Acta Anthropol. Sinica, 32, 133-143.

2012

Cai Y*, Zhang H, Cheng H, et al. The Holocene Indian monsoon variability over the southern Tibetan Plateau and its teleconnections[J]. Earth and Planetary Science Letters, 2012, 335: 135-144.

Cheng, H., Zhang, P. Z., Sp?tl, C., Edwards, R. L., Cai, Y. J., Zhang, D. Z., ... & An, Z. S. (2012). The climatic cyclicity in semiaridu2010arid central Asia over the past 500,000 years. Geophysical Research Letters, 39(1).

An, Z., Colman, S. M., Zhou, W., Li, X., Brown, E. T., Jull, A. T., Cai, Y., ... & Song, Y. (2012). Interplay between the Westerlies and Asian monsoon recorded in Lake Qinghai sediments since 32 ka. Scientific reports, 2.

2011

An, Z., Clemens, S. C., Shen, J., Qiang, X., Jin, Z., Sun, Y., ... & Cai, Y. (2011). Glacial-interglacial Indian summer monsoon dynamics. Science, 333(6043), 719-723.

Tan L, Cai Y, An Z, et al. Climate patterns in north central China during the last 1800 yr and their possible driving force[J]. Climate of the Past, 2011, 7(3): 685.

Tan L, Cai Y, An Z, et al. Centennial-to decadal-scale monsoon precipitation variability in the semi-humid region, northern China during the last 1860 years: Records from stalagmites in Huangye Cave[J]. The Holocene, 2011, 21(2): 287-296.

Qiang, X., An, Z., Song, Y., Chang, H., Sun, Y., Liu, W., Ao, H., Dong, J., Fu, C., Wu, F., Lu, F., Cai, Y., Zhou, W., Cao, J., Xu, X., Ai, L. (2011). New eolian red clay sequence on the western Chinese Loess Plateau linked to onset of Asian desertification about 25 Ma ago. Science China Earth Sciences, 54(1), 136-144.

2010

Liu, W., Jin, C. Z., Zhang, Y. Q., Cai, Y. J., Xing, S., Wu, X. J., ... & An, Z. S. (2010). Human remains from Zhirendong, South China, and modern human emergence in East Asia. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, 107(45), 19201-19206.

Cai Y*, Cheng H, An Z, et al. Large variations of oxygen isotopes in precipitation over south-central Tibet during Marine Isotope Stage 5[J]. Geology, 2010, 38(3): 243-246.

Cai Y*, Tan L, Cheng H, et al. The variation of summer monsoon precipitation in central China since the last deglaciation[J]. Earth and Planetary Science Letters, 2010, 291(1): 21-31.

2009

Jin, C., Pan, W., Zhang, Y., Cai, Y., Xu, Q., Tang, Z., ... & Edwards, R. L. (2009). The Homo sapiens Cave hominin site of Mulan Mountain, Jiangzhou District, Chongzuo, Guangxi with emphasis on its age. Chinese Science Bulletin, 54(21), 3848.

Tan L, Cai Y*, Cheng H, et al. Summer monsoon precipitation variations in central China over the past 750years derived from a high-resolution absolute-dated stalagmite[J]. Palaeogeography, Palaeoclimatology, Palaeoecology, 2009, 280(3): 432-439.

2008

Tan L, Cai Y, Yi L, et al. Precipitation variations of Longxi, northeast margin of Tibetan Plateau since AD 960 and their relationship with solar activity[J]. Climate of the Past, 2008, 4(1): 19-28.

2001-2007

Tan L, Cai Y, Yi L, et al. Precipitation variations of Longxi, northeast margin of Tibetan plateau since AD 960 and its relationship with solar activity[J]. Climate of the Past Discussions, 2007, 3(5): 1037-1061.

Cai Y*, An Z, Cheng H, et al. High-resolution absolute-dated Indian Monsoon record between 53 and 36 ka from Xiaobailong Cave, southwestern China[J]. Geology, 2006, 34(8): 621-624.

Kelly, M. J., Edwards, R. L., Cheng, H., Yuan, D., Cai, Y., Zhang, M., ... & An, Z. (2006). High resolution characterization of the Asian Monsoon between 146,000 and 99,000 years BP from Dongge Cave, China and global correlation of events surrounding Termination II. Palaeogeography, Palaeoclimatology, Palaeoecology, 236(1), 20-38.

An, Z., Huang, Y., Liu, W., Guo, Z., Clemens, S., Li, L., Prell, W., Ning Y., Cai, Y., Zhou, W., Lin, B., Zhang, Q., Cao, Y., Qiang, X., Chang, H., Wu, Z. (2005). Multiple expansions of C4 plant biomass in East Asia since 7 Ma coupled with strengthened monsoon circulation. Geology, 33(9), 705-708.

Xie, S., Huang, J., Wang, H., Yi, Y., Hu, C., Cai, Y., & Cheng, H. (2005). Distributions of fatty acids in a stalagmite related to paleoclimate change at Qingjiang in Hubei, southern China. Science in China Series D: Earth Sciences, 48(9), 1463-1469.

Hu, C., Huang, J., Fang, N., Xie, S., Henderson, G. M., & Cai, Y. (2005). Adsorbed silica in stalagmite carbonate and its relationship to past rainfall. Geochimica et Cosmochimica Acta, 69(9), 2285-2292.

Dykoski, C. A., Edwards, R. L., Cheng, H., Yuan, D., Cai, Y., Zhang, M., ... & Revenaugh, J. (2005). A high-resolution, absolute-dated Holocene and deglacial Asian monsoon record from Dongge Cave, China. Earth and Planetary Science Letters, 233(1), 71-86.

Cai Y*, Warren B, Peng Z, et al. Effect of dead carbon on the14C dating of the speleothem[J]. Chinese Science Bulletin, 2005, 50(8): 817-821.

Yuan, D., Cheng, H., Edwards, R. L., Dykoski, C. A., Kelly, M. J., Zhang, M., Qing, J., Lin, Y., Wang, Y., Wu, J., Dorale, J. A., An, Z., Cai, Y. (2004). Timing, duration, and transitions of the last interglacial Asian monsoon. Science, 304(5670), 575-578.

Xie, S., Yi, Y., Huang, J., Hu, C., Cai, Y., Collins, M., & Baker, A. (2003). Lipid distribution in a subtropical southern China stalagmite as a record of soil ecosystem response to paleoclimate change. Quaternary Research, 60(3), 340-347.

Wang, Y., Wu, J., Liu, D., Wu, J., Cai, Y., & Cheng, H. (2002). A quick cooling event of the East Asian monsoon responding to Heinrich Event 1: Evidence from stalagmite δ 18 O records.Science in China Series D: Earth Sciences,45(1), 88-96.

Cai Y*, Zhang M, Peng Z, et al. The δ 18 O variation of a stalagmite from Qixing Cave, Guizhou Province and indicated climate change during the Holocene[J]. Chinese Science Bulletin, 2001, 46(22): 1904-1908.

Liu, X., An, Z., Rolph, T., Qiang, X., Hesse, P., Lu, H., ... & Cai, Y. (2001). Magnetic properties of the Tertiary red clay from Gansu.Science in China Series D: Earth Sciences,44(7), 635-651.