Articles | Volume 9, issue 4
Clim. Past, 9, 2013–2022, 2013
https://doi.org/10.5194/cp-9-2013-2013
© Author(s) 2013. This work is distributed under
the Creative Commons Attribution 3.0 License.
the Creative Commons Attribution 3.0 License.
Clim. Past, 9, 2013–2022, 2013
https://doi.org/10.5194/cp-9-2013-2013
© Author(s) 2013. This work is distributed under
the Creative Commons Attribution 3.0 License.
the Creative Commons Attribution 3.0 License.
Research article 22 Aug 2013
Research article | 22 Aug 2013
Simulating the temperature and precipitation signal in an Alpine ice core
S. Brönnimann et al.
Related authors
Claudia Timmreck, Matthew Toohey, Davide Zanchettin, Stefan Brönnimann, Elin Lundstadt, and Rob Wilson
Clim. Past Discuss., https://doi.org/10.5194/cp-2021-4, https://doi.org/10.5194/cp-2021-4, 2021
Preprint under review for CP
Noemi Imfeld, Leopold Haimberger, Alexander Sterin, Yuri Brugnara, and Stefan Brönnimann
Earth Syst. Sci. Data Discuss., https://doi.org/10.5194/essd-2020-395, https://doi.org/10.5194/essd-2020-395, 2021
Preprint under review for ESSD
Short summary
Short summary
Upper-air data form the backbone of reanalysis products, particularly in the pre-satellite era. However, historical upper-air data is error-prone, because measurements at high altitude were especially challenging. Here, we present a collection of data from historical intercomparisons of radiosondes and error assessments reaching back to the 1930s, that may allow to better characterize such errors. The full database, including digitised data, images, and metadata is made publicly available.
Stefan Brönnimann and Sylvia Nichol
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 20, 14333–14346, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-20-14333-2020, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-20-14333-2020, 2020
Short summary
Short summary
Historical column ozone data from New Zealand and the UK from the 1950s are digitised and re-evaluated. They allow studying the ozone layer prior to the era of ozone depletion. Day-to-day changes are addressed, which reflect the flow near the tropopause and hence may serve as a diagnostic for atmospheric circulation in a time and region of sparse radiosondes. A long-term comparison shows the amount of ozone depletion at southern mid-latitudes and indicates how far we are from full recovery.
Stefan Brönnimann
Clim. Past, 16, 1937–1952, https://doi.org/10.5194/cp-16-1937-2020, https://doi.org/10.5194/cp-16-1937-2020, 2020
Short summary
Short summary
Scientists often reconstruct climate from proxy data such as tree rings or historical documents. Here, I do the reverse and produce a weather diary from historical numerical weather data. Such "synthetic weather diaries" may be useful for historians, e.g. to compare with other sources or to study the weather experienced during a journey or a military operation. They could also help train machine-learning approaches, which could then be used to reconstruct weather from historical diaries.
Veronika Valler, Yuri Brugnara, Jörg Franke, and Stefan Brönnimann
Clim. Past, 16, 1309–1323, https://doi.org/10.5194/cp-16-1309-2020, https://doi.org/10.5194/cp-16-1309-2020, 2020
Short summary
Short summary
Data assimilation is becoming more and more important for past climate reconstructions. The assimilation of monthly resolved precipitation information has not been explored much so far. In this study we analyze the impact of assimilating monthly precipitation amounts and the number of wet days within an existing paleoclimate data assimilation framework. We find increased skill in the reconstruction, suggesting that monthly precipitation can constitute valuable input for future reconstructions.
Jörg Franke, Veronika Valler, Stefan Brönnimann, Raphael Neukom, and Fernando Jaume-Santero
Clim. Past, 16, 1061–1074, https://doi.org/10.5194/cp-16-1061-2020, https://doi.org/10.5194/cp-16-1061-2020, 2020
Short summary
Short summary
This study explores the influence of the input data choice on spatial climate reconstructions. We compare three tree-ring-based data sets which range from small sample size, small spatial coverage and strict screening for temperature sensitivity to the opposite. We achieve the best spatial reconstruction quality by combining all available input data but rejecting records with little and uncertain climatic information and considering moisture availability as an additional growth limitation.
Yuri Brugnara, Lucas Pfister, Leonie Villiger, Christian Rohr, Francesco Alessandro Isotta, and Stefan Brönnimann
Earth Syst. Sci. Data, 12, 1179–1190, https://doi.org/10.5194/essd-12-1179-2020, https://doi.org/10.5194/essd-12-1179-2020, 2020
Short summary
Short summary
Early instrumental meteorological observations in Switzerland made before 1863, the year a national station network was created, were until recently largely unexplored. After a systematic compilation of the documents available in Swiss archives, we digitised a large part of the data so that they can be used in climate research. In this paper we give an overview of the development of meteorological observations in Switzerland and describe our approach to convert them into modern units.
Lucas Pfister, Stefan Brönnimann, Mikhaël Schwander, Francesco Alessandro Isotta, Pascal Horton, and Christian Rohr
Clim. Past, 16, 663–678, https://doi.org/10.5194/cp-16-663-2020, https://doi.org/10.5194/cp-16-663-2020, 2020
Short summary
Short summary
This paper aims to reconstruct high-resolution daily precipitation and temperature fields for Switzerland back to 1864 using a statistical approach called the analogue resampling method. Results suggest that the presented method is suitable for weather reconstruction. As illustrated with the example of the avalanche in winter 1887/88, these weather reconstructions have great potential for various analyses of past weather and climate impact modelling.
Angela-Maria Burgdorf, Stefan Brönnimann, and Jörg Franke
Clim. Past, 15, 2053–2065, https://doi.org/10.5194/cp-15-2053-2019, https://doi.org/10.5194/cp-15-2053-2019, 2019
Short summary
Short summary
The western USA is frequently affected by multiannual summer droughts. They can be separated into two groups with distinct spatial patterns. This study analyzes the atmospheric circulation during multiannual droughts in a new 3-D climate reconstruction. We confirm two distinct drought types differing with respect to atmospheric circulation as well as sea surface temperatures. Our results suggest that both the Pacific and the extratropical North Atlantic region affect North American droughts.
This Rutishauser, François Jeanneret, Robert Brügger, Yuri Brugnara, Christian Röthlisberger, August Bernasconi, Peter Bangerter, Céline Portenier, Leonie Villiger, Daria Lehmann, Lukas Meyer, Bruno Messerli, and Stefan Brönnimann
Earth Syst. Sci. Data, 11, 1645–1654, https://doi.org/10.5194/essd-11-1645-2019, https://doi.org/10.5194/essd-11-1645-2019, 2019
Short summary
Short summary
This paper reports 7414 quality-controlled plant phenological observations of the BernClim phenological network in Switzerland. The data from 1304 sites at 110 stations were recorded between 1970 and 2018. The quality control (QC) points to very good internal consistency (only 0.2 % flagged as internally inconsistent) and likely to high quality of the data. BernClim data originally served in regional planning and agricultural suitability and are now valuable for climate change impact studies.
Marcelo Zamuriano, Paul Froidevaux, Isabel Moreno, Mathias Vuille, and Stefan Brönnimann
Nat. Hazards Earth Syst. Sci. Discuss., https://doi.org/10.5194/nhess-2019-286, https://doi.org/10.5194/nhess-2019-286, 2019
Publication in NHESS not foreseen
Thomas Labbé, Christian Pfister, Stefan Brönnimann, Daniel Rousseau, Jörg Franke, and Benjamin Bois
Clim. Past, 15, 1485–1501, https://doi.org/10.5194/cp-15-1485-2019, https://doi.org/10.5194/cp-15-1485-2019, 2019
Short summary
Short summary
In this paper we present the longest grape harvest date (GHD) record reconstructed to date, i.e. Beaune (France, Burgundy) 1354–2018. Drawing on unedited archive material, the series is validated using the long Paris temperature series that goes back to 1658 and was used to assess April-to-July temperatures from 1354 to 2018. The distribution of extremely early GHD is uneven over the 664-year-long period of the series and mirrors the rapid global warming from 1988 to 2018.
Veronika Valler, Jörg Franke, and Stefan Brönnimann
Clim. Past, 15, 1427–1441, https://doi.org/10.5194/cp-15-1427-2019, https://doi.org/10.5194/cp-15-1427-2019, 2019
Short summary
Short summary
In recent years, the data assimilation approach was adapted to the field of paleoclimatology to reconstruct past climate fields by combining model simulations and observations.
To improve the performance of our paleodata assimilation system, we tested various techniques that are well established in weather forecasting and evaluated their impact on assimilating instrumental data and proxy records (tree rings).
Stefan Brönnimann, Luca Frigerio, Mikhaël Schwander, Marco Rohrer, Peter Stucki, and Jörg Franke
Clim. Past, 15, 1395–1409, https://doi.org/10.5194/cp-15-1395-2019, https://doi.org/10.5194/cp-15-1395-2019, 2019
Short summary
Short summary
During the 19th century flood frequency was high in central Europe, but it was low in the mid-20th century. This paper tracks these decadal changes in flood frequency for the case of Switzerland from peak discharge data back to precipitation data and daily weather reconstructions. We find an increased frequency in flood-prone weather types during large parts of the 19th century and decreased frequency in the mid-20th century. Sea-surface temperature anomalies can only explain a small part of it.
Lucas Pfister, Franziska Hupfer, Yuri Brugnara, Lukas Munz, Leonie Villiger, Lukas Meyer, Mikhaël Schwander, Francesco Alessandro Isotta, Christian Rohr, and Stefan Brönnimann
Clim. Past, 15, 1345–1361, https://doi.org/10.5194/cp-15-1345-2019, https://doi.org/10.5194/cp-15-1345-2019, 2019
Short summary
Short summary
The 18th and early 19th centuries saw pronounced climatic variations with impacts on the environment and society. Although instrumental meteorological data for that period exist, only a small fraction has been the subject of research. This study provides an overview of early instrumental meteorological records in Switzerland resulting from an archive survey and demonstrates the great potential of such data. It is accompanied by the online publication of the imaged data series and metadata.
Marcelo Zamuriano, Andrey Martynov, Luca Panziera, and Stefan Brönnimann
Nat. Hazards Earth Syst. Sci. Discuss., https://doi.org/10.5194/nhess-2019-27, https://doi.org/10.5194/nhess-2019-27, 2019
Publication in NHESS not foreseen
Short summary
Short summary
This work investigates the formation of a hailstorm over the Tropical Bolivian Andes. Using the WRF atmospheric model, we are able to numerically reconstruct it and we assess the main factors (mountains, lake and surface heating) in the storm formation. We propose physical mechanisms that have the potential to improve the forecasting of similar events; which are known to have a big impact over the Bolivian Altiplano, especially the region near Titicaca lake.
