Tree-ring derived temperature records in the central Loess Plateau, China

Abstract

Using tree-ring widths of Pinus tabulaeformis Carr. trees, mean temperatures from February to September were reconstructed for the Kongtong Mountain during the past 283 years. The reconstruction could explain 43.7% of temperature variance during the calibration period from 1951 to 2004. It displays similar patterns to several temperature reconstructions in the Loess Plateau. It corresponds well with the temperature regimes in Hokkaido, Japan, indicating that both regions have similar warm and cold intervals. The high correlation between the reconstruction and the CRU (Climatic Research Unit of University of East Anglia, UK) TS3 temperature datasets showed that the temperature reconstruction could be representative of large-scale climate change over northern China. In addition, the Pacific Decadal Oscillation (PDO) affected temperature variations of northern China and even Hokkaido to a certain extent.