A 1286‐year hydro‐climate reconstruction for the Balkan Peninsula

We present a June–July drought reconstruction based on the standardized precipitation index (SPI) for the Balkan Peninsula over the period 730–2015 CE. The reconstruction is developed using a composite Pinus heldreichii tree‐ring width chronology, from a high‐elevation network of eight sites in the Pindus Mountains in northwest Greece, composed of living trees and relict wood. The dataset includes the ring width series of Europe's currently oldest known living tree, dendrochronologically dated to be more than 1075 years old. The spatial coverage of the reconstruction is improved by using an averaged gridded SPI data target derived from a response field that is located north of the study region. Justification for this approach includes the remoteness of instrumental data, the spatial variability of precipitation and synoptic scale circulation patterns. Over the past 1286 years, there have been 51 dry and 43 pluvial events. The driest year during the 1286‐year‐long period was 1660 and the wettest year was 1482. Comparison with shorter reconstructions and documentary evidence validates the new reconstruction, and provides additional insight into socioeconomic impacts and spatial patterns of extreme events. Fifty‐nine of 72 previously undescribed extremes occurred prior to the 17th century. The new reconstruction reveals long‐term changes in the number of extremes, including substantially fewer drought and pluvial events in the 20th century. Additional tests on the long‐term effects of age structure, replication and covariance changes support the heteroscedastic nature of the reconstructed hydro‐climatic extremes.     

A regional-scale climate reconstruction of the last 4000 years from lakes in the Nebraska Sand Hills,USA

High-resolution paleohydrological reconstructions were carried out in five shallow lakes in the Nebraska Sand Hills across an east–west transect in order to 1) determine whether long-term droughts of the past 4000 years were spatially and temporally coherent across the region, 2) distinguish local variation in climate or hydrology from regional patterns of change, and 3) compare the paleolimnological results with the existing dune-inferred drought records. Diatom-inferred lake-level was reconstructed for all sites and compared with other regional records. Alterations between high and low lake-levels were frequent during the past 4000 years, which suggests that shifts between dry and wet periods were prevalent across the Sand Hills. Extended multi-decadal to centennial-scale droughts were more common prior to 2000 years BP, while the last two millennia were hydrologically more variable and climate conditions alternated on shorter timescales. Despite some discrepancies among the five records, the paleohydrological reconstructions refine the Holocene drought history of the Nebraska Sand Hills, particularly between ～2200 and 4000 cal a BP. Many of the observed drought events are contemporaneous with severe droughts documented at sites in the northern Great Plains and Rocky Mountains, lending support for the severity and regional significance of these events in western North America.     

A tree-ring based precipitation reconstruction for the Mohe region in the northern Greater Higgnan Mountains,China, since AD 1724

August–July precipitation has been reconstructed back to AD 1724 for the Mohe region in the northern Greater Higgnan Mountains, China, using Pinus sylvestris var. mongolica tree-ring width. The reconstruction explains 39% of the variance in the precipitation observed from AD 1960–2008. Some droughts noted in historical documents are precisely captured in our reconstruction. Wet periods occurred during the periods of AD 1734–1785, AD 1805–1830, AD 1863–1880, AD 1922–1961, and AD 1983–1998; while the periods of AD 1786–1804, AD 1831–1862, AD 1881–1921, and AD 1962–1982 were relatively dry. Power spectral and wavelet analyses demonstrated the existence of significant 24-yr, 12-yr, and 2-yr cycles of variability. The results of the spatial correlations suggest that our reconstruction contains climatic signals for the southern Stanovoy Range and the northern Greater Higgnan Mountains. The positive correlations between the new reconstructed precipitation series and two precipitation reconstructions indicate that our precipitation reconstruction captures broad-scale regional climatic variations. A comparison between the weakening tendency of summer monsoon and the dry period of our reconstruction reveals that the annual precipitation in the Mohe region is partly influenced by the East Asian Summer Monsoon.     