Peter Stucki, Moritz Bandhauer, Ulla Heikkilä, Ole Rössler, Massimiliano Zappa, Lucas Pfister, Melanie Salvisberg, Paul Froidevaux, Olivia Martius, Luca Panziera, and Stefan Brönnimann
Nat. Hazards Earth Syst. Sci., 18, 2717–2739, https://doi.org/10.5194/nhess-18-2717-2018, https://doi.org/10.5194/nhess-18-2717-2018, 2018
Short summary
Short summary
A catastrophic flood south of the Alps in 1868 is assessed using documents and the earliest example of high-resolution weather simulation. Simulated weather dynamics agree well with observations and damage reports. Simulated peak water levels are biased. Low forest cover did not cause the flood, but such a paradigm was used to justify afforestation. Supported by historical methods, such numerical simulations allow weather events from past centuries to be used for modern hazard and risk analyses.
Stefan Brönnimann, Jan Rajczak, Erich M. Fischer, Christoph C. Raible, Marco Rohrer, and Christoph Schär
Nat. Hazards Earth Syst. Sci., 18, 2047–2056, https://doi.org/10.5194/nhess-18-2047-2018, https://doi.org/10.5194/nhess-18-2047-2018, 2018
Short summary
Short summary
Heavy precipitation events in Switzerland are expected to become more intense, but the seasonality also changes. Analysing a large set of model simulations, we find that annual maximum rainfall events become less frequent in late summer and more frequent in early summer and early autumn. The seasonality shift is arguably related to summer drying. Results suggest that changes in the seasonal cycle need to be accounted for when preparing for moderately extreme precipitation events.
Stefan Hunziker, Stefan Brönnimann, Juan Calle, Isabel Moreno, Marcos Andrade, Laura Ticona, Adrian Huerta, and Waldo Lavado-Casimiro
Clim. Past, 14, 1–20, https://doi.org/10.5194/cp-14-1-2018, https://doi.org/10.5194/cp-14-1-2018, 2018
Short summary
Short summary
Many data quality problems occurring in manned weather station observations are hardly detected with common data quality control methods. We investigated the effects of undetected data quality issues and found that they may reduce the correlation coefficients of station pairs, deteriorate the performance of data homogenization methods, increase the spread of individual station trends, and significantly bias regional trends. Applying adequate quality control approaches is of utmost importance.
Mikhaël Schwander, Marco Rohrer, Stefan Brönnimann, and Abdul Malik
Clim. Past, 13, 1199–1212, https://doi.org/10.5194/cp-13-1199-2017, https://doi.org/10.5194/cp-13-1199-2017, 2017
Short summary
Short summary
We used a new classification of daily weather patterns to analyse the influence of solar variability (11-year cycle) on European climate from 1763 to 2009. The analysis of the weather patterns occurrences shows a reduction in the number of days with a westerly flow over Europe under low solar activity during late winter. In parallel, the number of days with an easterly flow increases. Based on these results we expect colder winter over Europe under low solar activity.
Martin Wegmann, Yvan Orsolini, Emanuel Dutra, Olga Bulygina, Alexander Sterin, and Stefan Brönnimann
The Cryosphere, 11, 923–935, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-11-923-2017, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-11-923-2017, 2017
Short summary
Short summary
We investigate long-term climate reanalyses datasets to infer their quality in reproducing snow depth values compared to in situ measured data from meteorological stations that go back to 1900. We found that the long-term reanalyses do a good job in reproducing snow depths but have some questionable snow states early in the 20th century. Thus, with care, climate reanalyses can be a valuable tool to investigate spatial snow evolution in global warming and climate change studies.
Stefan Brönnimann, Abdul Malik, Alexander Stickler, Martin Wegmann, Christoph C. Raible, Stefan Muthers, Julien Anet, Eugene Rozanov, and Werner Schmutz
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 16, 15529–15543, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-16-15529-2016, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-16-15529-2016, 2016
Short summary
Short summary
The Quasi-Biennial Oscillation is a wind oscillation in the equatorial stratosphere. Effects on climate have been found, which is relevant for seasonal forecasts. However, up to now only relatively short records were available, and even within these the climate imprints were intermittent. Here we analyze a 108-year long reconstruction as well as four 405-year long simulations. We confirm most of the claimed QBO effects on climate, but they are small, which explains apparently variable effects.
Chantal Camenisch, Kathrin M. Keller, Melanie Salvisberg, Benjamin Amann, Martin Bauch, Sandro Blumer, Rudolf Brázdil, Stefan Brönnimann, Ulf Büntgen, Bruce M. S. Campbell, Laura Fernández-Donado, Dominik Fleitmann, Rüdiger Glaser, Fidel González-Rouco, Martin Grosjean, Richard C. Hoffmann, Heli Huhtamaa, Fortunat Joos, Andrea Kiss, Oldřich Kotyza, Flavio Lehner, Jürg Luterbacher, Nicolas Maughan, Raphael Neukom, Theresa Novy, Kathleen Pribyl, Christoph C. Raible, Dirk Riemann, Maximilian Schuh, Philip Slavin, Johannes P. Werner, and Oliver Wetter
Clim. Past, 12, 2107–2126, https://doi.org/10.5194/cp-12-2107-2016, https://doi.org/10.5194/cp-12-2107-2016, 2016
Short summary
Short summary
Throughout the last millennium, several cold periods occurred which affected humanity. Here, we investigate an exceptionally cold decade during the 15th century. The cold conditions challenged the food production and led to increasing food prices and a famine in parts of Europe. In contrast to periods such as the “Year Without Summer” after the eruption of Tambora, these extreme climatic conditions seem to have occurred by chance and in relation to the internal variability of the climate system.
Philip Brohan, Gilbert P. Compo, Stefan Brönnimann, Robert J. Allan, Renate Auchmann, Yuri Brugnara, Prashant D. Sardeshmukh, and Jeffrey S. Whitaker
Clim. Past Discuss., https://doi.org/10.5194/cp-2016-78, https://doi.org/10.5194/cp-2016-78, 2016
Preprint withdrawn
Short summary
Short summary
We have used modern weather forecasting tools to reconstruct the dreadful European weather of 200 years ago – 1816 was the ‘year without a summer’; harvests failed, and people starved. We can show that 1816’s extreme climate was caused by the eruption of the Tambora volcano the previous year. This means we have some chance of predicting such extreme summers if they occur in future, though this is still a challenge to today’s forecast models.
Y. Brugnara, R. Auchmann, S. Brönnimann, R. J. Allan, I. Auer, M. Barriendos, H. Bergström, J. Bhend, R. Brázdil, G. P. Compo, R. C. Cornes, F. Dominguez-Castro, A. F. V. van Engelen, J. Filipiak, J. Holopainen, S. Jourdain, M. Kunz, J. Luterbacher, M. Maugeri, L. Mercalli, A. Moberg, C. J. Mock, G. Pichard, L. Řezníčková, G. van der Schrier, V. Slonosky, Z. Ustrnul, M. A. Valente, A. Wypych, and X. Yin
Clim. Past, 11, 1027–1047, https://doi.org/10.5194/cp-11-1027-2015, https://doi.org/10.5194/cp-11-1027-2015, 2015
Short summary
Short summary
A data set of instrumental pressure and temperature observations for the early instrumental period (before ca. 1850) is described. This is the result of a digitisation effort involving the period immediately after the eruption of Mount Tambora in 1815, combined with the collection of already available sub-daily time series. The highest data availability is therefore for the years 1815 to 1817. An analysis of pressure variability and of case studies in Europe is performed for that period.
P. Stucki, S. Brönnimann, O. Martius, C. Welker, M. Imhof, N. von Wattenwyl, and N. Philipp
Nat. Hazards Earth Syst. Sci., 14, 2867–2882, https://doi.org/10.5194/nhess-14-2867-2014, https://doi.org/10.5194/nhess-14-2867-2014, 2014
Short summary
Short summary
This catalog contains 240 (8 extreme) high-impact windstorms in Switzerland since 1859 in 3 severity classes. Validation with independent wind and damage data reveals that the most hazardous winter storms are captured, while too few moderate windstorms may be detected. We find evidence of high winter storm activity in the early and late 20th century compared to the mid-20th century in both damage and wind data. This indicates a covariability of hazard and related damages on decadal timescales.
S. Muthers, J. G. Anet, A. Stenke, C. C. Raible, E. Rozanov, S. Brönnimann, T. Peter, F. X. Arfeuille, A. I. Shapiro, J. Beer, F. Steinhilber, Y. Brugnara, and W. Schmutz
Geosci. Model Dev., 7, 2157–2179, https://doi.org/10.5194/gmd-7-2157-2014, https://doi.org/10.5194/gmd-7-2157-2014, 2014
K. Willett, C. Williams, I. T. Jolliffe, R. Lund, L. V. Alexander, S. Brönnimann, L. A. Vincent, S. Easterbrook, V. K. C. Venema, D. Berry, R. E. Warren, G. Lopardo, R. Auchmann, E. Aguilar, M. J. Menne, C. Gallagher, Z. Hausfather, T. Thorarinsdottir, and P. W. Thorne
Geosci. Instrum. Method. Data Syst., 3, 187–200, https://doi.org/10.5194/gi-3-187-2014, https://doi.org/10.5194/gi-3-187-2014, 2014
I. Mariani, A. Eichler, T. M. Jenk, S. Brönnimann, R. Auchmann, M. C. Leuenberger, and M. Schwikowski
Clim. Past, 10, 1093–1108, https://doi.org/10.5194/cp-10-1093-2014, https://doi.org/10.5194/cp-10-1093-2014, 2014
L. Ramella Pralungo, L. Haimberger, A. Stickler, and S. Brönnimann
Earth Syst. Sci. Data, 6, 185–200, https://doi.org/10.5194/essd-6-185-2014, https://doi.org/10.5194/essd-6-185-2014, 2014
J. G. Anet, S. Muthers, E. V. Rozanov, C. C. Raible, A. Stenke, A. I. Shapiro, S. Brönnimann, F. Arfeuille, Y. Brugnara, J. Beer, F. Steinhilber, W. Schmutz, and T. Peter
Clim. Past, 10, 921–938, https://doi.org/10.5194/cp-10-921-2014, https://doi.org/10.5194/cp-10-921-2014, 2014
P. Breitenmoser, S. Brönnimann, and D. Frank
Clim. Past, 10, 437–449, https://doi.org/10.5194/cp-10-437-2014, https://doi.org/10.5194/cp-10-437-2014, 2014
F. Arfeuille, D. Weisenstein, H. Mack, E. Rozanov, T. Peter, and S. Brönnimann
Clim. Past, 10, 359–375, https://doi.org/10.5194/cp-10-359-2014, https://doi.org/10.5194/cp-10-359-2014, 2014
A. Stickler, S. Brönnimann, S. Jourdain, E. Roucaute, A. Sterin, D. Nikolaev, M. A. Valente, R. Wartenburger, H. Hersbach, L. Ramella-Pralungo, and D. Dee
Earth Syst. Sci. Data, 6, 29–48, https://doi.org/10.5194/essd-6-29-2014, https://doi.org/10.5194/essd-6-29-2014, 2014
F. Arfeuille, B. P. Luo, P. Heckendorn, D. Weisenstein, J. X. Sheng, E. Rozanov, M. Schraner, S. Brönnimann, L. W. Thomason, and T. Peter
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 13, 11221–11234, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-13-11221-2013, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-13-11221-2013, 2013
J. G. Anet, S. Muthers, E. Rozanov, C. C. Raible, T. Peter, A. Stenke, A. I. Shapiro, J. Beer, F. Steinhilber, S. Brönnimann, F. Arfeuille, Y. Brugnara, and W. Schmutz
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 13, 10951–10967, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-13-10951-2013, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-13-10951-2013, 2013
A. Stenke, C. R. Hoyle, B. Luo, E. Rozanov, J. Gröbner, L. Maag, S. Brönnimann, and T. Peter
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 13, 9713–9729, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-13-9713-2013, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-13-9713-2013, 2013
S. Brönnimann, J. Bhend, J. Franke, S. Flückiger, A. M. Fischer, R. Bleisch, G. Bodeker, B. Hassler, E. Rozanov, and M. Schraner
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 13, 9623–9639, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-13-9623-2013, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-13-9623-2013, 2013
Y. Brugnara, S. Brönnimann, J. Luterbacher, and E. Rozanov
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 13, 6275–6288, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-13-6275-2013, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-13-6275-2013, 2013
Sebastian Hellmann, Johanna Kerch, Ilka Weikusat, Andreas Bauder, Melchior Grab, Guillaume Jouvet, Margit Schwikowski, and Hansruedi Maurer
The Cryosphere, 15, 677–694, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-15-677-2021, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-15-677-2021, 2021
Short summary
Short summary
We analyse the orientation of ice crystals in an Alpine glacier and compare this orientation with the ice flow direction. We found that the crystals orient in the direction of the largest stress which is in the flow direction in the upper parts of the glacier and in the vertical direction for deeper zones of the glacier. The grains cluster around this maximum stress direction, in particular four-point maxima, most likely as a result of recrystallisation under relatively warm conditions.
