Last millennium Northern Hemisphere summer temperatures from tree rings: Part II, spatially resolved reconstructions

• Climate field reconstructions from networks of tree-ring proxy data can be used to characterize regionalscale climate changes, reveal spatial anomaly patterns associated with atmospheric circulation changes, radiative forcing, and large-scale modes of ocean-atmosphere variability, and provide spatiotemporal targets for climate model comparison and evaluation. Here we use a multiproxy network of tree-ring chronologies to reconstruct spatially resolved warm season (MayeAugust) mean temperatures across the extratropical Northern Hemisphere (40-90N) using Point-by-Point Regression (PPR). The resulting annual maps of temperature anomalies (750e1988 CE) reveal a consistent imprint of volcanism, with 96% of reconstructed grid points experiencing colder conditions following eruptions. Solar influences are detected at the bicentennial (de Vries) frequency, although at other time scales the influence of insolation variability is weak. Approximately 90% of reconstructed grid points show warmer temperatures during the Medieval Climate Anomaly when compared to the Little Ice Age, although the magnitude varies spatially across the hemisphere. Estimates of field reconstruction skill through time and over space can guide future temporal extension and spatial expansion of the proxy network.

Subject headings

NATURVETENSKAP  -- Geovetenskap och miljövetenskap -- Klimatforskning (hsv//swe)

NATURAL SCIENCES  -- Earth and Related Environmental Sciences -- Climate Research (hsv//eng)

NATURVETENSKAP  -- Geovetenskap och miljövetenskap (hsv//swe)

NATURAL SCIENCES  -- Earth and Related Environmental Sciences (hsv//eng)

Keyword

Tree-rings

Northern Hemisphere

Last millennium

Common Era

Summer temperatures

Reconstruction

Spatial

Tree-rings

Publication and Content Type

ref (subject category)

art (subject category)