A bimillennial-length tree-ring reconstruction of precipitation for the Tavaputs Plateau, Northeastern Utah

Despite the extensive network of moisture-sensitive tree-ring chronologies in western North America, relatively few are long enough to document climatic variability before and during the Medieval Climate Anomaly (MCA) ca. AD 800-1300. We developed a 2300-yr tree-ring chronology extending to 323 BC utilizing live and remnant Douglas-fir (Pseudotsuga menziesii) from the Tavaputs Plateau in northeastern Utah. A resulting regression model accounts for 70% of the variance of precipitation for the AD 1918-2005 calibration period. Extreme wet and dry periods without modern analogues were identified in the reconstruction. The MCA is marked by several prolonged droughts, especially prominent in the mid AD 1100s and late 1200s, and a lack of wet or dry single-year extremes. The frequency of extended droughts is not markedly different, however, than before or after the MCA. A drought in the early AD 500s surpasses in magnitude any other drought during the last 1800 yr. A set of four long high-resolution records suggests this drought decreased in severity toward the south in the western United States. The spatial pattern is consistent with the western dipole of moisture anomaly driven by El Niño and is also similar to the spatial footprint of the AD 1930s “Dust Bowl” drought.     

1543—2001年北疆区域年降水量变化特征分析

征,同时200 a左右的周期变化特征也较为明显,且不同历史时期的周期变化特征存在明显差异.突变检验表明,均值突变尺度在50～100 a尺度上更为明显,公元1613-1643年,1731-1792年的突变表现为年降水量的增加,而公元1669-1712年的突变则表现为年降水量的减少;方差突变则以18世纪80年代最为明显.     

中国陕西关中及周边地区近500年来初夏干燥指数序列的重建

本文采用华山东峰、西峰和南峰的华山松树轮宽度差值年表重建了1500年以来中国陕西关中及周边地区的初夏干燥指数序列,对重建序列进行了统计特征分析,并同大尺度大气环流场进行了相关分析。结果表明:华山年表的变化与该地区初夏平均干燥指数序列的变化具有很好的一致性,可用来重建该地区的初夏干燥指数序列;该地区在1502～1511年、1570～1580年以及1807～1814年间的初夏季节存在3次较为严重的干旱;该地区初夏干燥指数变化存在着较为明显的周期特征,其中以13a左右和4a左右的周期最为显著,但周期特征在不同的历史阶段存在着明显的差异;重建序列在1784年前后发生了一次较大幅度的方差变化,而1587年前后的均值突变则表现为干燥指数值的急剧降低;该地区初夏季节的干燥程度可能与前期极涡的中心强度及冷空气活动有关。     

厄尔尼诺事件对太湖流域降水的影响

为了揭示1951~2016年厄尔尼诺事件影响下太湖流域夏季(6~8月)降水特征,分析了厄尔尼诺事件开始年与结束年的降水状况。结果表明:太湖流域降雨与厄尔尼诺事件存在一定的关系:(1)弱强度厄尔尼诺事件起始年的6月与6~8月、结束年的6月与7月降水均以正常、大旱与极旱为主;中等强度厄尔尼诺事件起始年的6月与6~8月以正常与大涝为主,结束年同时段以正常、偏旱与大旱为主;(超)强厄尔尼诺事件起始年6月以正常或大旱为主,8月以正常或大涝为主,结束年刚好相反。(2)(超)强厄尔尼诺起始年的夏季,西太平洋副热带高压面积偏小,位置偏东,而结束年的夏季,西伸脊点加强西伸,利于太湖流域降雨偏多。(3)(超)强厄尔尼诺起始年的全年编号台风以偏少为主,登陆台风正常略偏少,但事件的起始年夏季6~8月编号台风却以偏多为主,结束年秋季9~11月登陆台风以偏多为主;结束年6月降雨偏多,登陆台风向秋季集中,易造成流域持续洪涝,对防洪产生不利影响。     

中国历史文献档案中的古环境记录

我国的历史文献记录是古气候、古环境信息的重要来源,对古全球变化（PAGES）研究计划的目标时段——近2000年（人文记录和自然记录并存的时段）来说,尤其具有重要的科学价值。介绍了我国古文献中的古气候、古环境记录的概况和各项记录如水、旱、雨、雪等的数量统计,综述了这些记录被用于重建定量的气候序列、绘制历史气候复原图、编制古环境事件年表、获取高分辨率的古气候信息诸方面的主要进展。     

Spatial and temporal analysis of drought risk during the crop-growing season over northeast China

