Patterns and Sources of Multidecadal Oscillations in Drought-Sensitive Tree-Ring Records from the Central and Southern Rocky Mountains

Tree-ring records spanning the past seven centuries from the central and southern Rocky Mountains were studied using wavelet analysis to examine multidecadal (>30-70 yr) patterns of drought variation. Fifteen tree-ring series were grouped into five regional composite chronologies based on shared...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Geophysical Research Letters
Main Authors: S. T. Gray (10059466), J. L. Betancourt (10059469), C. L. Fastie (10059472), Stephen T. Jackson (10059427)
Format: Other Non-Article Part of Journal/Newspaper
Language:unknown
Published: 2003
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Online Access:https://doi.org/10.1029/2002gl016154
Description
Summary:Tree-ring records spanning the past seven centuries from the central and southern Rocky Mountains were studied using wavelet analysis to examine multidecadal (>30-70 yr) patterns of drought variation. Fifteen tree-ring series were grouped into five regional composite chronologies based on shared low-frequency behavior. Strong multidecadal phasing of moisture variation was present in all regions during the late 16th century megadrought. Oscillatory modes in the 30-70 yr domain persisted until the mid-19th century in two regions, and wet-dry cycles were apparently synchronous at some sites until the 1950s drought. The 16th/17th century pattern of severe multidecadal drought followed by decades of wet conditions resembles the 1950s drought and post-1976 wet period. The 16th century megadrought, which may have resulted from coupling of a decadal (similar to 20-30 yr) Pacific cool phase with a multidecadal warm phase in the North Atlantic, marked a substantial reorganization of climate in the Rocky Mountain region.