Journal
NATURE COMMUNICATIONS
Volume 5, Issue -, Pages -Publisher
NATURE PUBLISHING GROUP
DOI: 10.1038/ncomms5912
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Funding
- National Science Foundation's Paleo Perspectives on Climate Change (P2C2) program [AGS-1102757]
- Directorate For Geosciences
- Div Atmospheric & Geospace Sciences [1102757] Funding Source: National Science Foundation
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Changes in moisture delivery to western North America are largely controlled by interrelated, synoptic-scale atmospheric pressure patterns. Long-term records of upper-atmosphere pressure and related circulation patterns are needed to assess potential drivers of past severe droughts and evaluate how future climate changes may impact hydroclimatic systems. Here we develop a tree-ring-based climate field reconstruction of cool-season 500 hPa geopotential height on a 2 degrees x 2 degrees grid over North America and the North Pacific to AD 1500 and examine the frequency and persistence of preinstrumental atmospheric pressure patterns using Self-Organizing Maps. Our results show extended time periods dominated by a set of persistent upper-air pressure patterns, providing insight into the atmospheric conditions leading to periods of sustained drought and pluvial periods in the preinstrumental past. A striking shift from meridional to zonal flow occurred at the end of the Little Ice Age and was sustained for several decades.
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