Northeast China as an important agricultural zone for commercial and economic crop in China suffered from increased drought risk that seriously threatened agricultural production and food security in recent decades. Based on precipitation datasets from 71 stations from 1960 to 2009 and on the reliable statistical methods of the Mann–Kendall test, Sen’s slope and the Standardized Precipitation Index, we analyzed the temporal and spatial variation of drought occurrence during the crop-growing season (from May to September) and summer (from June to August). The results showed that regional mean precipitation during the crop-growing season and summer over the last 40 years has decreased at the rate of ?1.72 and ?1.12 mm/year, respectively. According to timescale analysis of abrupt changes, there were two distinct time series (1965–1983 and 1996–2009) with decreasing precipitation trends at a 95 % confidence level. A comparison between the two time series of these two periods demonstrated that more frequent and more severe drought occurred during 1996–2009. Furthermore, drought risk in recent decades has become even more serious both in severity and in extent. Especially in the crop-growing season of 2001 and summer of 2007, over 25 % (2.0 × 10⁵ km²) of study area experienced severe drought (serious and extreme droughts). Our results highlight the urgent need for the development of effective drought adaptations for cropland over northeast China.     

Annual precipitation in the Yellowstone National Park region since AD 1173

Cores and cross sections from 133 limber pine (Pinus flexilis James) and Douglas fir (Pseudotsuga menziesii (Mirbel) Franco) at four sites were used to estimate annual (July to June) precipitation in the Yellowstone National Park region for the period from AD 1173 to 1998. Examination of the long-term record shows that the early 20th century was markedly wet compared to the previous 700 yr. Extreme wet and dry years within the instrumental period fall within the range of past variability, and the magnitude of the worst-case droughts of the 20th century (AD 1930s and 1950s) was likely equaled or exceeded on numerous occasions before AD 1900. Spectral analysis showed significant decadal to multidecadal precipitation variability. At times this lower frequency variability produces strong regime-like behavior in regional precipitation, with the potential for rapid, high-amplitude switching between predominately wet and predominately dry conditions. Over multiple time scales, strong Yellowstone region precipitation anomalies were almost always associated with spatially extensive events spanning various combinations of the central and southern U.S. Rockies, the northern U.S.-Southern Canadian Rockies and the Pacific Northwest.     

May-June precipitation reconstruction of southwestern Anatolia, Turkey during the last 900 years from tree rings

A May-June precipitation reconstruction (AD 1097-2000) has been developed for southwestern Anatolia in Turkey, the longest reported to date in this region. The reconstruction was derived from a regional Juniperus excelsa chronology that was built from material sampled at four sites in the Antalya and Mersin Districts. The regional tree-ring chronology accounts for 51% of the variance of instrumentally observed May-June precipitation. The years AD 1518 to 1587 are the most humid period in the reconstruction, coinciding with a major shift in European climate. The driest 70-year period in the reconstruction is AD 1195 to 1264. The period AD 1591-1660 represents the third driest and was characterized by instability climatically, politically, and socially in Anatolia.     

扫描式t检验的新应用:对美国西部近8000年干湿期的划分*

①中国气象科学研究院灾害天气国家重点实验室,北京 100081;②中国气象局培训中心,北京 100081; ③Joint Institute of Marine and Atmospheric Research, University of Hawaii, Honolulu, HI 96822 USA;④Pacific Fisheries Environmental Laboratory, NOAA/NMFS, Pacific Grove, CA 93950 USA)     

Exploratory Precipitation in North-Central China during the Past Four Centuries

Abstract: Two robust precipitation reconstructions were conducted by combining tree-ring chronologies, dryness/wetness indices from historical documents, and climate data from the global grid. It was found that the recurrent drought history of a region can help us understand the variability of precipitation. Several dry/wet periods during the past four centuries and potential cycles of precipitation variation were determined. Furthermore, the reconstructions are not only consistent well with each other in North-central China, but also in good agreement with variations of precipitation in northeastern Mongolia, the Longxi area in Gangsu Province and the Dulan area of Qinghai Province, and the snow accumulation of the Guliya glacier. These synchronous variations indicate that it is valuable to study various climate records, find common information and determine the driving force of climate change.     

