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Tropical rainfall over the last two millennia: Evidence for a low-latitude hydrologic seesaw
2017, Lechleitner, F.A., Breitenbach, S.F.M., Rehfeld, K., Ridley, H.E., Asmerom, Y., Prufer, K.M., Marwan, N., Goswami, B., Kennett, D.J., Aquino, V.V., Polyak, V., Haug, G.H., Eglinton, T.I., Baldini, J.U.L.
The presence of a low-to mid-latitude interhemispheric hydrologic seesaw is apparent over orbital and glacial-interglacial timescales, but its existence over the most recent past remains unclear. Here we investigate, based on climate proxy reconstructions from both hemispheres, the inter-hemispherical phasing of the Intertropical Convergence Zone (ITCZ) and the low-to mid-latitude teleconnections in the Northern Hemisphere over the past 2000 years. A clear feature is a persistent southward shift of the ITCZ during the Little Ice Age until the beginning of the 19th Century. Strong covariation between our new composite ITCZ-stack and North Atlantic Oscillation (NAO) records reveals a tight coupling between these two synoptic weather and climate phenomena over decadal-to-centennial timescales. This relationship becomes most apparent when comparing two precisely dated, high-resolution paleorainfall records from Belize and Scotland, indicating that the low-to mid-latitude teleconnection was also active over annual-decadal timescales. It is likely a combination of external forcing, i.e., solar and volcanic, and internal feedbacks, that drives the synchronous ITCZ and NAO shifts via energy flux perturbations in the tropics.
Correlating the ancient Maya and modern european calendars with high-precision AMS 14C dating
2013, Kennett, D.J., Hajdas, I., Culleton, B.J., Belmecheri, S., Martin, S., Neff, H., Awe, J., Graham, H.V., Freeman, K.H., Newsom, L., Lentz, D.L., Anselmetti, F.S., Robinson, M., Marwan, N., Southon, J., Hodell, D.A., Haug, G.H.
The reasons for the development and collapse of Maya civilization remain controversial and historical events carved on stone monuments throughout this region provide a remarkable source of data about the rise and fall of these complex polities. Use of these records depends on correlating the Maya and European calendars so that they can be compared with climate and environmental datasets. Correlation constants can vary up to 1000 years and remain controversial.Wereport a series of high-resolution AMS14C dates on a wooden lintel collected from the Classic Period city of Tikal bearing Maya calendar dates. The radiocarbon dates were calibrated using a Bayesian statistical model and indicate that the dates were carved on the lintel betweenAD 658-696. This strongly supports the Goodman-Mart?nez-Thompson (GMT) correlation and the hypothesis that climate change played an important role in the development and demise of this complex civilization.