Comparison of drought signals in tree-ring width records of juniper trees from Central and West Asia during the last fou
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ORIGINAL PAPER
Comparison of drought signals in tree-ring width records of juniper trees from Central and West Asia during the last four centuries Feng Chen 1 & Shulong Yu 1 & Qing He 1 & Ruibo Zhang 1 & Zainalobudin V. Kobuliev 2 & Yunus M. Mamadjonov 3
Received: 29 May 2015 / Accepted: 6 November 2015 # Saudi Society for Geosciences 2016
Abstract Comparison of climate reconstruction from different regions helps in understanding large-scale climate change. Here we compiled moisture-sensitive tree-ring width chronologies from north Tajikistan (Central Asia) and southern Jordan (West Asia) and compared drought variations over the two regions for the last four centuries. Tree-ring width chronology of Juniperus turkestanica in north Tajikistan was found to be sensitive to mean August–July Palmer Drought Severity Index (PDSI) variations. Tree-ring width chronology of Juniperus phoenicia in southern Jordan was correlated to October–May precipitation variations. Comparison of the two tree-ring width chronologies shows similar wet/dry periods, and regional dry conditions during AD 1600–1621, 1627– 1635, 1683–1697, 1731–1735, 1758–1791, 1810–1812, 1843–1862, 1871–1875, 1926–1941, and 1963–1968. Wavelet coherence analysis indicates the existence of some decadal and inter-annual cycles in the two tree-ring width chronologies. This may suggest the influences of North Atlantic Oscillation (NAO), Pacific Decadal Oscillation (PDO), and solar activity on the drought variations in Central and West Asia.
* Feng Chen [email protected]
1
Key Laboratory of Tree-Ring Physical and Chemical Research of China Meteorological Administration/Xinjiang Laboratory of Tree Ring Ecology, Institute of Desert Meteorology, China Meteorological Administration, 46 Jianguo Road, Urumqi 830002, China
2
Institute of Water Problems, Hydroenergy and Ecology, Academy of Science of the Republic of Tajikistan, Dushanbe 734063, Tajikistan
3
Institute of Geology, Earthquake Engineering and Seismology, Academy of Science of the Republic of Tajikistan, Dushanbe 734063, Tajikistan
Keywords Central Asia . West Asia . Juniper tree . Tree ring . Dry period . Climate periodicities
Introduction Historical extreme weather/climate events have great impacts on human history and eco-environmental systems (Esper et al. 2007; Akkemik et al. 2008; Touchan et al. 2011; Büntgen et al. 2011; Pederson et al. 2014; Chen et al. 2015a). Severe droughts, unusually low temperature in summer and winter, and dust storms, for example, can dramatically impact on the production and living conditions of arid and semi-arid regions, causing serious social and economic problems and human fatalities (Parry et al. 2007). Due to global warming in the recent decades, the global very dry areas have more than doubled since the 1970s, and the increases in the frequency and intensity of extreme climate events have occurred (Dai et al. 2004; Solomon et al. 2007). The accurate assessment of climate changes requires detailed information about the past climate. However, for many arid and semi-ar
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