Temperature record

Abstract: A core recovered on the Iberian margin off southern Portugal can be correlated with Greenland ice cores using oxygen isotope variability in planktonic foraminifera which closely matches the ice core records of temperature over Greenland. Our age model identifies the base of every interstadial between 64,000 and 24,000 years ago and uses the Greenland Ice Core Project (GRIP) timescale. The oxygen isotope signal in benthic foraminifera (on this GRIP-based timescale) is quite different from the planktonic record and resembles the temperature record over Antarctica when this is synchronized with Greenland using the record of methane in the atmospheric air in the polar ice cores. We interpret the benthic record as indicating significant fluctuations in ice volume during millennial events, and we suggest that Antarctic temperature changed as a function of ice volume.

Abstract: This paper summarizes the current state of knowledge of the climate of southwest USA (the 'Southwest'). Low annual precipitation, clear skies, and year-round warm climate over much of the South- west are due in large part to a quasi-permanent subtropical high-pressure ridge over the region. However, the Southwest is located between the mid-latitude and subtropical atmospheric circulation regimes, and this positioning relative to shifts in these regimes is the fundamental reason for the region's climatic vari- ability. Furthermore, the Southwest's complex topography and its geographical proximity to the Pacific Ocean, the Gulf of California, and the Gulf of Mexico also contribute to this region's high climatic vari- ability. El Nino, which is an increase in sea-surface temperature of the eastern equatorial Pacific Ocean with an associated shift of the active center of atmospheric convection from the western to the central equa- torial Pacific, has a well-developed teleconnection with the Southwest, usually resulting in wet winters. La Nina, the opposite oceanic case of El Nino usually results in dry winters for the Southwest. Another im- portant oceanic influence on winter climate of the Southwest is a feature called the Pacific Decadal Oscillation (PDO), which has been defined as temporal variation in sea-surface temperatures for most of the Northern Pacific Ocean. The effects of ENSO and PDO can amplify each other, resulting in increased annual variability in precipitation over the Southwest. The major feature that sets the climate of the South- west apart from the rest of the United States is the North American monsoon, which in the US is most noticeable in Arizona and New Mexico. Up to 50% of the annual rainfall of Arizona and New Mexico oc- curs as monsoonal storms from July through September. Instrumental measurement of temperature and precipitation in the Southwest dates back to the middle to late 1800s. From that record, average annual rainfall of Arizona is 322 mm (12.7''), while that of New Mexico is 340 mm (13.4''), and mean annual tem- perature of New Mexico is cooler (12°C (53°F)) than Arizona (17°C (62°F)). As instrumental meteorolog- ical records extend back only about 100 to 120 yr throughout the Southwest, they are of limited utility for studying climate phenomena of long time frames. Hence, there is a need to extend the measured meteo- rological record further back in time using so-called 'natural archive' paleoclimate records. Tree-ring data, which provide annual resolution, range throughout the Southwest, extend back in time for up to 1000 yr or more in various forests of the Southwest, and integrate well the influences of both temperature and pre- cipitation, are useful for this assessment of climate of the Southwest. Tree growth of mid-elevation forests typically responds to moisture availability during the growing season, and a commonly used climate vari- able in paleo-precipitation studies is the Palmer Drought Severity Index (PDSI), which is a single variable derived from variation in precipitation and temperature. June-August PDSI strongly represents precip- itation and, to a lesser extent, temperature of the year prior to the growing season (prior September through current August). The maximum intra-ring density of higher elevation trees can yield a useful record of summer temperature variation. The combined paleo-modern climate record has at least 3 occurrences of multi-decadal variation (50 to 80 yr) of alternating dry (below average PDSI) to wet (above average PDSI). The amplitude of this variation has increased since the 1700s. The most obvious feature of the temperature record is its current increase to an extent unprecedented in the last 400 yr. Because this warming trend is outside the variation of the natural archives, it is possible that anthropogenic impacts, such as increased atmospheric concentrations of greenhouse trace gases, are playing a role in climate of the Southwest. Accordingly, this pattern merits further research in search of its cause or combination of causes.

Abstract: Three ice cores to bedrock from the Dunde ice cap on the north-central Qinghai-Tibetan Plateau of China provide a detailed record of Holocene and Wisconsin-Wurm late glacial stage (LGS) climate changes in the subtropics. The records reveal that LGS conditions were apparently colder, wetter, and dustier than Holocene conditions. The LGS part of the cores is characterized by more negative δ 18 O ratios, increased dust content, decreased soluble aerosol concentrations, and reduced ice crystal sizes than the Holocene part. These changes occurred rapidly ∼10,000 years ago. In addition, the last 60 years were apparently one of the warmest periods in the entire record, equalling levels of the Holocene maximum between 6000 and 8000 years ago.

Abstract: The West Antarctic Ice Sheet is contributing to sea-level rise, but temperature trends in the region have remained uncertain. A complete temperature record for Byrd Station in central West Antarctica, spanning from 1958 to 2010, establishes West Antarctica as one of the fastest-warming regions globally.