Tree‐ring‐based annual precipitation reconstruction for the Hexi Corridor,NW China: consequences for climate history on and beyond the mid‐latitude Asian continent

An annual (July to June) precipitation reconstruction for the period AD 1760–2010 was developed from a Picea crassifolia regional tree‐ring chronology from two sites in the northern mountainous region of the Hexi Corridor, NW China. This reconstruction explains 52.1% of the actual precipitation variance during the period 1951 to 2010. Spatial correlations with gridded land‐surface data reveal that our reconstruction contains a strong regional precipitation signal for the Hexi Corridor and for the southern margin of the Badain Jaran Desert. Significant spectral peaks were identified at 31.9, 11.1, 8.0, 7.0, 3.2, 2.6 and 2.2 years. A large‐scale comparison indicates that our reconstruction is more consistent with climate records of a Westerly‐dominated Central Asia, and that the Westerlies have a greater impact on the precipitation in this region than the Asian summer monsoon. Our reconstructed precipitation series is significantly correlated with sea‐surface temperature (SST) in the tropical Atlantic Ocean (positive), the tropical Indian Ocean (positive), the western tropical Pacific Ocean (positive), and the western North Pacific Ocean (negative). The spatial correlation patterns between our precipitation reconstruction and SSTs of the Atlantic and Pacific Oceans suggest a connection between regional precipitation variations and the high‐mid‐latitude northern atmospheric circulations (Westerlies and Asian summer monsoon).     

公元1180和1181年浙江金华地区梅汛期降水的重建

利用古代日记资料发掘历史气候信息是重建古气候的重要方法。根据南宋吕祖谦的《庚子辛丑日记》记录的金华(婺州)公元1180年和1181年5—6月份逐日天气记录,利用金华1954—2012年实测月雨量和雨日资料的统计规律,重建了1180年和1181年金华地区5—6月份梅汛期雨量,并结合《日记》反映的天气过程,确定了这2年金华的出入梅时间,结果表明1180年和1181年入梅较现代偏早,1180年5—6月份雨量比现代偏小,梅雨期略偏短,1181年则雨量偏大,梅雨期明显偏长。上述结论对这2年历史文献记载的旱涝灾情提供了直观的有力佐证。     

基于改进后地表湿润指数的我国西南干旱气候特征研究

利用1961-2014年西南地区96个观测站日平均气温和降水资料、1961-2010年ERA-20C 0.5°×0.5°再分析资料,运用REOF方法、计算地表湿润指数以及改进后的地表湿润指数,研究了西南地区干旱时空分布特征。结果表明：（1）综合REOF（旋转经验正交函数）前四个模态,除川西高原外,西南地区1961-2010年整体土壤湿度有所降低,其中以四川盆地和云贵高原南部下降趋势更为明显。（2）根据REOF空间模态对西南地区做出气候区划,以历年月平均降水和干旱气候区划为基础,对地表湿润指数做出改进。其结果显示,原地表湿润指数（SHI）与改进后地表湿润指数（MSHI）空间分布特征均与年降水量的空间分布特征存在一定的相似性,指数低值区与弱降水区吻合,西北部较为干燥,云贵高原南部较为湿润。（3）从空间分布上来看,MSHI在西南南部更接近降水的空间分布且空间连续性更好。从时间序列上来看,MSHI比SHI更能体现西南地区干旱年,用MSHI识别典型干旱年份,识别能力较强。研究结果对合理配置和利用水资源,进行未来气候变化研究有重要意义。     

Spatiotemporal variability of meteorological droughts in southeastern USA

Droughts in the southeast USA have been linked to economic losses and intractable water conflicts. The region has witnessed several severe droughts events during the period from 1901 to 2005. In this study, spatiotemporal variability in meteorological drought characteristics in the southeast were analyzed using two different datasets by the means of standard precipitation index and standard precipitation evapotranspiration index for the period 1901–2005 for agricultural and non-agricultural seasons. The study periods were divided into three epochs 1901–1935, 1936–1970, and 1971–2005 and drought characteristics, in terms of severity, frequency, number, and trends were analyzed. Additionally, areal extent, drought severities and return periods associated with three severe drought years 1904, 1954, and 2000 were analyzed. Except for the state of Florida, results indicate decrease in drought severity during the recent epoch of 1970–2005 in the study domain. Trend analysis confirms that the study domain has become wetter over the last 105 years. Wetting trends were more prominent in the agricultural season. Additionally, droughts seem to have migrated from the western part of the study area encompassing the states of Alabama, Tennessee, Louisiana, and Mississippi to the Florida panhandle region during the recent epoch. Droughts exhibited higher spatiotemporal variability during the agricultural season compared to the non-agricultural seasons. Results also showed that early to mid-1950s experienced some of the most severe droughts in the study domain. Some of the drought events, such as the drought of 1954 and 2000, have been equivalent to a 100-year drought event in the southeast. The results from this study form the benchmark for studying the impacts of future climate change projections on meteorological droughts in the southeast.     

