Dendroclimatic Temperature Record Derived from Tree-Ring Width and Stable Carbon Isotope Chronologies in the Middle Qilian Mountains, China

ABSTRACT

Using long-lived Qilian juniper (Sabina przewalskii Kom.) in the middle Qilian Mountains, the temperature variations in the last 1000 yr were reconstructed. We find that the annual growth ring width and δ¹³C series mainly reflect variations in regional temperature. Except in May, warmer temperatures indicate greater growth over the period from December to April, and δ¹³C values in tree-rings are higher for years with higher temperature. The notable features in the temperature reconstruction are the occurrence of the Little Ice Age from A.D. 1600 to 1880 and the abrupt warming over the end of past millennia. The comparison of our chronology to a Northern Hemispheric temperature proxy shows that our tree-ring data will facilitate intercontinental differentiation of large-scale synoptic climate variability.