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Tree-ring-based hydrological records for western Himalaya, India, since a.d. 1560

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Abstract

We analysed 565 increment cores from 325 Himalayan cedar [Cedrus deodara (Roxb.) G. Don] trees growing at 13 moisture-stressed, widely distributed sites in the western Himalayan region. We found a strong positive relationship between our tree-ring width chronologies and spring precipitation which enabled us to reconstruct precipitation back to a.d. 1560. This reconstruction is so far the longest in this region. The calibration model explains 40% variance in the instrumental data (1953–1997). The most striking feature of the reconstruction is the unprecedented increase in precipitation during the late twentieth century relative to the past 438 years. Both wet and dry springs occurred during the Little Ice Age. A 10-year running mean showed that the driest period occurred in the seventeenth century while the wettest period occurred in the twentieth century. Spectral analysis of the reconstructed series indicated a dominant 2-year periodicity.

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Acknowledgements

We are thankful to forest officials of the forest department of Uttaranchal for their help during the various field trips. Critical suggestions of Dr. Henri D. Grissino-Mayer, Department of Geography, The University of Tennessee, Knoxville, TN, USA and two anonymous reviewers greatly improved the manuscript, for which we are grateful. India Meteorological Department, Pune, provided meteorological data. Present work was carried out at Chungbuk National University, Republic of Korea, under ISEF 2004–2005 sponsored by The Korea Foundation for Advanced Studies, Republic of Korea, granted to senior author.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Birbal Sahni Institute of Palaeobotany, 53 University Road, 226007, Lucknow, India

    Jayendra Singh & Ram R Yadav

  2. School of Forest Resources, College of Agriculture, Chungbuk National University, 361-763, Cheongju, South Korea

    Jayendra Singh & Won-Kyu Park

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  1. Jayendra Singh
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  2. Won-Kyu Park
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  3. Ram R Yadav
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Correspondence to Jayendra Singh.

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Singh, J., Park, WK. & Yadav, R.R. Tree-ring-based hydrological records for western Himalaya, India, since a.d. 1560. Clim Dyn 26, 295–303 (2006). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00382-005-0089-1

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00382-005-0089-1

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