P2C2: Late Holocene Hydroclimate Variability in the Great Basin, and Its Causes

University Of Arizona, Tucson AZ

Investigators

Abstract

Funding is provided to reconstruct past hydroclimatic variables (precipitation, soil moisture, streamflow) in the Great Basin region over the past 5,000 years using long tree-ring chronologies. The aim of the research is to place the modern instrumental record in a longer-term context. Previous research by the group shows that dry conditions in the Great Basin of the western United States between circa AD 500 and 1350 partly resulted from tropically forced changes in winter Northern Hemisphere circulation like those associated with modern La Niña episodes. The broader impacts involve the promise of greater understanding of Great Basin hydrology and development of unique high-resolution records of climate from tree-rings.