Hostname: page-component-586b7cd67f-tf8b9 Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-11-29T09:00:25.287Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false

Comparison of Two Indicators of Climatic Change: Tree Growth and Lake Superior Water Supplies

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  20 January 2017

Abstract

Many proxy indicators of past climate integrate the effects of temperature and precipitation, and not all indicators integrate these effects in the same way. This poses a problem in the reconstruction of past climate. A study of the response of tree growth around Lake Superior and the water supplies to that lake to summer climate shows differences and similarities in response. Tree growth is positively correlated with precipitation—although the response is reduced when conditions are very wet—and negatively correlated with temperature. In contrast, the water supplied to the lake are positively correlated with both precipitation and temperature; the correlation with temperature is, however, not very strong. Multiple regression models developed to assess the relative magnitudes of the similarities and differences show that the similarity in response to precipitation accounts for about 30% of the variance in water supplies, the nonlinear response of trees—represented by a log transformation—accounts for an additional 15%, and the difference in response to temperature is equivalent to about 30% of the variance in water supplies.

Type
Research Article
Copyright
University of Washington

Access options

Get access to the full version of this content by using one of the access options below. (Log in options will check for institutional or personal access. Content may require purchase if you do not have access.)

References

Bartlein, P.J. Webb, T. III Fleri, E., (1984). Holocene climatic change in the Northern Midwest: Pollen-derived estimates Quaternary Research 22, 361374 CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Blasing, T.J. Stahle, D.W. Duvick, D.N., (1988). Tree ring-based reconstruction of annual precipitation in the south-central United States from 1750 to 1980 Water Resources Research 24, 163171 CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Box, G.E.P. Jenkins, G., (1976). Time Series Analysis Holden-Day San Francisco Google Scholar
Brinkmann, W.A.R., (1987). Water supplies to the Great Lakes—Reconstructed from tree-rings Journal of Climate and Applied Meteorology 26, 530538 Google Scholar
Brubaker, L.B. Cook, E.R., (1983). Tree-ring studies of Holocene environments Wright, H.E. Jr. Late-Quaternary Environments of the United States Vol. 2, Univ. of Minnesota Press Minneapolis 222235 “The Holocene” Google Scholar
Cook, E.R. Jacoby, G.C., (1977). Tree-ring-drought relationships in the Hudson Valley, New York Science 198, 399401 CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Cook, E.R. Jacoby, G.C., (1983). Potomac river streamflow since 1730 as reconstructed by tree rings Journal of Climate and Applied Meteorology 22, 16591672 2.0.CO;2>CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Derecki, J.A., (1981). Operational estimates of Lake Superior evaporation based on IFYGL findings Water Resources Research 17, 14531462 Google Scholar
Duvick, D.N. Blasing, T.J., (1981). A dendroclimatic reconstruction of annual precipitation amounts in Iowa since 1680 Water Resources Research 17, 11831189 CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Fritts, H.C., (1976). Tree Rings and Climate Academic Press London Google Scholar
Galloway, R.W., (1983). Full-glacial southwestern United States: Mild and wet or cold and dry? Quaternary Research 19, 236248 Google Scholar
Graumlich, L.J. Brubaker, L.B., (1986). Reconstruction of annual temperature (1590–1979) for Longmire, Washington, derived from tree rings Quaternary Research 25, 223234 CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Jones, D.M.A. Meredith, D.D., (1972). Great Lakes hydrology by months, 1946–1965 Proceedings of the 15th Conference on Great Lakes Research International Association for Great Lakes Research 477506 Google Scholar
Jones, P.D. Briffa, K.R. Pilcher, J.R., (1984). Riverflow reconstruction from tree rings in southern Britain Journal of Climatology 4, 461472 CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Madden, R.A. Williams, J., (1978). The correlation between temperature and precipitation in the United States and Europe Monthly Weather Review 106, 142147 Google Scholar
Mather, J.R., (1978). The Climatic Water Budget in Environmental Analysis D. C. Heath and Co Lexington Google Scholar
Namias, J., (1966). Nature and possible causes of the northeastern United States drought during 1962–1965 Monthly Weather Review 94, 543554 Google Scholar
Peterson, G.M. Webb, T. III Kutzbach, J.E. van der Hammen, T. Wijmstra, T.A. Street, F.A., (1979). The continental record of environmental conditions at 18,000 yr B.P.: An initial evaluation Quaternary Research 12, 4782 Google Scholar
Quinn, F.H. Kelley, R.N., (1983). Great Lakes Monthly Hydrologic Data NOAA Data Report ERL GLERL-26 Google Scholar
Quinn, F.H. Norton, D.C., (1982). Great Lakes Precipitation by Months, 1900–1980 NOAA Data Report ERL GLERL-20 Google Scholar
Stahle, D.W. Cleaveland, M.K., (1988). Texas drought history reconstructed and analyzed from 1698 to 1980 Journal of Climate 1, 5974 2.0.CO;2>CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Stockton, C.W. Fritts, H.C., (1973). Long-term reconstruction of water level changes for Lake Athabasca by analysis of tree rings Water Resources Bulletin 9, 10061027 Google Scholar
Walsh, J.E. Mostek, A., (1980). A quantitative analysis of meteorological anomaly patterns over the United States, 1900–1977 Monthly Weather Review 108, 615630 2.0.CO;2>CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Weisberg, S., (1980). Applied Linear Regression Wiley New York Google Scholar
Willmott, C.J., (1977). WATBUG: A FORTRAN IV algorithm for calculating the climatic water budget Publications in Climatology Vol. 30, C. W. Thornthwaite Associates Elmer, NJ No. 2 Google Scholar