An 1800-yr record of decadal-scale hydroclimatic variability in the upper Arkansas River basin from bristlecone pine

Bristlecone pine trees are exceptionally long-lived, and with the incorporation of remnant material have been used to construct multi-millennial length ring–width chronologies. These chronologies can provide valuable information about past temperature and moisture variability. In this study, we outline a method to build a moisture-sensitive bristlecone chronology and assess the robustness and consistency of this sensitivity over the past 1200 yr using new reconstructions of Arkansas River flow (AD 1275–2002 and 1577–2002) and the summer Palmer Drought Sensitivity Index. The chronology, a composite built from parts of three collections in the central Rocky Mountains, is a proxy for decadal-scale moisture variability for the past 18 centuries. Since the sample size is small in some portions of the time series, the chronology should be considered preliminary; the timing and duration of drought events are likely the most robust characteristics. This chronology suggests that the region experienced increased aridity during the medieval period, as did much of western North America, but that the timing and duration of drought episodes within this period were somewhat different from those in other western locations, such as the upper Colorado River basin.     

Early to mid‐Holocene climate change at Lago dell'Accesa (central Italy): climate signal or anthropogenic bias?

Despite the high potential of pollen records for climate reconstruction, pollen–climate relationships may be biased due to past and present human activities on the landscape. We use (i) transfer functions based on modern pollen–climate relationships to infer seasonal temperature and summer precipitation for the period 11 500–4500 cal. a BP and (ii) lake‐level change records based on different sedimentary proxies in multiple cores that are mainly indicative for summer hydrology at Lago dell'Accesa (central Italy). Quantitative reconstructions indicate lowest summer precipitation during two phases (8500–7700 cal. a BP and after 6000 cal. a BP) and a gradual winter temperature increase from 11 500 to ca. 8000 cal. a BP. Lowest summer precipitation was reconstructed during these phases characterised by vegetation shifts from open forests dominated by summergreen oaks (Quercus) to forests dominated by evergreen oaks (Quercus ilex), which are at present most abundant where summer drought is stronger. Similarly, the lake‐level record indicates two long‐lasting low summer precipitation phases (8800–7700 and 6400–4400 cal. a BP) that were interrupted by short‐term high summer precipitation events. Based on the broad agreement between the pollen‐inferred summer precipitation and the low‐frequency lake‐level changes, we suggest that the duration of the high summer precipitation events may have been too short to maintain drought‐sensitive trees, which may have been affected by high mortality rates when summer dry conditions returned. Although past and modern pollen–climate relationships may very likely have been affected by human activities since the Neolithic (i.e. when exploitation of the landscape started), we reject the hypothesis of a significant anthropogenic bias in the pollen‐based climate reconstruction. In addition, we suggest that pollen‐based and lake‐level reconstructions may have different inherent abilities of capturing high‐ and low‐frequency precipitation signals. Copyright © 2010 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

An Analysis of Spatial and Temporal Dimension of Drought Vulnerability in Turkey Using the Standardized Precipitation Index

Drought has become a recurrent phenomenon in Turkey in the last few decades. Significant drought conditions were observed during years of late 1980s and the trend continued in the late 1990s. The countrys agricultural sector and water resources have been under severe constraints from the recurrent droughts. In this study, spatial and temporal dimensions of meteorological droughts in Turkey have been investigated from vulnerability concept. The Standardized Precipitation Index (SPI) method was used to detail geographical variations in the drought vulnerability based on frequency and severity of drought events at multiple time steps. Critical (threshold) rainfall values were derived for each station at multiple-time steps in varying drought categories to determine least amount of rainfall required to avoid from drought initiation. The study found that drought vulnerability portrays a very diverse but consistent picture with varying time steps. At regional scale, south-eastern and eastern Anatolia are characterized with moderate droughts at shorter time steps, while the occurrence of severe droughts at shorter time steps is observed at non-coastal parts of the country. A similar picture was observed with very severe droughts. The critical (threshold) values exhibited rising numbers during the growing season at 3-month step in the South-eastern Anatolia, which might have significant consequences considering presence of large irrigation projects under-development in the region. In general, rainfall amounts required for non-drought conditions decrease from the coastal parts toward the interiors with increasing time steps.