Large Wind Shift on the Great Plains During the Medieval Warm Period

Sridhar, Venkataramana; Loope, David B.; Swinehart, James B.; Mason, Joseph A.; Oglesby, Robert J.; Rowe, Clinton M.

doi:10.1126/science.1128941

Cited by 75 publications

(73 citation statements)

References 30 publications

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“…Tree ring records show that the medieval droughts persisted for decades and even an entire century during MWP (Cook et al 2004. During these severe medieval droughts, the grass that currently covers the sand dunes of the Nebraska Sand Hills, the largest sand dune body in the western hemisphere, disappeared and the dunes became mobile, indicating drought conditions much more severe than that during the twentieth century dust bowl (Sridhar et al 2006). These records indicate that persistent droughts exceeding even the 1930s dust bowl have occurred frequently in the North America in the past, and therefore are likely not only to repeat in the future, but also be exacerbated by global warming due to increases in atmospheric greenhouse gases (Dai et al 2004).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Despite the tremendous impact that these modern droughts have had on people and their economic, social, and agricultural systems, they are dwarfed in duration when compared to the mega-droughts that affected the North America during the Holocene, e.g. the early to middle Holocene (Miao et al 2007), and the medieval warm period (MWP, approximately 800-1300 AD) (Sridhar et al 2006;Graham et al 2007;Cook et al 2004;. Tree ring records show that the medieval droughts persisted for decades and even an entire century during MWP (Cook et al 2004.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Influence of Atlantic sea surface temperatures on persistent drought in North America

2010

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This study investigates the relationship between North Atlantic sea surface temperatures (SST) and persistent drought in North America using modern observations, proxy paleodata, and simulations from multiple climate models. The observational results show that persistent droughts in the Great Plains and the southwest North America are closely related to multidecadal variations of North Atlantic SST (Atlantic Multidecadal Oscillations, AMO). During the AMO warm (cold) phases, most of North America is dry (wet). This relationship is persistent since at least 1567 AD, as based on proxy SST for the North Atlantic and the reconstructed drought index for North America. On centennial timescales, proxy SST records from the North Atlantic and proxy drought records for North America suggest that major periods of AMO-like warm (cold) SST anomalies during the last 7.0 ka correspond to dry (wet) conditions in the Great Plains. The influence of North Atlantic SST on North American droughts is examined using simulations made by five global climate models. When forced by warm North Atlantic SST anomalies, all models captured significant drying over North America, despite some regional differences. Specifically, dry summers in the Great Plains and the southwest North America are simulated by all models. The precipitation response to a cold North Atlantic is much weaker and contains greater disagreement among the models. Overall, the ensemble of the five models could well reproduce the statistical relationship between the dry/wet fluctuations in the North America and North Atlantic SST anomalies. Our results suggest that North Atlantic SSTs are likely a major driver of decadal and centennial timescale circulation, including droughts, in North America. Possible mechanisms that connect North Atlantic SST with North American drought, as well as interactions between North Atlantic and tropical Pacific SST and their relative roles on drought are also discussed.

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Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Influence of Atlantic sea surface temperatures on persistent drought in North America

2010

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“…-1850D. (Archer, 2007Broecker, 2001;Cook et al, 2004;Cronin, 1999;deMenocal et al, 2000;Fagan, 2000Fagan, , 2004Goudie, 1992;Hardy, 2003;Keigwin, 1996;Osborn & Briffa, 2006;Sridhar et al, 2006;R. Wilson, Drury, & Chapman, 2000).…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Human Impacts on a Small Island Ecosystem: Lessons from the Lucayans of San Salvador, Bahamas for This Island Earth

Blick¹

2012

The Functioning of Ecosystems

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“…This sustained drought also is recorded in a highresolution pollen record from Lake Mina, Minnesota (St. Jacques et al, 2008) and a tree-ring record from southern Manitoba (St. George and Nielsen, 2002). Another Â30 year drought during the mid 1100s also appears in many other proxy records from central North America (Laird et al, 2003;Sridhar et al, 2006;Tian et al, 2006). The most prominent mega-droughts, lasting for most of the 14 th century, and occurring again in the late 15 th century, are the so-called Mississippian droughts, originating in the Mississippi Valley and extending northwest (to the NSRB), and eventually on a northeast tangent up into parts of eastern Canada (Szeicz and MacDonald, 1996;Stahle et al, 1998Stahle et al, , 2000Cook et al, 2007).…”

Section: Interpretation Of Hydroclimatic Variabilitymentioning

confidence: 99%

Modes and Forcing of Hydroclimatic Variability in the Upper North Saskatchewan River Basin Since 1063

Sauchyn

Vanstone

Perez-Valdivia

2011

Canadian Water Resources Journal / Revue canadienne des ressour

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In this paper the mean water year (October through September) flow of the North Saskatchewan River (NSR) at Edmonton, Alberta is reconstructed back to 1063 A.D. using a new network of moisture-sensitive tree-ring chronologies from limber pine and Douglas fir at seven sites in the headwater sub-basins of the North Saskatchewan River Basin (NSRB). Over the full extent of the proxy hydrometric record (1063Á2007), we examined 1) the duration and severity of low flow, 2) the dominant frequencies of periodic variability and 3) the correlation between these significant periodicities in proxy streamflow and climate indices, specifically sea surface temperature oscillations, which are known drivers of regional hydroclimatic variability. This new record of the paleohydrology of the NSRB is compared to previous tree-ring reconstructions of the annul flow of the North and South Saskatchewan Rivers. Extending the reference hydrology for the basin from decades to centuries changes perceptions of the reliability of the water supply and understanding of the hydroclimatic variability. The gauge record not does represent the full extent of interannual to multidecadal variability in the tree-ring data; there are periods of low flow in the pre-instrumental record that are longer and more severe than those recorded by the gauge.Ré sumé : Dans la présente communication, le débit moyen de l'année hydrologique (d'octobre à septembre) de la riviaère Saskatchewan Nord (RSN) à Edmonton, en Alberta est reconstitué jusqu'à 1063 de notre ére à l'aide d'un nouveau réseau de dendrochronologies sensibles à l'humidité, grâce au pin flexible et au douglas de Menzies, à sept sites dans les sous-bassins du cours supérieur du bassin de la rivière Saskatchewan Nord (BRSN). Pour la durée compléte des relevés hydrométriques indirects (de 1063 à 2007), nous avons examiné 1) la durée et l'intensité des débits d'étiage, 2) les fréquences dominantes de la variabilité périodique et 3) la corrálation entre les périodicités importantes dans les indices climatiques et d'écoulement fluvial substitutifs, plus particulièrement les oscillations de température de surface de la mer, qui sont des facteurs connus de la variabilité hydroclimatique régionale. Ce nouveau relevé de la paléohydrologie du BRSN est comparé aux reconstitutions dendrométriques antérieures du débit annuel des riviéres Saskatchewan Nord et Sud. Le fait d'ètendre

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Large Wind Shift on the Great Plains During the Medieval Warm Period

Cited by 75 publications

References 30 publications

Influence of Atlantic sea surface temperatures on persistent drought in North America

Influence of Atlantic sea surface temperatures on persistent drought in North America

Human Impacts on a Small Island Ecosystem: Lessons from the Lucayans of San Salvador, Bahamas for This Island Earth

Modes and Forcing of Hydroclimatic Variability in the Upper North Saskatchewan River Basin Since 1063

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