Abstract
AbstractCalifornia faces increasing economic and societal risks from extreme precipitation and flooding associated with atmospheric rivers (ARs) under projected twenty-first century climate warming. Lake sediments can retain signals of past extreme precipitation events, allowing reconstructions beyond the period of instrumental records. Here, we calibrate AR-related extreme precipitation from the last century to proxy data from lake sediments collected in the latitudinal zone of the highest frequency landfall for modern ARs in California. Excursions in erosional proxy data (Ti/Al) are positively and significantly correlated (rmedian = 0.45, pmedian = 0.04) with modern records of integrated vapor transport (IVT, kg m−1 s−1), a key metric of AR intensity, using correlations that incorporate age-model uncertainty. Despite the land-use change near the study site, the data suggest intense and long-lasting AR storms are identifiable in this sedimentary record. These results allow conservative inferences concerning past extreme hydrology at this site.
Talk to us
Join us for a 30 min session where you can share your feedback and ask us any queries you have
Similar Papers
Disclaimer: All third-party content on this website/platform is and will remain the property of their respective owners and is provided on "as is" basis without any warranties, express or implied. Use of third-party content does not indicate any affiliation, sponsorship with or endorsement by them. Any references to third-party content is to identify the corresponding services and shall be considered fair use under The CopyrightLaw.