Claudia Timmreck, Matthew Toohey, Davide Zanchettin, Stefan Brönnimann, Elin Lundstadt, and Rob Wilson
Clim. Past Discuss., https://doi.org/10.5194/cp-2021-4, https://doi.org/10.5194/cp-2021-4, 2021
Preprint under review for CP
Noemi Imfeld, Leopold Haimberger, Alexander Sterin, Yuri Brugnara, and Stefan Brönnimann
Earth Syst. Sci. Data Discuss., https://doi.org/10.5194/essd-2020-395, https://doi.org/10.5194/essd-2020-395, 2021
Preprint under review for ESSD
Short summary
Short summary
Upper-air data form the backbone of reanalysis products, particularly in the pre-satellite era. However, historical upper-air data is error-prone, because measurements at high altitude were especially challenging. Here, we present a collection of data from historical intercomparisons of radiosondes and error assessments reaching back to the 1930s, that may allow to better characterize such errors. The full database, including digitised data, images, and metadata is made publicly available.
Guillaume Jouvet, Stefan Röllin, Hans Sahli, José Corcho, Lars Gnägi, Loris Compagno, Dominik Sidler, Margit Schwikowski, Andreas Bauder, and Martin Funk
The Cryosphere, 14, 4233–4251, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-14-4233-2020, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-14-4233-2020, 2020
Short summary
Short summary
We show that plutonium is an effective tracer to identify ice originating from the early 1960s at the surface of a mountain glacier after a long time within the ice flow, giving unique information on the long-term former ice motion. Combined with ice flow modelling, the dating can be extended to the entire glacier, and we show that an airplane which crash-landed on the Gauligletscher in 1946 will likely soon be released from the ice close to the place where pieces have emerged in recent years.
Stefan Brönnimann and Sylvia Nichol
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 20, 14333–14346, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-20-14333-2020, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-20-14333-2020, 2020
Short summary
Short summary
Historical column ozone data from New Zealand and the UK from the 1950s are digitised and re-evaluated. They allow studying the ozone layer prior to the era of ozone depletion. Day-to-day changes are addressed, which reflect the flow near the tropopause and hence may serve as a diagnostic for atmospheric circulation in a time and region of sparse radiosondes. A long-term comparison shows the amount of ozone depletion at southern mid-latitudes and indicates how far we are from full recovery.
Daniela Festi, Margit Schwikowski, Valter Maggi, Klaus Oeggl, and Theo Manuel Jenk
The Cryosphere Discuss., https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-2020-334, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-2020-334, 2020
Preprint under review for TC
Jacinta Edebeli, Jürg C. Trachsel, Sven E. Avak, Markus Ammann, Martin Schneebeli, Anja Eichler, and Thorsten Bartels-Rausch
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 20, 13443–13454, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-20-13443-2020, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-20-13443-2020, 2020
Short summary
Short summary
Earth’s snow cover is very dynamic and can change its physical properties within hours, as is well known by skiers. Snow is also a well-known host of chemical reactions – the products of which impact air composition and quality. Here, we present laboratory experiments that show how the dynamics of snow make snow essentially inert with respect to gas-phase ozone with time despite its content of reactive chemicals. Impacts on polar atmospheric chemistry are discussed.
Dimitri Osmont, Sandra Brugger, Anina Gilgen, Helga Weber, Michael Sigl, Robin L. Modini, Christoph Schwörer, Willy Tinner, Stefan Wunderle, and Margit Schwikowski
The Cryosphere, 14, 3731–3745, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-14-3731-2020, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-14-3731-2020, 2020
Short summary
Short summary
In this interdisciplinary case study, we were able to link biomass burning emissions from the June 2017 wildfires in Portugal to their deposition in the snowpack at Jungfraujoch, Swiss Alps. We analysed black carbon and charcoal in the snowpack, calculated backward trajectories, and monitored the fire evolution by remote sensing. Such case studies help to understand the representativity of biomass burning records in ice cores and how biomass burning tracers are archived in the snowpack.
Stefan Brönnimann
Clim. Past, 16, 1937–1952, https://doi.org/10.5194/cp-16-1937-2020, https://doi.org/10.5194/cp-16-1937-2020, 2020
Short summary
Short summary
Scientists often reconstruct climate from proxy data such as tree rings or historical documents. Here, I do the reverse and produce a weather diary from historical numerical weather data. Such "synthetic weather diaries" may be useful for historians, e.g. to compare with other sources or to study the weather experienced during a journey or a military operation. They could also help train machine-learning approaches, which could then be used to reconstruct weather from historical diaries.
Ling Fang, Theo Jenk, Thomas Singer, Shugui Hou, and Margit Schwikowski
The Cryosphere Discuss., https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-2020-234, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-2020-234, 2020
Revised manuscript accepted for TC
Short summary
Short summary
The interpretation of the ice core preserved signal requires a precise chronology. Radiocarbon (14C) dating of the water-insoluble organic carbon (WIOC) fraction has become an important dating tool. However, this method is restricted by the low concentration in the ice. In this work, we report first 14C dating results using the dissolved organic carbon (DOC) fraction. The resulting ages are comparable in both fraction but using DOC fraction the required ice mass can be reduced.
Shugui Hou, Wangbin Zhang, Ling Fang, Theo M. Jenk, Shuangye Wu, Hongxi Pang, and Margit Schwikowski
The Cryosphere Discuss., https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-2020-225, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-2020-225, 2020
Revised manuscript under review for TC
Short summary
Short summary
We present ages for two new ice cores reaching bedrock, from the Zangser Kangri (ZK) glacier in the northwestern Tibetan Plateau and the Shulenanshan (SLNS) glacier in the western Qilian Mountains. We estimated bottom ages of 8.90 ± 0.57/0.56 ka BP and 7.46 ± 1.46/1.79 ka BP for the ZK and SLNS ice core respectively, constraining the time range accessible by Tibetan ice cores to the Holocene.
Veronika Valler, Yuri Brugnara, Jörg Franke, and Stefan Brönnimann
Clim. Past, 16, 1309–1323, https://doi.org/10.5194/cp-16-1309-2020, https://doi.org/10.5194/cp-16-1309-2020, 2020
Short summary
Short summary
Data assimilation is becoming more and more important for past climate reconstructions. The assimilation of monthly resolved precipitation information has not been explored much so far. In this study we analyze the impact of assimilating monthly precipitation amounts and the number of wet days within an existing paleoclimate data assimilation framework. We find increased skill in the reconstruction, suggesting that monthly precipitation can constitute valuable input for future reconstructions.
Jörg Franke, Veronika Valler, Stefan Brönnimann, Raphael Neukom, and Fernando Jaume-Santero
Clim. Past, 16, 1061–1074, https://doi.org/10.5194/cp-16-1061-2020, https://doi.org/10.5194/cp-16-1061-2020, 2020
Short summary
Short summary
This study explores the influence of the input data choice on spatial climate reconstructions. We compare three tree-ring-based data sets which range from small sample size, small spatial coverage and strict screening for temperature sensitivity to the opposite. We achieve the best spatial reconstruction quality by combining all available input data but rejecting records with little and uncertain climatic information and considering moisture availability as an additional growth limitation.
Yuri Brugnara, Lucas Pfister, Leonie Villiger, Christian Rohr, Francesco Alessandro Isotta, and Stefan Brönnimann
Earth Syst. Sci. Data, 12, 1179–1190, https://doi.org/10.5194/essd-12-1179-2020, https://doi.org/10.5194/essd-12-1179-2020, 2020
Short summary
Short summary
Early instrumental meteorological observations in Switzerland made before 1863, the year a national station network was created, were until recently largely unexplored. After a systematic compilation of the documents available in Swiss archives, we digitised a large part of the data so that they can be used in climate research. In this paper we give an overview of the development of meteorological observations in Switzerland and describe our approach to convert them into modern units.
Lucas Pfister, Stefan Brönnimann, Mikhaël Schwander, Francesco Alessandro Isotta, Pascal Horton, and Christian Rohr
Clim. Past, 16, 663–678, https://doi.org/10.5194/cp-16-663-2020, https://doi.org/10.5194/cp-16-663-2020, 2020
Short summary
Short summary
This paper aims to reconstruct high-resolution daily precipitation and temperature fields for Switzerland back to 1864 using a statistical approach called the analogue resampling method. Results suggest that the presented method is suitable for weather reconstruction. As illustrated with the example of the avalanche in winter 1887/88, these weather reconstructions have great potential for various analyses of past weather and climate impact modelling.
Angela-Maria Burgdorf, Stefan Brönnimann, and Jörg Franke
Clim. Past, 15, 2053–2065, https://doi.org/10.5194/cp-15-2053-2019, https://doi.org/10.5194/cp-15-2053-2019, 2019
Short summary
Short summary
The western USA is frequently affected by multiannual summer droughts. They can be separated into two groups with distinct spatial patterns. This study analyzes the atmospheric circulation during multiannual droughts in a new 3-D climate reconstruction. We confirm two distinct drought types differing with respect to atmospheric circulation as well as sea surface temperatures. Our results suggest that both the Pacific and the extratropical North Atlantic region affect North American droughts.
