δ18O in the tropical conifer Agathis robusta records ENSO-related precipitation variations.
Long-lived trees from tropical Australasia are a potential source of information about internal variability of the El Niño-Southern Oscillation (ENSO), because they occur in a region where precipitation variability is closely associated with ENSO activity. We measured tree-ring width and oxygen isot...
| Main Authors: | , , |
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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Public Library of Science (PLoS)
2014-01-01
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| Series: | PLoS ONE |
| Online Access: | http://europepmc.org/articles/PMC4111296?pdf=render |
| _version_ | 1818174907616329728 |
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| author | Bjorn M M Boysen Michael N Evans Patrick J Baker |
| author_facet | Bjorn M M Boysen Michael N Evans Patrick J Baker |
| author_sort | Bjorn M M Boysen |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Long-lived trees from tropical Australasia are a potential source of information about internal variability of the El Niño-Southern Oscillation (ENSO), because they occur in a region where precipitation variability is closely associated with ENSO activity. We measured tree-ring width and oxygen isotopic composition (δ18O) of α-cellulose from Agathis robusta (Queensland Kauri) samples collected in the Atherton Tablelands, Queensland, Australia. Standard ring-width chronologies yielded low internal consistency due to the frequent presence of false ring-like anatomical features. However, in a detailed examination of the most recent 15 years of growth (1995-2010), we found significant correlation between δ18O and local precipitation, the latter associated with ENSO activity. The results are consistent with process-based forward modeling of the oxygen isotopic composition of α-cellulose. The δ18O record also enabled us to confirm the presence of a false growth ring in one of the three samples in the composite record, and to determine that it occurred as a consequence of anomalously low rainfall in the middle of the 2004/5 rainy season. The combination of incremental growth and isotopic measures may be a powerful approach to development of long-term (150+ year) ENSO reconstructions from the terrestrial tropics of Australasia. |
| first_indexed | 2024-12-11T19:51:52Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-a83ab66e96304b0392afc1d8bca4c918 |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 1932-6203 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-12-11T19:51:52Z |
| publishDate | 2014-01-01 |
| publisher | Public Library of Science (PLoS) |
| record_format | Article |
| series | PLoS ONE |
| spelling | doaj.art-a83ab66e96304b0392afc1d8bca4c9182022-12-22T00:52:45ZengPublic Library of Science (PLoS)PLoS ONE1932-62032014-01-0197e10233610.1371/journal.pone.0102336δ18O in the tropical conifer Agathis robusta records ENSO-related precipitation variations.Bjorn M M BoysenMichael N EvansPatrick J BakerLong-lived trees from tropical Australasia are a potential source of information about internal variability of the El Niño-Southern Oscillation (ENSO), because they occur in a region where precipitation variability is closely associated with ENSO activity. We measured tree-ring width and oxygen isotopic composition (δ18O) of α-cellulose from Agathis robusta (Queensland Kauri) samples collected in the Atherton Tablelands, Queensland, Australia. Standard ring-width chronologies yielded low internal consistency due to the frequent presence of false ring-like anatomical features. However, in a detailed examination of the most recent 15 years of growth (1995-2010), we found significant correlation between δ18O and local precipitation, the latter associated with ENSO activity. The results are consistent with process-based forward modeling of the oxygen isotopic composition of α-cellulose. The δ18O record also enabled us to confirm the presence of a false growth ring in one of the three samples in the composite record, and to determine that it occurred as a consequence of anomalously low rainfall in the middle of the 2004/5 rainy season. The combination of incremental growth and isotopic measures may be a powerful approach to development of long-term (150+ year) ENSO reconstructions from the terrestrial tropics of Australasia.http://europepmc.org/articles/PMC4111296?pdf=render |
| spellingShingle | Bjorn M M Boysen Michael N Evans Patrick J Baker δ18O in the tropical conifer Agathis robusta records ENSO-related precipitation variations. PLoS ONE |
| title | δ18O in the tropical conifer Agathis robusta records ENSO-related precipitation variations. |
| title_full | δ18O in the tropical conifer Agathis robusta records ENSO-related precipitation variations. |
| title_fullStr | δ18O in the tropical conifer Agathis robusta records ENSO-related precipitation variations. |
| title_full_unstemmed | δ18O in the tropical conifer Agathis robusta records ENSO-related precipitation variations. |
| title_short | δ18O in the tropical conifer Agathis robusta records ENSO-related precipitation variations. |
| title_sort | δ18o in the tropical conifer agathis robusta records enso related precipitation variations |
| url | http://europepmc.org/articles/PMC4111296?pdf=render |
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