| PALEOLIMNOLOGY |
Greater drought intensity and frequency before A.D. 1200 in the Northern Great Plains, U.S.A.
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Laird, K.. 1996. Greater drought intensity and frequency before A.D. 1200 in the Northern Great Plains, U.S.A.. Nature Vol.
384, pp. 552-554
| Data Coverage |
North: 46.8575 * South: 46.8575 |
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West: -98.15833 * East: -98.15833 |
Start Year: 11094 cal yr BP * End Year: -30 cal yr BP
Data: Please Cite Data Contributors!
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Summary: EXTREME large-scale droughts in North America, such as the 'Dust Bowl' of the 1930s, have been infrequent events within the
documented history of the past few hundred years, yet this record may not be representative of long-term patterns of natural
variation of drought intensity and frequency. In the Great Plains region of central North America, historical droughts have
persisted longer than in any other part of the United States, but no detailed records of drought patterns in this region have
hitherto been obtained that extend beyond the past 500 years. Here we present a reconstruction of drought intensity and frequency
over the past 2,300 years in the Northern Great Plains, based on lake salinity fluctuations inferred from fossil diatom assemblages.
This record, of sub-decadal resolution, suggests that extreme droughts of greater intensity than that of the 1930s were more
frequent before AD 1200. This high frequency of extreme droughts persisted for centuries, and was most pronounced during AD
200-370, AD 700-850 and AD 1000-1200. We suggest that before AD 1200, the atmospheric circulation anomalies that produce drought
today were more frequent and persistent.
More Info on Paleolimnology |
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Complete XML Record: noaa-lake-5476
(Last Revised: 2007-09-05 )
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