1. |
- Seim, Andrea, et al.
(author)
-
Evaluation of Tree Growth Relevant Atmospheric Circulation Patterns for Geopotential Height Field Reconstructions for Asia
- 2018
-
In: Journal of Climate. - 0894-8755 .- 1520-0442. ; 31:11, s. 4391-4401
-
Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- Atmospheric circulations influence local and regional weather conditions and, thus, tree growth. To identify summer weather types relevant for tree growth, and their associated synoptic-scale circulation patterns, an atmospheric circulation tree ring index (ACTI) dataset, derived from 414 tree-ring sites across Asia spanning the period 1871-2010, was created. Modes of common variability in the ACTI dataset were compared with leading modes of observed summertime 500-hPa geopotential height. The first four ACTI modes (explaining 88% of the total variance) were associated with pressure centers over Eurasia, the tropics, and the Pacific Ocean. The high spatiotemporal resemblance between the leading circulation modes, derived from both tree rings and 500-hPa geopotential height fields, indicates a strong potential for reconstructing large-scale circulation patterns from tree rings in Asia. This would allow investigations of natural atmospheric circulation variability prior to anthropogenic climate change and provide a means to validate model simulations of climate predictions.
|
|
2. |
- Seim, Andrea, et al.
(author)
-
Synoptic-scale circulation patterns during summer derived from tree rings in mid-latitude Asia
- 2017
-
In: Climate Dynamics. - : Springer Science and Business Media LLC. - 0930-7575 .- 1432-0894. ; 49:5-6, s. 1917-1931
-
Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- Understanding past and recent climate and atmospheric circulation variability is vital for regions that are affected by climate extremes. In mid-latitude Asia, however, the synoptic climatology is complex and not yet fully understood. The aim of this study was to investigate dominant synoptic-scale circulation patterns during the summer season using a multi-species tree-ring width (TRW) network comprising 78 sites from mid-latitude Asia. For each TRW chronology, we calculated an atmospheric circulation tree-ring index (ACTI), based on 1000 hPa geopotential height data, to directly link tree growth to 13 summertime weather types and their associated local climate conditions for the period 1871–1993. Using the ACTI, three groups of similarly responding tree-ring sites can be associated with distinct large-scale atmospheric circulation patterns: 1. growth of drought sensitive trees is positively affected by a cyclone over northern Russia; 2. temperature sensitive trees show positive associations to a cyclone over northwestern Russia and an anticyclone over Mongolia; 3. trees at two high elevation sites show positive relations to a zonal cyclone extending from mid-latitude Eurasia to the West Pacific. The identified synoptic-scale circulation patterns showed spatiotemporal variability in their intensity and position, causing temporally varying climate conditions in mid-latitude Asia. Our results highlight that for regions with less pronounced atmospheric action centers during summer such as the occurrence of large-scale cyclones and anticyclones, synoptic-scale circulation patterns can be extracted and linked to the Northern Hemisphere circulation system. Thus, we provide a new and solid envelope for climate studies covering the past to the future.
|
|