This Rutishauser, François Jeanneret, Robert Brügger, Yuri Brugnara, Christian Röthlisberger, August Bernasconi, Peter Bangerter, Céline Portenier, Leonie Villiger, Daria Lehmann, Lukas Meyer, Bruno Messerli, and Stefan Brönnimann
Earth Syst. Sci. Data, 11, 1645–1654, https://doi.org/10.5194/essd-11-1645-2019, https://doi.org/10.5194/essd-11-1645-2019, 2019
Short summary
Short summary
This paper reports 7414 quality-controlled plant phenological observations of the BernClim phenological network in Switzerland. The data from 1304 sites at 110 stations were recorded between 1970 and 2018. The quality control (QC) points to very good internal consistency (only 0.2 % flagged as internally inconsistent) and likely to high quality of the data. BernClim data originally served in regional planning and agricultural suitability and are now valuable for climate change impact studies.
Marcelo Zamuriano, Paul Froidevaux, Isabel Moreno, Mathias Vuille, and Stefan Brönnimann
Nat. Hazards Earth Syst. Sci. Discuss., https://doi.org/10.5194/nhess-2019-286, https://doi.org/10.5194/nhess-2019-286, 2019
Publication in NHESS not foreseen
Thomas Labbé, Christian Pfister, Stefan Brönnimann, Daniel Rousseau, Jörg Franke, and Benjamin Bois
Clim. Past, 15, 1485–1501, https://doi.org/10.5194/cp-15-1485-2019, https://doi.org/10.5194/cp-15-1485-2019, 2019
Short summary
Short summary
In this paper we present the longest grape harvest date (GHD) record reconstructed to date, i.e. Beaune (France, Burgundy) 1354–2018. Drawing on unedited archive material, the series is validated using the long Paris temperature series that goes back to 1658 and was used to assess April-to-July temperatures from 1354 to 2018. The distribution of extremely early GHD is uneven over the 664-year-long period of the series and mirrors the rapid global warming from 1988 to 2018.
Veronika Valler, Jörg Franke, and Stefan Brönnimann
Clim. Past, 15, 1427–1441, https://doi.org/10.5194/cp-15-1427-2019, https://doi.org/10.5194/cp-15-1427-2019, 2019
Short summary
Short summary
In recent years, the data assimilation approach was adapted to the field of paleoclimatology to reconstruct past climate fields by combining model simulations and observations.
To improve the performance of our paleodata assimilation system, we tested various techniques that are well established in weather forecasting and evaluated their impact on assimilating instrumental data and proxy records (tree rings).
Stefan Brönnimann, Luca Frigerio, Mikhaël Schwander, Marco Rohrer, Peter Stucki, and Jörg Franke
Clim. Past, 15, 1395–1409, https://doi.org/10.5194/cp-15-1395-2019, https://doi.org/10.5194/cp-15-1395-2019, 2019
Short summary
Short summary
During the 19th century flood frequency was high in central Europe, but it was low in the mid-20th century. This paper tracks these decadal changes in flood frequency for the case of Switzerland from peak discharge data back to precipitation data and daily weather reconstructions. We find an increased frequency in flood-prone weather types during large parts of the 19th century and decreased frequency in the mid-20th century. Sea-surface temperature anomalies can only explain a small part of it.
Lucas Pfister, Franziska Hupfer, Yuri Brugnara, Lukas Munz, Leonie Villiger, Lukas Meyer, Mikhaël Schwander, Francesco Alessandro Isotta, Christian Rohr, and Stefan Brönnimann
Clim. Past, 15, 1345–1361, https://doi.org/10.5194/cp-15-1345-2019, https://doi.org/10.5194/cp-15-1345-2019, 2019
Short summary
Short summary
The 18th and early 19th centuries saw pronounced climatic variations with impacts on the environment and society. Although instrumental meteorological data for that period exist, only a small fraction has been the subject of research. This study provides an overview of early instrumental meteorological records in Switzerland resulting from an archive survey and demonstrates the great potential of such data. It is accompanied by the online publication of the imaged data series and metadata.
Shugui Hou, Wangbin Zhang, Hongxi Pang, Shuang-Ye Wu, Theo M. Jenk, Margit Schwikowski, and Yetang Wang
The Cryosphere, 13, 1743–1752, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-13-1743-2019, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-13-1743-2019, 2019
Short summary
Short summary
The apparent discrepancy between the Holocene δ18O records of the Guliya and the Chongce ice cores may be attributed to a possible misinterpretation of the Guliya ice core chronology.
Dimitri Osmont, Michael Sigl, Anja Eichler, Theo M. Jenk, and Margit Schwikowski
Clim. Past, 15, 579–592, https://doi.org/10.5194/cp-15-579-2019, https://doi.org/10.5194/cp-15-579-2019, 2019
Short summary
Short summary
We present the first black carbon (BC) ice-core record from the Andes (Illimani, Bolivia). It spans the entire Holocene and reflects biomass burning emissions from the Amazon Basin, with high (low) concentrations during warm–dry (wet–cold) periods. The highest fire activity occurred during the Holocene Climatic Optimum (7000–3000 BCE). Recent BC levels, increasing since 1730 CE, do not exceed those of the Medieval Warm Period. The contribution from industrial and traffic emissions remains minor.
Marcelo Zamuriano, Andrey Martynov, Luca Panziera, and Stefan Brönnimann
Nat. Hazards Earth Syst. Sci. Discuss., https://doi.org/10.5194/nhess-2019-27, https://doi.org/10.5194/nhess-2019-27, 2019
Publication in NHESS not foreseen
Short summary
Short summary
This work investigates the formation of a hailstorm over the Tropical Bolivian Andes. Using the WRF atmospheric model, we are able to numerically reconstruct it and we assess the main factors (mountains, lake and surface heating) in the storm formation. We propose physical mechanisms that have the potential to improve the forecasting of similar events; which are known to have a big impact over the Bolivian Altiplano, especially the region near Titicaca lake.
Peter Stucki, Moritz Bandhauer, Ulla Heikkilä, Ole Rössler, Massimiliano Zappa, Lucas Pfister, Melanie Salvisberg, Paul Froidevaux, Olivia Martius, Luca Panziera, and Stefan Brönnimann
Nat. Hazards Earth Syst. Sci., 18, 2717–2739, https://doi.org/10.5194/nhess-18-2717-2018, https://doi.org/10.5194/nhess-18-2717-2018, 2018
Short summary
Short summary
A catastrophic flood south of the Alps in 1868 is assessed using documents and the earliest example of high-resolution weather simulation. Simulated weather dynamics agree well with observations and damage reports. Simulated peak water levels are biased. Low forest cover did not cause the flood, but such a paradigm was used to justify afforestation. Supported by historical methods, such numerical simulations allow weather events from past centuries to be used for modern hazard and risk analyses.
Michael Sigl, Nerilie J. Abram, Jacopo Gabrieli, Theo M. Jenk, Dimitri Osmont, and Margit Schwikowski
The Cryosphere, 12, 3311–3331, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-12-3311-2018, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-12-3311-2018, 2018
Short summary
Short summary
The fast retreat of Alpine glaciers since the mid-19th century documented in photographs is used as a symbol for the human impact on global climate, yet the key driving forces remain elusive. Here we argue that not industrial soot but volcanic eruptions were responsible for an apparently accelerated deglaciation starting in the 1850s. Our findings support a negligible role of human activity in forcing glacier recession at the end of the Little Ice Age, highlighting the role of natural drivers.
Dimitri Osmont, Isabel A. Wendl, Loïc Schmidely, Michael Sigl, Carmen P. Vega, Elisabeth Isaksson, and Margit Schwikowski
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 18, 12777–12795, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-18-12777-2018, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-18-12777-2018, 2018
Short summary
Short summary
This study presents the first long-term and high-resolution refractory black carbon (rBC) ice core record from Svalbard, spanning the last 800 years. Our results show that rBC has had a predominant anthropogenic origin since the beginning of the Industrial Revolution in Europe and that rBC concentrations have been declining in the last 40 years. We discuss the impact of 20th century snowmelt on our record. We reconstruct biomass burning trends prior to 1800 by using a multi-proxy approach.
Anina Gilgen, Carole Adolf, Sandra O. Brugger, Luisa Ickes, Margit Schwikowski, Jacqueline F. N. van Leeuwen, Willy Tinner, and Ulrike Lohmann
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 18, 11813–11829, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-18-11813-2018, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-18-11813-2018, 2018
Short summary
Short summary
Microscopic charcoal particles are fire-specific tracers, which are presently the primary source for reconstructing past fire activity. In this study, we implement microscopic charcoal particles into a global aerosol–climate model to better understand the transport of charcoal on a large scale. We find that the model captures a significant portion of the spatial variability but fails to reproduce the extreme variability observed in the charcoal data.
Stefan Brönnimann, Jan Rajczak, Erich M. Fischer, Christoph C. Raible, Marco Rohrer, and Christoph Schär
Nat. Hazards Earth Syst. Sci., 18, 2047–2056, https://doi.org/10.5194/nhess-18-2047-2018, https://doi.org/10.5194/nhess-18-2047-2018, 2018
Short summary
Short summary
Heavy precipitation events in Switzerland are expected to become more intense, but the seasonality also changes. Analysing a large set of model simulations, we find that annual maximum rainfall events become less frequent in late summer and more frequent in early summer and early autumn. The seasonality shift is arguably related to summer drying. Results suggest that changes in the seasonal cycle need to be accounted for when preparing for moderately extreme precipitation events.
Shugui Hou, Theo M. Jenk, Wangbin Zhang, Chaomin Wang, Shuangye Wu, Yetang Wang, Hongxi Pang, and Margit Schwikowski
The Cryosphere, 12, 2341–2348, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-12-2341-2018, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-12-2341-2018, 2018
Short summary
Short summary
We present multiple lines of evidence indicating that the Chongce ice cores drilled from the northwestern Tibetan Plateau reaches back only to the early Holocene. This result is at least, 1 order of magnitude younger than the nearby Guliya ice core (~30 km away from the Chongce ice core drilling site) but similar to other Tibetan ice cores. Thus it is necessary to explore multiple dating techniques to confirm the age ranges of the Tibetan ice cores.
Mackenzie M. Grieman, Murat Aydin, Elisabeth Isaksson, Margit Schwikowski, and Eric S. Saltzman
Clim. Past, 14, 637–651, https://doi.org/10.5194/cp-14-637-2018, https://doi.org/10.5194/cp-14-637-2018, 2018
Short summary
Short summary
This study presents organic acid levels in an ice core from Svalbard over the past 800 years. These acids are produced from wildfire emissions and transported as aerosol. Organic acid levels are high early in the record and decline until the 20th century. Siberia and Europe are likely the primary source regions of the fire emissions. The data are similar to those from a Siberian ice core prior to 1400 CE. The timing of the divergence after 1400 CE is similar to a shift in North Atlantic climate.
