501 Years of Spring Precipitation History for the Semi-Arid Northern Iran Derived from Tree-Ring δ<sup>18</sup>O Data
In semi-arid regions of the world, knowledge about the long-term hydroclimate variability is essential to analyze and evaluate the impact of current climate change on ecosystems. We present the first tree-ring δ<sup>18</sup>O based hydroclimatic reconstruction for northern semi-arid Iran...
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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MDPI AG
2020-08-01
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| Series: | Atmosphere |
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| Online Access: | https://www.mdpi.com/2073-4433/11/9/889 |
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| author | Zeynab Foroozan Jussi Grießinger Kambiz Pourtahmasi Achim Bräuning |
| author_facet | Zeynab Foroozan Jussi Grießinger Kambiz Pourtahmasi Achim Bräuning |
| author_sort | Zeynab Foroozan |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | In semi-arid regions of the world, knowledge about the long-term hydroclimate variability is essential to analyze and evaluate the impact of current climate change on ecosystems. We present the first tree-ring δ<sup>18</sup>O based hydroclimatic reconstruction for northern semi-arid Iran spanning the period 1515–2015. A highly significant correlation between tree-ring δ<sup>18</sup>O variations of juniper trees and spring (April–June) precipitation reveals a major influence of spring water availability during the early growing season. The driest period of the past 501 years occurred in the 16th century while the 18th century was the wettest, during which the overall highest frequency of wet year events occurred. A gradual decline in spring precipitation is evident from the beginning of the 19th century, pointing to even drier climate conditions. The analysis of dry/wet events indicates that the frequency of years with relatively dry spring increased over the last three centuries, while the number of wet events decreased. Our findings are in accordance with historical Persian disaster records (e.g., the severe droughts of 1870–1872, 1917–1919; severe flooding of 1867, the 1930s, and 1950). Correlation analyses between the reconstruction and different atmospheric circulation indices revealed no significant influence of large-scale drivers on spring precipitation in northern Iran. |
| first_indexed | 2024-03-10T16:59:03Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-849091b1f44a45939e5e81c653c2c792 |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 2073-4433 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-03-10T16:59:03Z |
| publishDate | 2020-08-01 |
| publisher | MDPI AG |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Atmosphere |
| spelling | doaj.art-849091b1f44a45939e5e81c653c2c7922023-11-20T11:02:20ZengMDPI AGAtmosphere2073-44332020-08-0111988910.3390/atmos11090889501 Years of Spring Precipitation History for the Semi-Arid Northern Iran Derived from Tree-Ring δ<sup>18</sup>O DataZeynab Foroozan0Jussi Grießinger1Kambiz Pourtahmasi2Achim Bräuning3Institute of Geography, Friedrich-Alexander-University Erlangen-Nürnberg, 91054 Erlangen, GermanyInstitute of Geography, Friedrich-Alexander-University Erlangen-Nürnberg, 91054 Erlangen, GermanyDepartment of Wood and Paper Science & Technology, Faculty of Natural Resources, University of Tehran, 31587-77871 Karaj, IranInstitute of Geography, Friedrich-Alexander-University Erlangen-Nürnberg, 91054 Erlangen, GermanyIn semi-arid regions of the world, knowledge about the long-term hydroclimate variability is essential to analyze and evaluate the impact of current climate change on ecosystems. We present the first tree-ring δ<sup>18</sup>O based hydroclimatic reconstruction for northern semi-arid Iran spanning the period 1515–2015. A highly significant correlation between tree-ring δ<sup>18</sup>O variations of juniper trees and spring (April–June) precipitation reveals a major influence of spring water availability during the early growing season. The driest period of the past 501 years occurred in the 16th century while the 18th century was the wettest, during which the overall highest frequency of wet year events occurred. A gradual decline in spring precipitation is evident from the beginning of the 19th century, pointing to even drier climate conditions. The analysis of dry/wet events indicates that the frequency of years with relatively dry spring increased over the last three centuries, while the number of wet events decreased. Our findings are in accordance with historical Persian disaster records (e.g., the severe droughts of 1870–1872, 1917–1919; severe flooding of 1867, the 1930s, and 1950). Correlation analyses between the reconstruction and different atmospheric circulation indices revealed no significant influence of large-scale drivers on spring precipitation in northern Iran.https://www.mdpi.com/2073-4433/11/9/889δ<sup>18</sup>O chronologyclimate reconstruction<i>Juniperus polycarpos</i>climate extremesstable isotope dendroclimatologypaleohydroclimatic proxy |
| spellingShingle | Zeynab Foroozan Jussi Grießinger Kambiz Pourtahmasi Achim Bräuning 501 Years of Spring Precipitation History for the Semi-Arid Northern Iran Derived from Tree-Ring δ<sup>18</sup>O Data Atmosphere δ<sup>18</sup>O chronology climate reconstruction <i>Juniperus polycarpos</i> climate extremes stable isotope dendroclimatology paleohydroclimatic proxy |
| title | 501 Years of Spring Precipitation History for the Semi-Arid Northern Iran Derived from Tree-Ring δ<sup>18</sup>O Data |
| title_full | 501 Years of Spring Precipitation History for the Semi-Arid Northern Iran Derived from Tree-Ring δ<sup>18</sup>O Data |
| title_fullStr | 501 Years of Spring Precipitation History for the Semi-Arid Northern Iran Derived from Tree-Ring δ<sup>18</sup>O Data |
| title_full_unstemmed | 501 Years of Spring Precipitation History for the Semi-Arid Northern Iran Derived from Tree-Ring δ<sup>18</sup>O Data |
| title_short | 501 Years of Spring Precipitation History for the Semi-Arid Northern Iran Derived from Tree-Ring δ<sup>18</sup>O Data |
| title_sort | 501 years of spring precipitation history for the semi arid northern iran derived from tree ring δ sup 18 sup o data |
| topic | δ<sup>18</sup>O chronology climate reconstruction <i>Juniperus polycarpos</i> climate extremes stable isotope dendroclimatology paleohydroclimatic proxy |
| url | https://www.mdpi.com/2073-4433/11/9/889 |
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