Moisture Variability in the East Pearl River Basin since 1894 CE Inferred from Tree Ring Records
Short-term climate change in South China has been extensively studied based on meteorological or hydrological records. However, tree ring-based long-term climate change research is rare, especially in the Pearl River basin, owing to the difficulty in finding old-aged trees. Here, we present a 200-ye...
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| Format: | Article |
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MDPI AG
2020-10-01
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| Series: | Atmosphere |
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| Online Access: | https://www.mdpi.com/2073-4433/11/10/1075 |
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| author | Teng Li Jinbao Li Tsun Fung Au David D. Zhang |
| author_facet | Teng Li Jinbao Li Tsun Fung Au David D. Zhang |
| author_sort | Teng Li |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Short-term climate change in South China has been extensively studied based on meteorological or hydrological records. However, tree ring-based long-term climate change research is rare, especially in the Pearl River basin, owing to the difficulty in finding old-aged trees. Here, we present a 200-year tree ring width chronology of <i>Pinus kwangtungensis</i> in the east Pearl River basin with reliable coverage from 1894 to 2014. Based on the significant climate-growth relationship between tree growth and annual self-calibrating Palmer drought severity index (scPDSI) from previous May to current April, the pMay-cApr scPDSI was reconstructed for the period 1894–2014. The reconstruction reveals four dry periods during 1899–1924, 1962–1974, 1988–1994, and 2003–2014, and four wet periods during 1894–1898, 1925–1961, 1975–1987, and 1995–2002. Significant spatial correlations between the reconstructed scPDSI and the Climatic Research Unit (CRU) gridded scPDSI indicate that our reconstruction can effectively represent regional moisture variability in the Pearl River basin. Spatial correlations with global sea surface temperatures (SSTs) show that our reconstruction is negatively correlated with northern and western Pacific SSTs while positively correlated with eastern Pacific SSTs, suggesting that SST variability in these domains strongly affects moisture change in the Pearl River basin. |
| first_indexed | 2024-03-10T15:45:50Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-7e44fd352d0e4d67ba885e183e9483b1 |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 2073-4433 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-03-10T15:45:50Z |
| publishDate | 2020-10-01 |
| publisher | MDPI AG |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Atmosphere |
| spelling | doaj.art-7e44fd352d0e4d67ba885e183e9483b12023-11-20T16:28:59ZengMDPI AGAtmosphere2073-44332020-10-011110107510.3390/atmos11101075Moisture Variability in the East Pearl River Basin since 1894 CE Inferred from Tree Ring RecordsTeng Li0Jinbao Li1Tsun Fung Au2David D. Zhang3School of Geography and Remote Sensing, Guangzhou University, Guangzhou 510006, ChinaDepartment of Geography, University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong SAR 999077, ChinaDepartment of Geography, Indiana University, Bloomington, IN 47405, USASchool of Geography and Remote Sensing, Guangzhou University, Guangzhou 510006, ChinaShort-term climate change in South China has been extensively studied based on meteorological or hydrological records. However, tree ring-based long-term climate change research is rare, especially in the Pearl River basin, owing to the difficulty in finding old-aged trees. Here, we present a 200-year tree ring width chronology of <i>Pinus kwangtungensis</i> in the east Pearl River basin with reliable coverage from 1894 to 2014. Based on the significant climate-growth relationship between tree growth and annual self-calibrating Palmer drought severity index (scPDSI) from previous May to current April, the pMay-cApr scPDSI was reconstructed for the period 1894–2014. The reconstruction reveals four dry periods during 1899–1924, 1962–1974, 1988–1994, and 2003–2014, and four wet periods during 1894–1898, 1925–1961, 1975–1987, and 1995–2002. Significant spatial correlations between the reconstructed scPDSI and the Climatic Research Unit (CRU) gridded scPDSI indicate that our reconstruction can effectively represent regional moisture variability in the Pearl River basin. Spatial correlations with global sea surface temperatures (SSTs) show that our reconstruction is negatively correlated with northern and western Pacific SSTs while positively correlated with eastern Pacific SSTs, suggesting that SST variability in these domains strongly affects moisture change in the Pearl River basin.https://www.mdpi.com/2073-4433/11/10/1075moisturetree ringclimate changePDSIPearl River basin |
| spellingShingle | Teng Li Jinbao Li Tsun Fung Au David D. Zhang Moisture Variability in the East Pearl River Basin since 1894 CE Inferred from Tree Ring Records Atmosphere moisture tree ring climate change PDSI Pearl River basin |
| title | Moisture Variability in the East Pearl River Basin since 1894 CE Inferred from Tree Ring Records |
| title_full | Moisture Variability in the East Pearl River Basin since 1894 CE Inferred from Tree Ring Records |
| title_fullStr | Moisture Variability in the East Pearl River Basin since 1894 CE Inferred from Tree Ring Records |
| title_full_unstemmed | Moisture Variability in the East Pearl River Basin since 1894 CE Inferred from Tree Ring Records |
| title_short | Moisture Variability in the East Pearl River Basin since 1894 CE Inferred from Tree Ring Records |
| title_sort | moisture variability in the east pearl river basin since 1894 ce inferred from tree ring records |
| topic | moisture tree ring climate change PDSI Pearl River basin |
| url | https://www.mdpi.com/2073-4433/11/10/1075 |
| work_keys_str_mv | AT tengli moisturevariabilityintheeastpearlriverbasinsince1894ceinferredfromtreeringrecords AT jinbaoli moisturevariabilityintheeastpearlriverbasinsince1894ceinferredfromtreeringrecords AT tsunfungau moisturevariabilityintheeastpearlriverbasinsince1894ceinferredfromtreeringrecords AT daviddzhang moisturevariabilityintheeastpearlriverbasinsince1894ceinferredfromtreeringrecords |