Table 1. Tree growth index and reconstructed precipitation series from 515 BC to AD 1993 based on the archaeological and living tree ring datasets from Dulan and Shenge, China

Annual precipitation for the last 2,500 years was reconstructed for northeastern Qinghai from living and archaeological juniper trees. A dominant feature of the precipitation of this area is a high degree of variability in mean rainfall at annual, decadal, and centennial scales, with many wet and dry periods that are corroborated by other paleoclimatic indicators. Reconstructed values of annual precipitation vary mostly from 100 to 300 mm and thus are no different from the modern instrumental record in Dulan. However, relatively dry years with below-average precipitation occurred more frequently in the past than in the present. Periods of relatively dry years occurred during 74-25 BC, AD 51-375, 426-500, 526-575, 626-700, 1100-1225, 1251-1325, 1451-1525, 1651-1750 and 1801-1825. Periods with a relatively wet climate occurred during AD 376-425, 576-625, 951-1050, 1351-1375, 1551-1600 and the present. This variability is probably related to latitudinal positions of winter frontal storms. Another key feature of precipitation in this area is an apparently direct relationship between interannual variability in rainfall with temperature, whereby increased warming in the future might lead to increased flooding and droughts. Such increased climatic variability might then impact human societies of the area, much as the climate has done for the past 2,500 years.

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Cite this as

Sheppard, P R, Tarasov, Pavel E, Graumlich, L J, Heussner, Karl-Uwe, Wagner, M, Österle, Hermann, Thompson, L G (2013). Dataset: Table 1. Tree growth index and reconstructed precipitation series from 515 BC to AD 1993 based on the archaeological and living tree ring datasets from Dulan and Shenge, China. https://doi.org/10.1594/PANGAEA.808750

DOI retrieved: 2013

Additional Info

Field Value
Imported on November 30, 2024
Last update November 30, 2024
License CC-BY-3.0
Source https://doi.org/10.1594/PANGAEA.808750
Author Sheppard, P R
Given Name P R
Family Name Sheppard
More Authors
Tarasov, Pavel E
Graumlich, L J
Heussner, Karl-Uwe
Wagner, M
Österle, Hermann
Thompson, L G
Source Creation 2013
Publication Year 2013
Resource Type text/tab-separated-values - filename: sheppard_2004
Subject Areas
Name: Atmosphere

Related Identifiers
Title: Annual precipitation since 515 BC reconstructed from living and fossil juniper growth of northeastern Qinghai Province, China
Identifier: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00382-004-0473-2
Type: DOI
Relation: IsSupplementTo
Year: 2004
Source: Climate Dynamics
Authors: Sheppard P R , Tarasov Pavel E , Graumlich L J , Heussner Karl-Uwe , Wagner M , Österle Hermann , Thompson L G .

Title: Precipitation changes in Dulan BC 515 - AD 800 inferred from tree-ring data related to the human occupation of NW China
Type: DOI
Relation: References
Year: 2003
Source: Eurasia Antiqua. Zeitschrift für Archäologie Eurasiens
Authors: Tarasov Pavel E , Heussner Karl-Uwe , Wagner M , Österle Hermann , Wang S .