A 300-year tree-ring δ18O-based precipitation reconstruction for the South American Altiplano highlights decadal hydroclimate teleconnections

• Published in: Communications Earth & Environment
• Main Authors: Rodriguez-Caton, Milagros, Morales, Mariano, S, Rao, Mukund, Palat, Nixon, Troy, Vuille, Mathias, Rivera, Juan, Antonio, Oelkers, Rose, Christie, Duncan, A, Varuolo-Clarke, Arianna, M, Ferrero, M. Eugenia, Magney, Troy, Daux, Valérie, Villalba, Ricardo, Andreu-Hayles, Laia
• Other Authors: Lamont-Doherty Earth Observatory (LDEO), Columbia University New York, Instituto Argentino de Nivología, Glaciología y Ciencias Ambientales Mendoza (CONICET-IANIGLA), Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas Buenos Aires (CONICET)-Universidad Nacional de Cuyo Mendoza (UNCUYO), Laboratoire des Sciences du Climat et de l'Environnement Gif-sur-Yvette (LSCE), Université de Versailles Saint-Quentin-en-Yvelines (UVSQ)-Institut national des sciences de l'Univers (INSU - CNRS)-Université Paris-Saclay-Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS)-Direction de Recherche Fondamentale (CEA) (DRF (CEA)), Commissariat à l'énergie atomique et aux énergies alternatives (CEA)-Commissariat à l'énergie atomique et aux énergies alternatives (CEA), Géochrononologie Traceurs Archéométrie (GEOTRAC), Commissariat à l'énergie atomique et aux énergies alternatives (CEA)-Commissariat à l'énergie atomique et aux énergies alternatives (CEA)-Université de Versailles Saint-Quentin-en-Yvelines (UVSQ)-Institut national des sciences de l'Univers (INSU - CNRS)-Université Paris-Saclay-Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS)-Direction de Recherche Fondamentale (CEA) (DRF (CEA))
• Format: Article in Journal/Newspaper
• Language: English
• Published: HAL CCSD 2024
• Subjects: [SDU.OCEAN]Sciences of the Universe [physics]/Ocean; Atmosphere; [SDU.ENVI]Sciences of the Universe [physics]/Continental interfaces; environment; Altiplano The; Pacific; The Altiplano; ice core
• Online Access: https://hal.science/hal-04621463; https://hal.science/hal-04621463/document; https://hal.science/hal-04621463/file/s43247-024-01385-9.pdf; https://doi.org/10.1038/s43247-024-01385-9

International audience Abstract Tropical South American climate is influenced by the South American Summer Monsoon and the El Niño Southern Oscillation. However, assessing natural hydroclimate variability in the region is hindered by the scarcity of long-term instrumental records. Here we present a tree-ring δ 18 O-based precipitation reconstruction for the South American Altiplano for 1700–2013 C.E., derived from Polylepis tarapacana tree rings. This record explains 56% of December–March instrumental precipitation variability in the Altiplano. The tree-ring δ 18 O chronology shows interannual (2–5 years) and decadal (~11 years) oscillations that are remarkably consistent with periodicities observed in Altiplano precipitation, central tropical Pacific sea surface temperatures, southern-tropical Andean ice core δ 18 O and tropical Pacific coral δ 18 O archives. These results demonstrate the value of annual-resolution tree-ring δ 18 O records to capture hydroclimate teleconnections and generate robust tropical climate reconstructions. This work contributes to a better understanding of global oxygen-isotope patterns, as well as atmospheric and oceanic processes across the tropics.