Carmen Paulina Vega, Elisabeth Isaksson, Elisabeth Schlosser, Dmitry Divine, Tõnu Martma, Robert Mulvaney, Anja Eichler, and Margit Schwikowski-Gigar
The Cryosphere, 12, 1681–1697, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-12-1681-2018, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-12-1681-2018, 2018
Short summary
Short summary
Ions were measured in firn and ice cores from Fimbul Ice Shelf, Antarctica, to evaluate sea-salt loads. A significant sixfold increase in sea salts was found in the S100 core after 1950s which suggests that it contains a more local sea-salt signal, dominated by processes during sea-ice formation in the neighbouring waters. In contrast, firn cores from three ice rises register the larger-scale signal of atmospheric flow conditions and transport of sea-salt aerosols produced over open water.
Stefan Hunziker, Stefan Brönnimann, Juan Calle, Isabel Moreno, Marcos Andrade, Laura Ticona, Adrian Huerta, and Waldo Lavado-Casimiro
Clim. Past, 14, 1–20, https://doi.org/10.5194/cp-14-1-2018, https://doi.org/10.5194/cp-14-1-2018, 2018
Short summary
Short summary
Many data quality problems occurring in manned weather station observations are hardly detected with common data quality control methods. We investigated the effects of undetected data quality issues and found that they may reduce the correlation coefficients of station pairs, deteriorate the performance of data homogenization methods, increase the spread of individual station trends, and significantly bias regional trends. Applying adequate quality control approaches is of utmost importance.
Mikhaël Schwander, Marco Rohrer, Stefan Brönnimann, and Abdul Malik
Clim. Past, 13, 1199–1212, https://doi.org/10.5194/cp-13-1199-2017, https://doi.org/10.5194/cp-13-1199-2017, 2017
Short summary
Short summary
We used a new classification of daily weather patterns to analyse the influence of solar variability (11-year cycle) on European climate from 1763 to 2009. The analysis of the weather patterns occurrences shows a reduction in the number of days with a westerly flow over Europe under low solar activity during late winter. In parallel, the number of days with an easterly flow increases. Based on these results we expect colder winter over Europe under low solar activity.
Martin Wegmann, Yvan Orsolini, Emanuel Dutra, Olga Bulygina, Alexander Sterin, and Stefan Brönnimann
The Cryosphere, 11, 923–935, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-11-923-2017, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-11-923-2017, 2017
Short summary
Short summary
We investigate long-term climate reanalyses datasets to infer their quality in reproducing snow depth values compared to in situ measured data from meteorological stations that go back to 1900. We found that the long-term reanalyses do a good job in reproducing snow depths but have some questionable snow states early in the 20th century. Thus, with care, climate reanalyses can be a valuable tool to investigate spatial snow evolution in global warming and climate change studies.
Pascal Bohleber, Leo Sold, Douglas R. Hardy, Margit Schwikowski, Patrick Klenk, Andrea Fischer, Pascal Sirguey, Nicolas J. Cullen, Mariusz Potocki, Helene Hoffmann, and Paul Mayewski
The Cryosphere, 11, 469–482, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-11-469-2017, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-11-469-2017, 2017
Short summary
Short summary
Our study is the first to use ground-penetrating radar (GPR) to investigate ice thickness and internal layering at Kilimanjaro’s largest ice body, the Northern Ice Field (NIF). For monitoring the ongoing ice loss, our ice thickness soundings allowed us to estimate the total ice volume remaining at NIF's southern portion. Englacial GPR reflections indicate undisturbed layers within NIF's center and provide a first link between age information obtained from ice coring and vertical wall sampling.
Rune Strand Ødegård, Atle Nesje, Ketil Isaksen, Liss Marie Andreassen, Trond Eiken, Margit Schwikowski, and Chiara Uglietti
The Cryosphere, 11, 17–32, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-11-17-2017, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-11-17-2017, 2017
Short summary
Short summary
Despite numerous spectacular archaeological discoveries worldwide related to melting ice, governing processes related to ice patch development are still largely unexplored. We present new results from Jotunheimen in central southern Norway showing that the Juvfonne ice patch has existed continuously since ca. 7600 cal years BP. This is the oldest dating of ice in mainland Norway. Moss mats along the margin of Juvfonne in 2014 were covered by the expanding ice patch about 2000 years ago.
Chiara Uglietti, Alexander Zapf, Theo Manuel Jenk, Michael Sigl, Sönke Szidat, Gary Salazar, and Margit Schwikowski
The Cryosphere, 10, 3091–3105, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-10-3091-2016, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-10-3091-2016, 2016
Short summary
Short summary
A meaningful interpretation of the climatic history contained in ice cores requires a precise chronology. For dating the older and deeper part of the glaciers, radiocarbon analysis can be used when organic matter such as plant or insect fragments are found in the ice. Since this happens rarely, a complementary dating tool, based on radiocarbon dating of the insoluble fraction of carbonaceous aerosols entrapped in the ice, allows for ice dating between 200 and more than 10 000 years.
Stefan Brönnimann, Abdul Malik, Alexander Stickler, Martin Wegmann, Christoph C. Raible, Stefan Muthers, Julien Anet, Eugene Rozanov, and Werner Schmutz
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 16, 15529–15543, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-16-15529-2016, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-16-15529-2016, 2016
Short summary
Short summary
The Quasi-Biennial Oscillation is a wind oscillation in the equatorial stratosphere. Effects on climate have been found, which is relevant for seasonal forecasts. However, up to now only relatively short records were available, and even within these the climate imprints were intermittent. Here we analyze a 108-year long reconstruction as well as four 405-year long simulations. We confirm most of the claimed QBO effects on climate, but they are small, which explains apparently variable effects.
Chantal Camenisch, Kathrin M. Keller, Melanie Salvisberg, Benjamin Amann, Martin Bauch, Sandro Blumer, Rudolf Brázdil, Stefan Brönnimann, Ulf Büntgen, Bruce M. S. Campbell, Laura Fernández-Donado, Dominik Fleitmann, Rüdiger Glaser, Fidel González-Rouco, Martin Grosjean, Richard C. Hoffmann, Heli Huhtamaa, Fortunat Joos, Andrea Kiss, Oldřich Kotyza, Flavio Lehner, Jürg Luterbacher, Nicolas Maughan, Raphael Neukom, Theresa Novy, Kathleen Pribyl, Christoph C. Raible, Dirk Riemann, Maximilian Schuh, Philip Slavin, Johannes P. Werner, and Oliver Wetter
Clim. Past, 12, 2107–2126, https://doi.org/10.5194/cp-12-2107-2016, https://doi.org/10.5194/cp-12-2107-2016, 2016
Short summary
Short summary
Throughout the last millennium, several cold periods occurred which affected humanity. Here, we investigate an exceptionally cold decade during the 15th century. The cold conditions challenged the food production and led to increasing food prices and a famine in parts of Europe. In contrast to periods such as the “Year Without Summer” after the eruption of Tambora, these extreme climatic conditions seem to have occurred by chance and in relation to the internal variability of the climate system.
Carmen P. Vega, Elisabeth Schlosser, Dmitry V. Divine, Jack Kohler, Tõnu Martma, Anja Eichler, Margit Schwikowski, and Elisabeth Isaksson
The Cryosphere, 10, 2763–2777, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-10-2763-2016, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-10-2763-2016, 2016
Short summary
Short summary
Surface mass balance and water stable isotopes from firn cores on three ice rises at Fimbul Ice Shelf are reported. The results suggest that the ice rises are suitable sites for the retrieval of longer firn and ice cores. The first deuterium excess data for the area suggests a possible role of seasonal moisture transport changes on the annual isotopic signal. Large-scale atmospheric circulation patterns most likely provide the dominant influence on water stable isotope ratios at the sites.
Paolo Gabrielli, Carlo Barbante, Giuliano Bertagna, Michele Bertó, Daniel Binder, Alberto Carton, Luca Carturan, Federico Cazorzi, Giulio Cozzi, Giancarlo Dalla Fontana, Mary Davis, Fabrizio De Blasi, Roberto Dinale, Gianfranco Dragà, Giuliano Dreossi, Daniela Festi, Massimo Frezzotti, Jacopo Gabrieli, Stephan P. Galos, Patrick Ginot, Petra Heidenwolf, Theo M. Jenk, Natalie Kehrwald, Donald Kenny, Olivier Magand, Volkmar Mair, Vladimir Mikhalenko, Ping Nan Lin, Klaus Oeggl, Gianni Piffer, Mirko Rinaldi, Ulrich Schotterer, Margit Schwikowski, Roberto Seppi, Andrea Spolaor, Barbara Stenni, David Tonidandel, Chiara Uglietti, Victor Zagorodnov, Thomas Zanoner, and Piero Zennaro
The Cryosphere, 10, 2779–2797, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-10-2779-2016, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-10-2779-2016, 2016
Short summary
Short summary
New ice cores were extracted from Alto dell'Ortles, the highest glacier of South Tyrol in the Italian Alps, to check whether prehistoric ice, which is coeval to the famous 5300-yr-old Tyrolean Iceman, is still preserved in this region. Dating of the ice cores confirms the hypothesis and indicates the drilling site has been glaciated since the end of the Northern Hemisphere Climatic Optimum (7000 yrs BP). We also infer that an unprecedented acceleration of the glacier flow has recently begun.
Philip Brohan, Gilbert P. Compo, Stefan Brönnimann, Robert J. Allan, Renate Auchmann, Yuri Brugnara, Prashant D. Sardeshmukh, and Jeffrey S. Whitaker
Clim. Past Discuss., https://doi.org/10.5194/cp-2016-78, https://doi.org/10.5194/cp-2016-78, 2016
Preprint withdrawn
Short summary
Short summary
We have used modern weather forecasting tools to reconstruct the dreadful European weather of 200 years ago – 1816 was the ‘year without a summer’; harvests failed, and people starved. We can show that 1816’s extreme climate was caused by the eruption of the Tambora volcano the previous year. This means we have some chance of predicting such extreme summers if they occur in future, though this is still a challenge to today’s forecast models.
Carmen P. Vega, Veijo A. Pohjola, Emilie Beaudon, Björn Claremar, Ward J. J. van Pelt, Rickard Pettersson, Elisabeth Isaksson, Tõnu Martma, Margit Schwikowski, and Carl E. Bøggild
The Cryosphere, 10, 961–976, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-10-961-2016, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-10-961-2016, 2016
Short summary
Short summary
To quantify post-depositional relocation of major ions by meltwater in snow and firn at Lomonosovfonna, Svalbard, consecutive ice cores drilled at this site were used to construct a synthetic core. The relocation length of most of the ions was on the order of 1 m between 2007 and 2010. Considering the ionic relocation lengths and annual melt percentages, we estimate that the atmospheric ionic signal remains preserved in recently drilled Lomonosovfonna ice cores at an annual or bi-annual resolution.
