Arctic hydroclimate variability during the last 2000 years: current understanding and research challenges

• Published in: Climate of the Past
• Main Authors: Linderholm, Hans, W, Nicolle, Marie, Francus, Pierre, Gajewski, Konrad, Helama, Samuli, Korhola, Atte, Solomina, Olga, Yu, Zicheng, Zhang, Peng, d'Andrea, William, Debret, Maxime, Divine, Dmitry, Gunnarson, Björn, Loader, Neil, Massei, Nicolas, Seftigen, Kristina, Thomas, Elizabeth, Werner, Johannes, Andersson, Sofia, Berntsson, Annika, Luoto, Tomi, Nevalainen, Liisa, Saarni, Saija, Väliranta, Minna
• Other Authors: Göteborgs Universitet = University of Gothenburg (GU), Morphodynamique Continentale et Côtière (M2C), Université de Caen Normandie (UNICAEN), Normandie Université (NU)-Normandie Université (NU)-Institut national des sciences de l'Univers (INSU - CNRS)-Université de Rouen Normandie (UNIROUEN), Normandie Université (NU)-Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS), Centre Eau Terre Environnement Québec (INRS - ETE), Institut National de la Recherche Scientifique Québec (INRS), Université d'Ottawa Ontario (uOttawa), Natural Resources Institute Finland (LUKE), Helsingin yliopisto = Helsingfors universitet = University of Helsinki, Russian Academy of Sciences Moscow (RAS), Lehigh University Bethlehem, Lamont-Doherty Earth Observatory (LDEO), Columbia University New York, Environnements, Dynamiques et Territoires de Montagne (EDYTEM), Université Savoie Mont Blanc (USMB Université de Savoie Université de Chambéry )-Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS), Norwegian Polar Institute, Stockholm University, Swansea University, Regional Climate Group, Université Catholique de Louvain = Catholic University of Louvain (UCL), Cognition, Action, et Plasticité Sensorimotrice Dijon - U1093 (CAPS), Université de Bourgogne (UB)-Institut National de la Santé et de la Recherche Médicale (INSERM), Jacobs University = Constructor University Bremen, Department of Physical Geography Stockholm, Faculty of Biological and Environmental Sciences Helsinki, University of Turku
• Format: Article in Journal/Newspaper
• Language: English
• Published: HAL CCSD 2018
• Subjects: [SDU.STU.CL]Sciences of the Universe [physics]/Earth Sciences/Climatology; [SDU.STU.HY]Sciences of the Universe [physics]/Earth Sciences/Hydrology; Fennoscandia
• Online Access: https://hal.science/hal-01763335; https://hal.science/hal-01763335/document; https://hal.science/hal-01763335/file/cp-14-473-2018.pdf; https://doi.org/10.5194/cp-14-473-2018

(IF 3.47; Q1) International audience Reanalysis data show an increasing trend in Arctic precipitation over the 20th century, but changes are not homogenous across seasons or space. The observed hydroclimate changes are expected to continue and possibly accelerate in the coming century, not only affecting pan-Arctic natural ecosystems and human activities, but also lower latitudes through the atmospheric and ocean circulations. However, a lack of spatiotemporal observational data makes reliable quantification of Arctic hydroclimate change difficult, especially in a long-term context. To understand Arctic hydroclimate and its variability prior to the instrumental record, climate proxy records are needed. The purpose of this review is to summarise the current understanding of Arctic hydroclimate during the past 2000 years. First, the paper reviews the main natural archives and proxies used to infer past hydroclimate variations in this remote region and outlines the difficulty of disentangling the moisture from the temperature signal in these records. Second, a comparison of two sets of hydroclimate records covering the Common Era from two data-rich regions, North America and Fennoscandia, reveals inter- and intra-regional differences. Third, building on earlier work, this paper shows the potential for providing a high-resolution hydroclimate reconstruction for the Arctic and a comparison with last-millennium simulations from fully coupled climate models. In general, hydroclimate proxies and simulations indicate that the Medieval Climate Anomaly tends to have been wetter than the Little Ice Age (LIA), but there are large regional differences. However, the regional coverage of the proxy data is inadequate, with distinct data gaps in most of Eurasia and parts of North America, making robust assessments for the whole Arctic impossible at present. To fully assess pan-Arctic hydroclimate variability for the last 2 millennia, additional proxy records are required.