A 4500-Year Tree-Ring Record of Extreme Climatic Events on the Yamal Peninsula

Based on the analysis of the frequency of anomalous anatomical structures in the wood of Siberian larch and Siberian spruce (frost rings, light rings, and false rings, as well as missing and narrow rings), we reconstructed a timeline of climatic extremes (summer frosts, sharp multiday decreases in air temperature during the growing season, and low average summer temperatures) in Yamal (Western Siberia) over the last 4500 years. In total, 229 years were determined to have experienced extreme events. The most significant temperature extremes were recorded in 2053, 1935, 1647, 1626, 1553, 1538, 1410, 1401, 982, 919, 883 BCE, 143, 404, 543, 640, 1209, 1440, 1453, 1466, 1481, 1601 and 1818 CE. These dates with extrema observed in Yamal corrobarated with tree ring data from other regions and revealed several coincidences. That is, in these years, the observed extremes appeared to have been on a global rather than a regional scale. Moreover, these dates coincided with traces of large volcanic eruptions found in ice cores from Greenland and Antarctica, dated to approximately the same years. Therefore, the cause of the extreme summer cooling on a global scale, in most cases, can be linked to large volcanic eruptions.

Automated summary

Based on the analysis of anomalous anatomical structures in the wood of Siberian larch and Siberian spruce, a timeline of climatic extremes over the past 4500 years in Yamal (Western Siberia) was reconstructed. These extremes were found to have global significance rather than just regional. Coincidentally, the dates of these extremes align with traces of large volcanic eruptions found in ice cores from Greenland and Antarctica, indicating a link between the extreme cooling and volcanic eruptions on a global scale.