C. Müller-Tautges, A. Eichler, M. Schwikowski, G. B. Pezzatti, M. Conedera, and T. Hoffmann
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 16, 1029–1043, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-16-1029-2016, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-16-1029-2016, 2016
Short summary
Short summary
The paper focuses on the determination and interpretation of historic records of organic compounds in an ice core from Grenzgletscher in the southern Swiss Alps, covering the time period from 1942 to 1993. The resulting long-term records of organic species were found to be influenced by the forest fire history in southern Switzerland, anthropogenic emissions, as well as changing mineral dust transport to the drilling site.
Y. Brugnara, R. Auchmann, S. Brönnimann, R. J. Allan, I. Auer, M. Barriendos, H. Bergström, J. Bhend, R. Brázdil, G. P. Compo, R. C. Cornes, F. Dominguez-Castro, A. F. V. van Engelen, J. Filipiak, J. Holopainen, S. Jourdain, M. Kunz, J. Luterbacher, M. Maugeri, L. Mercalli, A. Moberg, C. J. Mock, G. Pichard, L. Řezníčková, G. van der Schrier, V. Slonosky, Z. Ustrnul, M. A. Valente, A. Wypych, and X. Yin
Clim. Past, 11, 1027–1047, https://doi.org/10.5194/cp-11-1027-2015, https://doi.org/10.5194/cp-11-1027-2015, 2015
Short summary
Short summary
A data set of instrumental pressure and temperature observations for the early instrumental period (before ca. 1850) is described. This is the result of a digitisation effort involving the period immediately after the eruption of Mount Tambora in 1815, combined with the collection of already available sub-daily time series. The highest data availability is therefore for the years 1815 to 1817. An analysis of pressure variability and of case studies in Europe is performed for that period.
J. Gabbi, M. Huss, A. Bauder, F. Cao, and M. Schwikowski
The Cryosphere, 9, 1385–1400, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-9-1385-2015, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-9-1385-2015, 2015
Short summary
Short summary
Light-absorbing impurities in snow and ice increase the absorption of solar radiation and thus enhance melting. We investigated the effect of Saharan dust and black carbon on the mass balance of an Alpine glacier over 1914-2014. Snow impurities increased melt by 15-19% depending on the location on the glacier. From the accumulation area towards the equilibrium line, the effect of impurities increased as more frequent years with negative mass balance led to a re-exposure of dust-enriched layers.
I. A. Wendl, A. Eichler, E. Isaksson, T. Martma, and M. Schwikowski
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 15, 7287–7300, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-15-7287-2015, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-15-7287-2015, 2015
Short summary
Short summary
Nitrate and ammonium ice core records from Lomonosovfonna, Svalbard, indicated anthropogenic pollution from Eurasia as major source during the 20th century. In pre-industrial times nitrate is correlated with methane sulfonate, which we explain with a fertilising effect, presumably triggered by enhanced atmospheric nitrogen input to the ocean. Eurasia was likely the main source area also of pre-industrial nitrate, but for ammonium, biogenic emissions from Siberian boreal forests were dominant.
S. Kang, F. Wang, U. Morgenstern, Y. Zhang, B. Grigholm, S. Kaspari, M. Schwikowski, J. Ren, T. Yao, D. Qin, and P. A. Mayewski
The Cryosphere, 9, 1213–1222, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-9-1213-2015, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-9-1213-2015, 2015
L. Sold, M. Huss, A. Eichler, M. Schwikowski, and M. Hoelzle
The Cryosphere, 9, 1075–1087, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-9-1075-2015, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-9-1075-2015, 2015
Short summary
Short summary
This study presents a method for estimating annual accumulation rates on a temperate Alpine glacier based on the interpretation of internal reflection horizons in helicopter-borne ground-penetrating radar (GPR) data. In combination with a simple model for firn densification and refreezing of meltwater, GPR can be used not only to complement existing mass balance monitoring programmes but also to retrospectively extend newly initiated time series.
Y.-L. Zhang, R.-J. Huang, I. El Haddad, K.-F. Ho, J.-J. Cao, Y. Han, P. Zotter, C. Bozzetti, K. R. Daellenbach, F. Canonaco, J. G. Slowik, G. Salazar, M. Schwikowski, J. Schnelle-Kreis, G. Abbaszade, R. Zimmermann, U. Baltensperger, A. S. H. Prévôt, and S. Szidat
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 15, 1299–1312, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-15-1299-2015, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-15-1299-2015, 2015
Short summary
Short summary
Source apportionment of fine carbonaceous aerosols using radiocarbon and other organic markers measurements during 2013 winter haze episodes was conducted at four megacities in China. Our results demonstrate that fossil emissions predominate EC with a mean contribution of 75±8%, whereas non-fossil sources account for 55±10% of OC; and the increment of TC on heavily polluted days was mainly driven by the increase of secondary OC from both fossil-fuel and non-fossil emissions.
P. Zotter, V. G. Ciobanu, Y. L. Zhang, I. El-Haddad, M. Macchia, K. R. Daellenbach, G. A. Salazar, R.-J. Huang, L. Wacker, C. Hueglin, A. Piazzalunga, P. Fermo, M. Schwikowski, U. Baltensperger, S. Szidat, and A. S. H. Prévôt
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 14, 13551–13570, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-14-13551-2014, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-14-13551-2014, 2014
P. Stucki, S. Brönnimann, O. Martius, C. Welker, M. Imhof, N. von Wattenwyl, and N. Philipp
Nat. Hazards Earth Syst. Sci., 14, 2867–2882, https://doi.org/10.5194/nhess-14-2867-2014, https://doi.org/10.5194/nhess-14-2867-2014, 2014
Short summary
Short summary
This catalog contains 240 (8 extreme) high-impact windstorms in Switzerland since 1859 in 3 severity classes. Validation with independent wind and damage data reveals that the most hazardous winter storms are captured, while too few moderate windstorms may be detected. We find evidence of high winter storm activity in the early and late 20th century compared to the mid-20th century in both damage and wind data. This indicates a covariability of hazard and related damages on decadal timescales.
S. Muthers, J. G. Anet, A. Stenke, C. C. Raible, E. Rozanov, S. Brönnimann, T. Peter, F. X. Arfeuille, A. I. Shapiro, J. Beer, F. Steinhilber, Y. Brugnara, and W. Schmutz
Geosci. Model Dev., 7, 2157–2179, https://doi.org/10.5194/gmd-7-2157-2014, https://doi.org/10.5194/gmd-7-2157-2014, 2014
K. Willett, C. Williams, I. T. Jolliffe, R. Lund, L. V. Alexander, S. Brönnimann, L. A. Vincent, S. Easterbrook, V. K. C. Venema, D. Berry, R. E. Warren, G. Lopardo, R. Auchmann, E. Aguilar, M. J. Menne, C. Gallagher, Z. Hausfather, T. Thorarinsdottir, and P. W. Thorne
Geosci. Instrum. Method. Data Syst., 3, 187–200, https://doi.org/10.5194/gi-3-187-2014, https://doi.org/10.5194/gi-3-187-2014, 2014
I. A. Wendl, J. A. Menking, R. Färber, M. Gysel, S. D. Kaspari, M. J. G. Laborde, and M. Schwikowski
Atmos. Meas. Tech., 7, 2667–2681, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-7-2667-2014, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-7-2667-2014, 2014
S. Kaspari, T. H. Painter, M. Gysel, S. M. Skiles, and M. Schwikowski
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 14, 8089–8103, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-14-8089-2014, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-14-8089-2014, 2014
I. Mariani, A. Eichler, T. M. Jenk, S. Brönnimann, R. Auchmann, M. C. Leuenberger, and M. Schwikowski
Clim. Past, 10, 1093–1108, https://doi.org/10.5194/cp-10-1093-2014, https://doi.org/10.5194/cp-10-1093-2014, 2014
L. Ramella Pralungo, L. Haimberger, A. Stickler, and S. Brönnimann
Earth Syst. Sci. Data, 6, 185–200, https://doi.org/10.5194/essd-6-185-2014, https://doi.org/10.5194/essd-6-185-2014, 2014
J. G. Anet, S. Muthers, E. V. Rozanov, C. C. Raible, A. Stenke, A. I. Shapiro, S. Brönnimann, F. Arfeuille, Y. Brugnara, J. Beer, F. Steinhilber, W. Schmutz, and T. Peter
Clim. Past, 10, 921–938, https://doi.org/10.5194/cp-10-921-2014, https://doi.org/10.5194/cp-10-921-2014, 2014
P. Breitenmoser, S. Brönnimann, and D. Frank
Clim. Past, 10, 437–449, https://doi.org/10.5194/cp-10-437-2014, https://doi.org/10.5194/cp-10-437-2014, 2014
F. Arfeuille, D. Weisenstein, H. Mack, E. Rozanov, T. Peter, and S. Brönnimann
Clim. Past, 10, 359–375, https://doi.org/10.5194/cp-10-359-2014, https://doi.org/10.5194/cp-10-359-2014, 2014
A. Stickler, S. Brönnimann, S. Jourdain, E. Roucaute, A. Sterin, D. Nikolaev, M. A. Valente, R. Wartenburger, H. Hersbach, L. Ramella-Pralungo, and D. Dee
Earth Syst. Sci. Data, 6, 29–48, https://doi.org/10.5194/essd-6-29-2014, https://doi.org/10.5194/essd-6-29-2014, 2014
C. J. Merchant, S. Matthiesen, N. A. Rayner, J. J. Remedios, P. D. Jones, F. Olesen, B. Trewin, P. W. Thorne, R. Auchmann, G. K. Corlett, P. C. Guillevic, and G. C. Hulley
Geosci. Instrum. Method. Data Syst., 2, 305–321, https://doi.org/10.5194/gi-2-305-2013, https://doi.org/10.5194/gi-2-305-2013, 2013
F. Arfeuille, B. P. Luo, P. Heckendorn, D. Weisenstein, J. X. Sheng, E. Rozanov, M. Schraner, S. Brönnimann, L. W. Thomason, and T. Peter
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 13, 11221–11234, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-13-11221-2013, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-13-11221-2013, 2013
J. G. Anet, S. Muthers, E. Rozanov, C. C. Raible, T. Peter, A. Stenke, A. I. Shapiro, J. Beer, F. Steinhilber, S. Brönnimann, F. Arfeuille, Y. Brugnara, and W. Schmutz
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 13, 10951–10967, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-13-10951-2013, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-13-10951-2013, 2013
T. Papina, T. Blyakharchuk, A. Eichler, N. Malygina, E. Mitrofanova, and M. Schwikowski
Clim. Past, 9, 2399–2411, https://doi.org/10.5194/cp-9-2399-2013, https://doi.org/10.5194/cp-9-2399-2013, 2013
M. Schwikowski, M. Schläppi, P. Santibañez, A. Rivera, and G. Casassa
The Cryosphere, 7, 1635–1644, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-7-1635-2013, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-7-1635-2013, 2013
A. Stenke, C. R. Hoyle, B. Luo, E. Rozanov, J. Gröbner, L. Maag, S. Brönnimann, and T. Peter
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 13, 9713–9729, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-13-9713-2013, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-13-9713-2013, 2013
S. Brönnimann, J. Bhend, J. Franke, S. Flückiger, A. M. Fischer, R. Bleisch, G. Bodeker, B. Hassler, E. Rozanov, and M. Schraner
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 13, 9623–9639, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-13-9623-2013, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-13-9623-2013, 2013
Y. Brugnara, S. Brönnimann, J. Luterbacher, and E. Rozanov
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 13, 6275–6288, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-13-6275-2013, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-13-6275-2013, 2013
Related subject area
Subject: Proxy Use-Development-Validation | Archive: Ice Cores | Timescale: Centennial-Decadal
Stable isotopes in cave ice suggest summer temperatures in east-central Europe are linked to Atlantic Multidecadal Oscillation variability
Climatic information archived in ice cores: impact of intermittency and diffusion on the recorded isotopic signal in Antarctica
What climate signal is contained in decadal- to centennial-scale isotope variations from Antarctic ice cores?
