Revealing past climate variability using tree rings and stable isotopes from tropical and boreal regions in the Americas
Abstract
High-resolution records of centennial climate variability are crucial considering the scarcity and overall short length of instrumental meteorological data in many regions of the world. The application of stable isotopic analysis in tree rings has emerged as a robust methodological tool for elucidating the intricate complexities of environmental history. This presentation will travel from high latitudes in North America to the Tropical Andes in South America to show how tree-ring stable isotopes can be used to reconstruct climate variability and atmospheric patterns across the Americas, as well as changes in Sea Surface Temperatures (SST). Stable oxygen isotopes (δ18O) measured in tree rings from white spruce trees from the Northwest Territories of Canada record similar large-scale climate patterns as modelled precipitation δ18O from a general circulation model (NASA GISS ModelE2 isotopically-equipped). Trees from the species Polylepis tarapacana growing at high elevation (~5,000 m a.s.l) at the South American Altiplano were used to reconstruct annual precipitation variability, which is driven by the South American Summer Monsoon, over the last 300 years. This newly developed tree-ring δ18O chronology revealed a robust hydroclimatic teleconnection showing interannual (2–5 years) and decadal (~11 years) periodicities consistent with records of Altiplano precipitation, central tropical Pacific SST, Andean ice core δ18O and tropical Pacific coral δ18O. Furthermore, new tree species of the genus Polyelpis growing in the inner tropics were discovered and found to have significant sensitivity to local and regional hydroclimate variability, showing a close link to tropical Pacific SST and El Niño–Southern Oscillation. Overall, our findings point out the importance of developing longer stable isotopes tree-ring records to overcome the inherent difficulties to reconstruct global hydroclimate variability.
Authors 20
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Laia Andreu‐Hayles corresponding
Institució Catalana de Recerca i Estudis Avançats · Lamont-Doherty Earth Observatory · Centre for Research on Ecology and Forestry Applications · Columbia University
Affiliation as printed
CREAF - Ecological and Forestry Applications Research Center, Bellaterra, Spain (l.andreuhayles@creaf.uab.cat)
ICREA - Catalan Institution for Research and Advanced Studies, Barcelona, Spain
Lamont-Doherty Earth Observatory of Columbia University, Palisades, NY, USA
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Naturalis Biodiversity Center · Centre for Research on Ecology and Forestry Applications
Affiliation as printed
CREAF - Ecological and Forestry Applications Research Center, Bellaterra, Spain (l.andreuhayles@creaf.uab.cat)
Naturalis Biodiversity Center, Leiden, Netherlands
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Milagros Rodríguez‐Catón corresponding
Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas · Lamont-Doherty Earth Observatory · Columbia University
Affiliation as printed
Instituto Argentino de Nivología, Glaciología y Cs. Ambientales (IANIGLA), CONICET, Mendoza, Argentina
Lamont-Doherty Earth Observatory of Columbia University, Palisades, NY, USA
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Étienne Boucher corresponding
Université du Québec à Montréal · Center for Northern Studies · Geotop
Affiliation as printed
Department of Geography, GEOTOP, and Centre d’études nordiques, University of Québec at Montréal, Montréal, Canada
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Affiliation as printed
Laboratorio de Dendrocronología y Cambio Global, Instituto de Conservación Biodiversidad y Territorio, Universidad Austral de Chile, Valdivia, Chile
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Universidade Estadual de Campinas (UNICAMP) · Universidad Continental
Affiliation as printed
Department of Plant Biology, Institute of Biology, University of Campinas (UNICAMP), Campinas, Brazil
Laboratorio de Dendrocronología, Universidad Continental, Huancayo, Perú
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Lamont-Doherty Earth Observatory · Columbia University
Affiliation as printed
Lamont-Doherty Earth Observatory of Columbia University, Palisades, NY, USA
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Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique · Université de Versailles Saint-Quentin-en-Yvelines · Commissariat à l'Énergie Atomique et aux Énergies Alternatives · Laboratoire des Sciences du Climat et de l'Environnement
Affiliation as printed
Laboratoire des Sciences du Climat et de l’Environnement, CEA/CNRS/UVSQ/IPSL, Gif-sur-Yvette, France
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Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas
Affiliation as printed
Instituto Argentino de Nivología, Glaciología y Cs. Ambientales (IANIGLA), CONICET, Mendoza, Argentina
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Goddard Institute for Space Studies · Columbia University
Affiliation as printed
NASA Goddard Institute for Space Studies, Columbia University, New York, NY, USA
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Fabio Gennaretti corresponding
Université du Québec en Abitibi-Témiscamingue
Affiliation as printed
Institut de Recherche sur les Forêts, UQAT, Amos, Quebec, Canada
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Ignacio Hermoso de Mendoza corresponding
Université du Québec à Montréal · Center for Northern Studies · Geotop
Affiliation as printed
Department of Geography, GEOTOP, and Centre d’études nordiques, University of Québec at Montréal, Montréal, Canada
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Aliénor Lavergne corresponding
Affiliation as printed
Carbon Cycle Research Group, Space and Atmospheric Physics, Imperial College London, London, UK
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Mariano S. Morales corresponding
Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas
Affiliation as printed
Instituto Argentino de Nivología, Glaciología y Cs. Ambientales (IANIGLA), CONICET, Mendoza, Argentina
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Lamont-Doherty Earth Observatory · University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign · Columbia University
Affiliation as printed
Lamont-Doherty Earth Observatory of Columbia University, Palisades, NY, USA
University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign, IL, USA
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Affiliation as printed
Laboratorio de Dendrocronología, Universidad Continental, Huancayo, Perú
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Ginette Ticse‐Otarola corresponding
Affiliation as printed
Laboratorio de Dendrocronología, Universidad Continental, Huancayo, Perú
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Lamont-Doherty Earth Observatory · University of Colorado Boulder · Columbia University
Affiliation as printed
Lamont-Doherty Earth Observatory of Columbia University, Palisades, NY, USA
University of Colorado Boulder, CO, USA
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Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas
Affiliation as printed
Instituto Argentino de Nivología, Glaciología y Cs. Ambientales (IANIGLA), CONICET, Mendoza, Argentina
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Mathias Vuille corresponding
State University of New York · University at Albany, State University of New York
Affiliation as printed
State University of New York at Albany, Albany, NY, USA
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