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A tree-ring-based drought index reconstruction for far-western Mongolia: 1565–2004

  1. N. K. Davi1,3,*,
  2. G. C. Jacoby1,2,
  3. R. D. D'Arrigo1,
  4. N. Baatarbileg2,
  5. Li Jinbao1,
  6. A. E. Curtis1,4

Article first published online: 4 DEC 2008

DOI: 10.1002/joc.1798

Issue

International Journal of Climatology

International Journal of Climatology

Volume 29, Issue 10, pages 1508–1514, August 2009

Additional Information

How to Cite

Davi, N. K., Jacoby, G. C., D'Arrigo, R. D., Baatarbileg, N., Jinbao, L. and Curtis, A. E. (2009), A tree-ring-based drought index reconstruction for far-western Mongolia: 1565–2004. Int. J. Climatol., 29: 1508–1514. doi: 10.1002/joc.1798

Author Information

  1. 1

    Tree-Ring Laboratory, Lamont-Doherty Earth Observatory of Columbia University, Palisades, NY, USA

  2. 2

    Department of Forestry, National University of Mongolia, Ulaanbaatar, Mongolia

  3. 3

    Department of Geography, Rutgers University, New Brunswick, NJ, USA

  4. 4

    Department of Geography, Clark University, Worcester, MA, USA

*Tree Ring Laboratory, 61 Rt. 9w, Palisades, NY 10964, USA.

Publication History

  1. Issue published online: 20 JUL 2009
  2. Article first published online: 4 DEC 2008
  3. Manuscript Accepted: 4 OCT 2008
  4. Manuscript Revised: 3 OCT 2008
  5. Manuscript Received: 1 NOV 2007

Funded by

  • National Science Foundation. Grant Number: 0402474

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Keywords:

  • tree-ring;
  • drought;
  • PDSI;
  • Mongolia;
  • paleoclimate;
  • periodicities;
  • moisture;
  • dendrochronology

Abstract

Tree-ring records can provide longer, high-resolution records of climate variability in remote regions such as western Mongolia, where recorded data are extremely limited. Here, we use three absolutely dated tree-ring-width chronologies to reconstruct the Palmer Drought Severity Index (PDSI) for a grid point in western Mongolia (48.75°N, 88.75°W). A reconstruction of the June–September PDSI for this region extends from 1565 to 2003 and explains 41% of the total variance in the instrumental PDSI. The 439-year reconstruction shows that starting in the 20th Century and continuing into the 21st Century there is a large-scale regional increase in growing-season moisture conditions compared to the prior centuries, a trend not seen in central or eastern Mongolian tree-ring reconstructions. This increasing trend in western Mongolia is consistent with station observations and other nearby proxy records. The wettest 5-year period of the reconstruction is 1741–1745 followed by 1993–1997, and the driest period is 1755–1759, followed by 1882–1886. Spectral analysis shows significant periodicities at approximately 22, 11, 7 and 5 years. The reconstruction shows similar trends to a PDSI reconstruction from NW China during the 20th Century and also correlates with lake-level data from nearby Khar-Us Nuur, Mongolia. Copyright © 2008 Royal Meteorological Society

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