Burning-derived vanillic acid in an Arctic ice core from Tunu, northeastern Greenland
Aromatic acids in an Arctic ice core from Svalbard: a proxy record of biomass burning
Antarctic climate variability on regional and continental scales over the last 2000 years
Large-scale drivers of Caucasus climate variability in meteorological records and Mt El'brus ice cores
A glaciochemical study of the 120 m ice core from Mill Island, East Antarctica
Aromatic acids in a Eurasian Arctic ice core: a 2600-year proxy record of biomass burning
Sea ice and pollution-modulated changes in Greenland ice core methanesulfonate and bromine
Climatic variability in Princess Elizabeth Land (East Antarctica) over the last 350 years
Boreal fire records in Northern Hemisphere ice cores: a review
Significant recent warming over the northern Tibetan Plateau from ice core δ18O records
Reconstruction of recent climate change in Alaska from the Aurora Peak ice core, central Alaska
Fire in ice: two millennia of boreal forest fire history from the Greenland NEEM ice core
Centennial-scale variability of the Southern Hemisphere westerly wind belt in the eastern Pacific over the past two millennia
Accumulation reconstruction and water isotope analysis for 1736–1997 of an ice core from the Ushkovsky volcano, Kamchatka, and their relationships to North Pacific climate records
Towards a quasi-complete reconstruction of past atmospheric aerosol load and composition (organic and inorganic) over Europe since 1920 inferred from Alpine ice cores
Little Ice Age climate and oceanic conditions of the Ross Sea, Antarctica from a coastal ice core record
Carmen-Andreea Bădăluţă, Aurel Perșoiu, Monica Ionita, and Natalia Piotrowska
Clim. Past, 16, 2445–2458, https://doi.org/10.5194/cp-16-2445-2020, https://doi.org/10.5194/cp-16-2445-2020, 2020
Short summary
Short summary
We present a reconstruction of summer temperature for the last millennium in east-central Europe that shows little summer temperature differences between the Medieval Warm Period and the Little Ice Age on centennial scales as well as the fact that well-expressed minima and maxima occurred synchronously with periods of low and high solar activity, respectively. Furthermore, summer temperatures fluctuated with a periodicity similar to that of the Atlantic Multidecadal Oscillation.
Mathieu Casado, Thomas Münch, and Thomas Laepple
Clim. Past, 16, 1581–1598, https://doi.org/10.5194/cp-16-1581-2020, https://doi.org/10.5194/cp-16-1581-2020, 2020
Short summary
Short summary
The isotopic composition in ice cores from Antarctica is usually interpreted as a temperature proxy. Using a forward model, we show how different the signal in ice cores and the actual climatic signal are. Precipitation intermittency and diffusion do indeed affect the archived signal, leading to the reshuffling of the signal which limits the ability to reconstruct high-resolution climatic variations with ice cores.
Thomas Münch and Thomas Laepple
Clim. Past, 14, 2053–2070, https://doi.org/10.5194/cp-14-2053-2018, https://doi.org/10.5194/cp-14-2053-2018, 2018
Short summary
Short summary
Proxy data on climate variations contain noise from many sources and, for reliable estimates, we need to determine those temporal scales at which the climate signal in the proxy record dominates the noise. We developed a method to derive timescale-dependent estimates of temperature proxy signal-to-noise ratios, which we apply and discuss in the context of Antarctic ice-core records but which in general are applicable to a large set of palaeoclimate records.
Mackenzie M. Grieman, Murat Aydin, Joseph R. McConnell, and Eric S. Saltzman
Clim. Past, 14, 1625–1637, https://doi.org/10.5194/cp-14-1625-2018, https://doi.org/10.5194/cp-14-1625-2018, 2018
Short summary
Short summary
Vanillic acid is reported in the Tunu ice core from northeastern Greenland. It is an aerosol-borne acid produced by biomass burning. North American boreal forests are likely the source regions of the vanillic acid deposited at the ice core site. Vanillic acid levels were elevated during warm climate periods and lower during cooler climate periods. There is a positive correlation between the vanillic acid ice core record and ammonium and black carbon in the NEEM ice core from northern Greenland.
Mackenzie M. Grieman, Murat Aydin, Elisabeth Isaksson, Margit Schwikowski, and Eric S. Saltzman
Clim. Past, 14, 637–651, https://doi.org/10.5194/cp-14-637-2018, https://doi.org/10.5194/cp-14-637-2018, 2018
Short summary
Short summary
This study presents organic acid levels in an ice core from Svalbard over the past 800 years. These acids are produced from wildfire emissions and transported as aerosol. Organic acid levels are high early in the record and decline until the 20th century. Siberia and Europe are likely the primary source regions of the fire emissions. The data are similar to those from a Siberian ice core prior to 1400 CE. The timing of the divergence after 1400 CE is similar to a shift in North Atlantic climate.
Barbara Stenni, Mark A. J. Curran, Nerilie J. Abram, Anais Orsi, Sentia Goursaud, Valerie Masson-Delmotte, Raphael Neukom, Hugues Goosse, Dmitry Divine, Tas van Ommen, Eric J. Steig, Daniel A. Dixon, Elizabeth R. Thomas, Nancy A. N. Bertler, Elisabeth Isaksson, Alexey Ekaykin, Martin Werner, and Massimo Frezzotti
Clim. Past, 13, 1609–1634, https://doi.org/10.5194/cp-13-1609-2017, https://doi.org/10.5194/cp-13-1609-2017, 2017
Short summary
Short summary
Within PAGES Antarctica2k, we build an enlarged database of ice core water stable isotope records. We produce isotopic composites and temperature reconstructions since 0 CE for seven distinct Antarctic regions. We find a significant cooling trend from 0 to 1900 CE across all regions. Since 1900 CE, significant warming trends are identified for three regions. Only for the Antarctic Peninsula is this most recent century-scale trend unusual in the context of last-2000-year natural variability.
Anna Kozachek, Vladimir Mikhalenko, Valérie Masson-Delmotte, Alexey Ekaykin, Patrick Ginot, Stanislav Kutuzov, Michel Legrand, Vladimir Lipenkov, and Susanne Preunkert
Clim. Past, 13, 473–489, https://doi.org/10.5194/cp-13-473-2017, https://doi.org/10.5194/cp-13-473-2017, 2017
Mana Inoue, Mark A. J. Curran, Andrew D. Moy, Tas D. van Ommen, Alexander D. Fraser, Helen E. Phillips, and Ian D. Goodwin
Clim. Past, 13, 437–453, https://doi.org/10.5194/cp-13-437-2017, https://doi.org/10.5194/cp-13-437-2017, 2017
Short summary
Short summary
A 120 m ice core from Mill Island, East Antarctica, was studied its chemical components. The Mill Island ice core contains 97 years of climate record (1913–2009) and has a mean snow accumulation of 1.35 m yr−1 (ice equivalent). Trace ion concentrations were generally higher than other Antarctic ice core sites. Nearby sea ice concentration was found to influence the annual mean sea salt record. The Mill Island ice core records are unexpectedly complex, with strong modulation of the trace chemistry.
Mackenzie M. Grieman, Murat Aydin, Diedrich Fritzsche, Joseph R. McConnell, Thomas Opel, Michael Sigl, and Eric S. Saltzman
Clim. Past, 13, 395–410, https://doi.org/10.5194/cp-13-395-2017, https://doi.org/10.5194/cp-13-395-2017, 2017
Short summary
Short summary
Wildfires impact ecosystems, climate, and atmospheric chemistry. Records that predate instrumental records and industrialization are needed to study the climatic controls on biomass burning. In this study, we analyzed organic chemicals produced from burning of plant matter that were preserved in an ice core from the Eurasian Arctic. These chemicals are elevated during three periods that have similar timing to climate variability. This is the first millennial-scale record of these chemicals.
Olivia J. Maselli, Nathan J. Chellman, Mackenzie Grieman, Lawrence Layman, Joseph R. McConnell, Daniel Pasteris, Rachael H. Rhodes, Eric Saltzman, and Michael Sigl
Clim. Past, 13, 39–59, https://doi.org/10.5194/cp-13-39-2017, https://doi.org/10.5194/cp-13-39-2017, 2017
Short summary
Short summary
We analysed two Greenland ice cores for methanesulfonate (MSA) and bromine (Br) and concluded that both species are suitable proxies for local sea ice conditions. Interpretation of the records reveals that there have been sharp declines in sea ice in these areas in the past 250 years. However, at both sites the Br record deviates from MSA during the industrial period, raising questions about the value of Br as a sea ice proxy during recent periods of high, industrial, atmospheric acid pollution.
Alexey A. Ekaykin, Diana O. Vladimirova, Vladimir Y. Lipenkov, and Valérie Masson-Delmotte
Clim. Past, 13, 61–71, https://doi.org/10.5194/cp-13-61-2017, https://doi.org/10.5194/cp-13-61-2017, 2017
Short summary
Short summary
Understanding the Antarctic climate system is crucial in the context of the present-day global environmental changes, but key gaps arise from limited observations. We present a new reconstructed stacked climate record for Princess Elizabeth Land, East Antarctica. Records show 1 °C warming over the last 350 years, with a particularly cold period from the mid-18th to mid-19th century. Temperature variability with a period > 27 years is mainly related to the anomalies of the Indian Ocean Dipole mode.
Michel Legrand, Joseph McConnell, Hubertus Fischer, Eric W. Wolff, Susanne Preunkert, Monica Arienzo, Nathan Chellman, Daiana Leuenberger, Olivia Maselli, Philip Place, Michael Sigl, Simon Schüpbach, and Mike Flannigan
Clim. Past, 12, 2033–2059, https://doi.org/10.5194/cp-12-2033-2016, https://doi.org/10.5194/cp-12-2033-2016, 2016
Short summary
Short summary
Here, we review previous attempts made to reconstruct past forest fire using chemical signals recorded in Greenland ice. We showed that the Greenland ice records of ammonium, found to be a good fire proxy, consistently indicate changing fire activity in Canada in response to past climatic conditions that occurred since the last 15 000 years, including the Little Ice Age and the last large climatic transition.
