The Azores High (AH), a subtropical ridge in the atmosphere over the North Atlantic comprising one node of the North Atlantic Oscillation (NAO) system, has a dominant influence on the weather and climate of the Iberian Peninsula and northwest Africa. The behavior of the entire NAO system over the last millennium has been the subject of much debate in both proxy- and model-based studies. Many studies have focused on the behavior of the entire NAO system, but we focus solely on the behavior of the AH due to its proximity to this region. Other proxies from this region, mainly from Spain and Morocco, have provided details about atmospheric dynamics yet spatiotemporal gaps remain. In this study, we present a continuous, sub-decadally-resolved composite stalagmite carbon isotopic record from three partially overlapping stalagmites from Buraca Gloriosa (BG) cave, western Portugal, situated within the center of the AH, that preserves evidence of regional hydroclimate variability from approximately 800 CE to the present. This composite record, developed from U-Th dating and laminae counting paired with carbon isotopes, primarily reflects effective moisture in western Portugal. Given the close pairing of AH behavior (intensity, size, and location) and moisture transport in this region, the BG composite record allows for a thorough analysis of AH behavior over time. Multidecadal to centennial scale variability in the BG record and state-of-the-art last millennium climate model simulations show considerable coherence with precipitation-sensitive records from Spain and Morocco that, like BG, are strongly influenced by the intensity, size, and location of the AH. Synthesis of model output and proxy data suggests that western Portugal was persistently dry during much of the Medieval Climate Anomaly (MCA; ~850-1250 CE) and Modern era (1850 CE-present) and experienced wetter conditions during Little Ice Age (LIA; ~1400-1850 CE). Even considering age uncertainties from the Iberian Peninsula and northwest Africa proxy records, the apparent timing in the transition from a relatively dry MCA to a wetter LIA is spatially variable across this region, likely due to the non-stationary behavior of the AH system.
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Data‐Model Comparisons of Tropical Hydroclimate Changes Over the Common Era
We examine the evidence for large‐scale tropical hydroclimate changes over the Common Era based on a compilation of 67 tropical hydroclimate records from 55 sites and assess the consistency between the reconstructed hydroclimate changes and those simulated by transient model simulations of the last millennium. Our synthesis of the proxy records reveals several regionally coherent patterns on centennial time scales. From 800 to 1000 CE, records from the eastern Pacific and parts of Mesoamerica indicate a pronounced drying event relative to background conditions of the Common Era. In addition, 1400–1700 CE is marked by pronounced hydroclimate changes across the tropics, including dry and/or isotopically enriched conditions in South and East Asia, wet and/or isotopically depleted conditions in the central Andes and southern Amazon in South America, and fresher and/or isotopically depleted conditions in the Maritime Continent. We find notable dissimilarities between the regional hydroclimate changes and global‐scale and hemispheric‐scale temperature reconstructions, indicating that more work needs to be done to understand the mechanisms of the widespread tropical hydroclimate changes during the LIA. Apropos to previous interpretations of large‐scale reorganization of tropical Pacific climate during the LIA, we do not find support for a large‐scale southward shift of the Pacific Intertropical Convergence Zone, while evidence for a strengthened Pacific Walker Circulation and/or an equatorward contraction of the monsoonal Asian‐Australian rain belt exists from limited geographic regions but require additional paleoclimate constraints. Transient climate model simulations exhibit weak forced long‐term tropical rainfall changes over the last millennium but provide several important insights to the proxy reconstructions.
more » « less- NSF-PAR ID:
- 10444042
- Publisher / Repository:
- DOI PREFIX: 10.1029
- Date Published:
- Journal Name:
- Paleoceanography and Paleoclimatology
- Volume:
- 36
- Issue:
- 7
- ISSN:
- 2572-4517
- Format(s):
- Medium: X
- Sponsoring Org:
- National Science Foundation
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The Azores High (AH), a subtropical ridge in the atmosphere over the North Atlantic comprising one node of the North Atlantic Oscillation (NAO) system, has a dominant influence on the weather and climate of the Iberian Peninsula and northwest Africa. The behavior of the entire NAO system over the last millennium has been the subject of much debate in both proxy- and model-based studies. Many studies have focused on the behavior of the entire NAO system, but we focus solely on the behavior of the AH due to its proximity to this region. Other proxies from this region, mainly from Spain and Morocco, have provided details about atmospheric dynamics yet spatiotemporal gaps remain. In this study, we present a continuous, sub-decadally-resolved composite stalagmite carbon isotopic record from three partially overlapping stalagmites from Buraca Gloriosa (BG) cave, western Portugal, situated within the center of the AH, that preserves evidence of regional hydroclimate variability from approximately 800 CE to the present. This composite record, developed from U-Th dating and laminae counting paired with carbon isotopes, primarily reflects effective moisture in western Portugal. Given the close pairing of AH behavior (intensity, size, and location) and moisture transport in this region, the BG composite record allows for a thorough analysis of AH behavior over time. Multidecadal to centennial scale variability in the BG record and state-of-the-art last millennium climate model simulations show considerable coherence with precipitation-sensitive records from Spain and Morocco that, like BG, are strongly influenced by the intensity, size, and location of the AH. Synthesis of model output and proxy data suggests that western Portugal was persistently dry during much of the Medieval Climate Anomaly (MCA; ~850-1250 CE) and Modern era (1850 CE-present) and experienced wetter conditions during Little Ice Age (LIA; ~1400-1850 CE). Even considering age uncertainties from the Iberian Peninsula and northwest Africa proxy records, the apparent timing in the transition from a relatively dry MCA to a wetter LIA is spatially variable across this region, likely due to the non-stationary behavior of the AH system.more » « less
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