Birbal Sahni Institute of Palaeobotany, Lucknow 226 007, India.
J Biosci. 2009 Nov;34(5):699-707. doi: 10.1007/s12038-009-0058-7.
Tree-ring analyses from semi-arid to arid regions in western Himalaya show immense potential for developing millennia long climate records. Millennium and longer ring-width chronologies of Himalayan pencil juniper (Juniperus polycarpos), Himalayan pencil cedar (Cedrus deodara) and Chilgoza pine (Pinus gerardiana) have been developed from different sites in western Himalaya. Studies conducted so far on various conifer species indicate strong precipitation signatures in ring-width measurement series. The paucity of weather records from stations close to tree-ring sampling sites poses diffi culty in calibrating tree-ring data against climate data especially precipitation for its strong spatial variability in mountain regions. However, for the existence of strong coherence in temperature, even in data from distant stations, more robust temperature reconstructions representing regional and hemispheric signatures have been developed. Tree-ring records from the region indicate multi-century warm and cool anomalies consistent with the Medieval Warm Period and Little Ice Age anomalies. Signifi cant relationships noted between mean premonsoon temperature over the western Himalaya and ENSO features endorse utility of climate records from western Himalayan region in understanding long-term climate variability and attribution of anthropogenic impact.
来自喜马拉雅山西部半干旱到干旱地区的树木年轮分析显示出在发展千年以上气候记录方面的巨大潜力。从喜马拉雅西部的不同地点，已经开发出了喜马拉雅铅笔柏（Juniperus polycarpos）、喜马拉雅雪松（Cedrus deodara）和奇戈扎松（Pinus gerardiana）的千年及更长时间的年轮宽度年表。到目前为止，对各种针叶树物种的研究表明，在年轮测量系列中存在强烈的降水特征。靠近树木年轮采样地点的气象站记录的缺乏给树木年轮数据与气候数据（特别是山区强空间变异性的降水）的校准带来了困难。然而，由于温度之间存在很强的一致性，即使在来自遥远站点的数据中，也已经开发出了更可靠的温度重建，代表了区域和半球特征。该地区的树木年轮记录显示，多世纪的暖期和冷期异常与中世纪暖期和小冰期异常一致。注意到喜马拉雅山西部的前季风期平均温度与厄尔尼诺南方涛动特征之间存在显著关系，这支持了利用喜马拉雅山西部地区的气候记录来了解长期气候变化和归因于人为影响的实用性。