W. An, S. Hou, W. Zhang, Y. Wang, Y. Liu, S. Wu, and H. Pang
Clim. Past, 12, 201–211, https://doi.org/10.5194/cp-12-201-2016, https://doi.org/10.5194/cp-12-201-2016, 2016
Short summary
Short summary
This paper presents the δ18O result of an ice core recovered from Mt. Zangser Kangri (ZK), a remote area on the northern Tibetan Plateau (TP). We combined the δ18O series of ZK and three other nearby Tibetan ice cores to reconstruct a regional temperature history of 1951–2008, which captured the continuous rapid warming since 1970, even during the global warming hiatus period. It implied that temperature change could have behaved differently at high elevations.
A. Tsushima, S. Matoba, T. Shiraiwa, S. Okamoto, H. Sasaki, D. J. Solie, and K. Yoshikawa
Clim. Past, 11, 217–226, https://doi.org/10.5194/cp-11-217-2015, https://doi.org/10.5194/cp-11-217-2015, 2015
Short summary
Short summary
A 180.17-m ice core was drilled at Aurora Peak in the central part of the Alaska Range, Alaska, in 2008. The ice core age was determined by annual counts of δD and seasonal cycles of Na+. Here, we show that the chronology of the Aurora Peak ice core from 95.61 m to the top corresponds to the period from 1900 to the summer season of 2008, with a dating error of ±3 years. Our results suggest that temporal variations in δD and annual accumulation rates are strongly related to shifts in PDO Index.
P. Zennaro, N. Kehrwald, J. R. McConnell, S. Schüpbach, O. J. Maselli, J. Marlon, P. Vallelonga, D. Leuenberger, R. Zangrando, A. Spolaor, M. Borrotti, E. Barbaro, A. Gambaro, and C. Barbante
Clim. Past, 10, 1905–1924, https://doi.org/10.5194/cp-10-1905-2014, https://doi.org/10.5194/cp-10-1905-2014, 2014
B. G. Koffman, K. J. Kreutz, D. J. Breton, E. J. Kane, D. A. Winski, S. D. Birkel, A. V. Kurbatov, and M. J. Handley
Clim. Past, 10, 1125–1144, https://doi.org/10.5194/cp-10-1125-2014, https://doi.org/10.5194/cp-10-1125-2014, 2014
T. Sato, T. Shiraiwa, R. Greve, H. Seddik, E. Edelmann, and T. Zwinger
Clim. Past, 10, 393–404, https://doi.org/10.5194/cp-10-393-2014, https://doi.org/10.5194/cp-10-393-2014, 2014
S. Preunkert and M. Legrand
Clim. Past, 9, 1403–1416, https://doi.org/10.5194/cp-9-1403-2013, https://doi.org/10.5194/cp-9-1403-2013, 2013
R. H. Rhodes, N. A. N. Bertler, J. A. Baker, H. C. Steen-Larsen, S. B. Sneed, U. Morgenstern, and S. J. Johnsen
Clim. Past, 8, 1223–1238, https://doi.org/10.5194/cp-8-1223-2012, https://doi.org/10.5194/cp-8-1223-2012, 2012
Cited articles
Bhend, J., Franke, J., Folini, D., Wild, M., and Brönnimann, S.: An ensemble-based approach to climate reconstructions, Clim. Past, 8, 963–976, https://doi.org/10.5194/cp-8-963-2012, 2012.
Casado, M., Ortega, P., Masson-Delmotte, V., Risi, C., Swingedouw, D., Daux, V., Genty, D., Maignan, F., Solomina, O., Vinther, B., Viovy, N., and Yiou, P.: Impact of precipitation intermittency on NAO-temperature signals in proxy records, Clim. Past, 9, 871–886, https://doi.org/10.5194/cp-9-871-2013, 2013.
Compo, G. P., Whitaker, J. S., Sardeshmukh, P. D., Matsui, N., Allan, R. J., Yin, X., Gleason, B. E., Vose, R. S., Rutledge, G., Bessemoulin, P., Brönnimann, S., Brunet, M., Crouthamel, R. I., Grant, A. N., Groisman, P. Y., Jones, P. D., Kruk, M., Kruger, A. C., Marshall, G. J., Maugeri, M., Mok, H. Y., Nordli, Ø., Ross, T. F., Trigo, R. M., Wang, X. L., Woodruff, S. D., and Worley, S. J.: The Twentieth Century Reanalysis Project, Q. J. Roy. Meteorol. Soc., 137, 1–28, 2011.
Dee, D. P., Uppala, S. M., Simmons, A. J., Berrisford, P., Poli, P., Kobayashi, S., Andrae, U., Balmaseda, M. A., Balsamo, G., Bauer, P., Bechtold, P., Beljaars, A. C. M., van de Berg, L., Bidlot, J., Bormann, N., Delsol, C., Dragani, R., Fuentes, M., Geer, A. J., Haimberger, L., Healy, S. B., Hersbach, H., Hólm, E. V., Isaksen, L., Kållberg, P., Köhler, M., Matricardi, M., McNally, A. P., Monge-Sanz, B. M., Morcrette, J.-J., Park, B.-K., Peubey, C., de Rosnay, P., Tavolato, C., Thépaut, J.-N., and Vitart F.: The ERA-Interim reanalysis: configuration and performance of the data assimilation system, Q. J. Roy. Meteorol. Soc., 137, 553–597, 2011.
Eichler, A., Schwikowski, M., Gäggeler, H. W., Furrer, V., Synal, H.-A., Beer, J., Saurer, M., and Funk, M.: Glaciochemical dating of an ice core from the upper Grenzgletscher (4200 m a.s.l.), J. Glaciol., 46, 507–515, 2000.
Eichler, A., Schwikowski, M., and Gäggeler, H. W.: Meltwater-induced relocation of chemical species in Alpine firn, Tellus B, 53, 192–203, 2001.
Gabrielli, P., Carturan, L., Gabrieli, J., Dinale, R., Krainer, K., Hausmann, H., Davis, M., Zagarodnov, V., Seppi, R., Barbante, C., Dalla Fontana, G., and Thompson, L. G.: Atmospheric warming threatens the untapped glacial archive of Mt. Ortles, South Tyrol, J. Glaciol., 56, 843–853, 2010.
IAEA/WMO: Global Network of Isotopes in Precipitation, The GNIP Database, available at: http://www.iaea.org/water (last access: 6 June 2013), 2013.
Johnsen, S., Clausen, H., Cuffey, K., Hoffmann, G., Schwander, J., and Creyts, T.: Diffusion of stable isotopes in polar firn and ice: the isotope effect in firn diffusion, in Physics of Ice Core Records, edited by: Hondoh, T., 121–140, Hokkaido University Press, Sapporo, 2000.
Kuhn, M.: Redistribution of snow and glacier mass balance from a hydrometeorological model, J. Hydrol., 282, 95–103, 2003.
Läpple, T., Werner, M., and Lohmann, G.: Synchronicity of Antarctic temperatures and local solar insolation on orbital timescales, Nature, 471, 91–94, 2011.
Lee, J. E. and Fung, I.: Amount effect of water isotopes and quantitative analysis of postcondensation processes, Hydrol. Process., 22, 1–8, https://doi.org/10.1002/hyp.6637, 2008.
Mariani, I., Eichler, A., Brönnimann, S., Auchmann, R., Jenk, T. M., Leuenberger, M. C., and Schwikowski, M.: Temperature and precipitation signal in two Alpine ice cores over the period 1961–2001, Clim. Past Discuss., 8, 5867–5891, https://doi.org/10.5194/cpd-8-5867-2012, 2012.
Nye, J. F.: Correction factor for accumulation measured by the thickness of the annual layers in an ice sheet, J. Glaciol., 4, 785–788, 1963.
Persson, A., Langen, P. L., Ditlevsen, P., and Vinther, B. M.: The influence of precipitation weighting on interannual variability of stable water isotopes in Greenland, J. Geophys. Res., 116, D20120, https://doi.org/10.1029/2010JD015517, 2011.
Pfahl S. and Wernli, H.: Air parcel trajectory analysis of stable isotopes in water vapor in the eastern Mediterranean, J. Geophys. Res., 113, D20104, https://doi.org/10.1029/2008JD009839, 2008.
Pfister, C.: Wetternachhersage – 500 Jahre Klimavariationen und Naturkatastrophen, Haupt, Bern, 1999.
Semenov, M. A., Brooks, R. J., Barrow, E. M., and Richardson, C. W.: Comparison of the WGEN and LARS-WG stochastic weather generators for diverse climates, Clim. Res., 10, 95–107, 1998.
Sime, L. C., Marshall, G. J., Mulvaney, R., and Thomas, E. R.: Interpreting Temperature Information from Ice Cores Along the Antarctic Peninsula: ERA40 Analysis, Geophys. Res. Lett., 36, L18801, https://doi.org/10.1029/2009GL038982, 2009.
Sime, L. C., Lang, N., Thomas, E. R., Benton, A. K., and Mulvaney, R.: On High-resolution Sampling of Short Ice Cores: Dating and Temperature Information Recovery from Antarctic Peninsula Virtual Cores, J. Geophys. Res., 116, D20117, https://doi.org/10.1029/2011JD015894, 2011.
Steen-Larsen, H. C., Winkler, R., Prie, F., Landais, A., Masson-Delmotte, V., Risi, C., Berkelhammer, M. B., Noone, D. C., O'Neill, M., Guillevic, M., Hirabayashi, M., Schneider, D. P., and Stenni, B.: Triple water vapor isotopic (H218O, HD16O, H217O) measurements above the Greenland Ice Sheet and importance for understanding the atmospheric hydrological cycle in the Arctic, EOS T. Am. Geophys. Un., Fall Meet. Suppl, Abstract A53V-03, 2012.
Stucki, P., Rickli, R., Brönnimann, S., Martius, O., Wanner, H., Grebner, D., and Luterbacher J.: Weather patterns and hydro-climatological precursors of extreme floods in Switzerland since 1868, Meteorol. Z., 21, 531–550, 2012.
Sturm, C., Zhang, Q., and Noone, D.: An introduction to stable water isotopes in climate models: benefits of forward proxy modelling for paleoclimatology, Clim. Past, 6, 115–129, https://doi.org/10.5194/cp-6-115-2010, 2010.
Wagenbach, D., Bohleber, P., and Preunkert, S.: Cold, Alpine ice bodies revisited: what may we learn from their impurity and isotope content?, Geogr. Ann. A, 94, 245–263, https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1468-0459.2012.00461.x, 2012.
Werner, M., Mikolajewicz, U., Heimann, M., and Hoffmann G.: Borehole versus isotope temperatures on Greenland: seasonality does matter, Geophys. Res. Lett., 27, 723–726, 2000.
