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Simulating Impacts of Ice Storms on Forest Ecosystems
Published on: June 30, 2020
Solar modulation of Little Ice Age climate in the tropical Andes
P J Polissar1, M B Abbott, A P Wolfe
1Department of Geosciences, Morrill Science Center, University of Massachusetts, Amherst, MA 01003, USA. ppolissa@geosc.psu.edu
Abstract:
The underlying causes of late-Holocene climate variability in the tropics are incompletely understood. Here we report a 1,500-year reconstruction of climate history and glaciation in the Venezuelan Andes using lake sediments. Four glacial advances occurred between anno Domini (A.D.) 1250 and 1810, coincident with solar-activity minima. Temperature declines of -3.2 +/- 1.4 degrees C and precipitation increases of approximately 20% are required to produce the observed glacial responses. These results highlight the sensitivity of high-altitude tropical regions to relatively small changes in radiative forcing, implying even greater probable responses to future anthropogenic forcing.
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