Drought Reconstruction in the Qilian Mountains over the Last Two Centuries and Its Implications for Large-Scale Moisture Patterns

• Published in: Advances in atmospheric sciences Vol. 26; no. 4; pp. 621 - 629
• Main Author: 刘文火 勾晓华 杨梅学 张永 方克艳 杨涛 靳立亚
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Heidelberg SP Science Press 01.07.2009; Springer Nature B.V; Key Laboratory of Western China's Environmental Systems, Ministry of Education, Lanzhou University; Lanzhou 730000%Key Laboratory of Cyrosphere and Environmment,Cold and Arid Regions Environmental and Engineering Research Institute, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Lanzhou 730000
• Subjects: Atmospheric Sciences; Drought; Earth and Environmental Science; Earth Sciences; Geophysics/Geodesy; Global temperatures; Meteorology; Mountains; Trees; 北祁连山; 干旱时期; 年代表; 月降水; 树木年轮; 热带太平洋; 质量管理; China, People's Rep., Xizang, Tibetan Plateau; China, People's Rep., Qinghai Prov., Qilian Mts; PN, Arctic Ocean; IS, Tropical Pacific; China, People's Rep; SST; Qilian Mountains; tree rings; drought variability
• ISSN: 0256-1530; 1861-9533
• DOI: 10.1007/s00376-009-9028-0

We present a composite tree-ring chronology from two sites of Qilian Juniper （Sabina przewalskii） in the northwestern Qilian Mountains （QM）, Northwestern China. Precipitation in June was found to be the main limiting factor for tree-growth. The tree rings are also significantly and positively correlated with June precipitation over large areas of the northern Tibetan Plateau （TP）. The authors thus consider that the treering based drought reconstruction from 1803-2006 is representative of a large area drought history. During the reconstruction period, persistent and severe dry epochs occurred in the 1820s-1830s, 1870s-1880s, 1920s, and 1950s 1960s, and persistent wet periods were found from 1803-1810s, 1890s-1920s, and 1970s-1980s. The severe dry and wet periods are similar to those found over the northeastern TP, indicating the potential linkages of the drought regimes between them. Comparison with global SST indicates that the drought variability is closely related to the tropical Pacific and Arctic Ocean SSTs, suggesting the connection of regional moisture variations to the Asian monsoon and westerly belt circulations, respectively.