Tree ring recorded May-August temperature variations since AD 1585 in the Gaoligong Mountains, southeastern Tibetan Plateau

High-resolution proxy data are still scarce in the southeastern Tibetan Plateau, which limit our understanding of climatic variability before instrumental records. In this study, we developed 595-year tree ring-width chronology from Larix speciosa near the timberlines of the Gaoligong Mountains, southeastern Tibetan Plateau. Ring-width site chronologies and a well-replicated regional chronology (RC) showed significant positive correlations with warm season temperatures from May to August. Using RC as predictor, we reconstructed mean May-August temperature for the study region that extends back to A.D. 1585. Cold conditions prevailed during the periods 1600s, 1620-30, 1640-50s, 1700s, 1730-405,1760s, 1810-20s, 1850s, 1900-10s and 1955-70. Warm episodes occurred during 1610s, 1660-1680s, 1710-20s, 1750s, 1780-90s, 1820-40,1920-50 and 1980-present. Spatial correlations with gridded land surface temperatures revealed that our reconstruction represents regional temperature signal for the southern Tibetan Plateau. Comparison with other tree ring-based temperature reconstructions from surrounding areas implies a high degree of confidence for our reconstruction. Crown Copyright (C) 2010 Published by Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.