Multi-archive summer temperature reconstruction for the European Alps, AD 1053-1996

• Authors: TRACHSEL Mathias; KAMENIK Christian; GROSJEAN Martin; MCCARROL Danny; MOBERG Anders; BRÁZDIL Rudolf; BUENTGEN Ulf; DOBROVOLNÝ Petr; ESPER Jan; FRANK David C.; FRIEDRICH Michael; GLASER Ruediger; LAROCQUE-TOBLER Isabelle; NICOLUSSI Kurt; RIEMANN Dirk
• Year of publication: 2012
• Type: Article in Periodical
• Magazine / Source: Quaternary Science Reviews
• MU Faculty or unit: Faculty of Science
• Doi: http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.quascirev.2012.04.021
• Field: Atmosphere sciences, meteorology
• Keywords: Paleoclimate; Alps; Last millennium; Multi-proxy; Climate reconstruction; Climate
• Description: We present a multiarchive, multi-proxy summer temperature reconstruction for the European Alps covering the period AD 1053-1996 using tree-ring and lake sediment data. The new reconstruction is based on nine different calibration approaches and errors were estimated conservatively. Summer temperatures of the last millennium are characterised by two warm (AD 1053-1171 and 1823-1996) and two cold phases (AD 1172-1379 and 1573-1822). Highest pre-industrial summer temperatures of the 12th century were 0.3 deg. C warmer than the 20th century mean but 0.35 deg. C colder than proxy derived temperatures at the end of the 20th century. The lowest temperatures at the end of the 16th century were approx. 1 deg. C lower than the 20th century mean.