P 1.2 Paleoclimate Variability and Extreme Events (PALVAREX-3)

• Main Authors: Pi J. Luterbacher, Co-pi M. Schwikowski
• Other Authors: The Pennsylvania State University CiteSeerX Archives
• Format: Text
• Language: English
• Subjects: North Atlantic
• Online Access: http://citeseerx.ist.psu.edu/viewdoc/summary?doi=10.1.1.547.3741; http://www.nccr-climate.unibe.ch/proposals/PALVAREX.pdf

1. What is the timing of the suggested anomalous drought/wet precipitation patterns, their geographical extent, and their magnitude during the Medieval Climate Anomaly (MCA) and the Little Ice Age (LIA) relative to the 20th century conditions for the North Atlantic/European area? 2. What are the underlying dynamics of extended dry and wet periods in Europe and how are they related to large scale atmosphere and ocean conditions and remote (NAO/AMO and ENSO/PDO, teleconnections) forcing? 3. Is it possible to relate past wet and dry periods in Europe to variations in circulation regimes as recorded by different proxies? 2. Research Summary Bradley et al. (2003) point to the fact that the MCA could be more a period with widespread hydrological anomalies from 900 to 1300 AD. Prolonged droughts/wetness affected many parts of the western United States (in particular eastern California and the western Great Basin) and other parts of the world (e.g Mediterranean, Morocco and possibly other parts of Europe), with impacts on society, ‘economy ’ and nature. Prolonged droughts in some areas