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Oxygen stable isotope ratios from British oak tree-rings provide a strong and consistent record of past changes in summer rainfall

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Abstract

United Kingdom (UK) summers dominated by anti-cyclonic circulation patterns are characterised by clear skies, warm temperatures, low precipitation totals, low air humidity and more enriched oxygen isotope ratios (δ18O) in precipitation. Such conditions usually result in relatively more positive (enriched) oxygen isotope ratios in tree leaf sugars and ultimately in the tree-ring cellulose formed in that year, the converse being true in cooler, wet summers dominated by westerly air flow and cyclonic conditions. There should therefore be a strong link between tree-ring δ18O and the amount of summer precipitation. Stable oxygen isotope ratios from the latewood cellulose of 40 oak trees sampled at eight locations across Great Britain produce a mean δ18O chronology that correlates strongly and significantly with summer indices of total shear vorticity, surface air pressure, and the amount of summer precipitation across the England and Wales region of the United Kingdom. The isotope-based rainfall signal is stronger and much more stable over time than reconstructions based upon oak ring widths. Using recently developed methods that are precise, efficient and highly cost-effective it is possible to measure both carbon (δ13C) and oxygen (δ18O) isotope ratios simultaneously from the same tree-ring cellulose. In our study region, these two measurements from multiple trees can be used to reconstruct summer temperature (δ13C) and summer precipitation (δ18O) with sufficient independence to allow the evolution of these climate parameters to be reconstructed with high levels of confidence. The existence of long, well-replicated oak tree-ring chronologies across the British Isles mean that it should now be possible to reconstruct both summer temperature and precipitation over many centuries and potentially millennia.

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Acknowledgments

We acknowledge support from: C3W (GHFY, NJL & DMc), the Scottish Pine Project (NJL), early stage research funding from the University of Wales Trinity Saint David (RJB) and The Leverhulme Trust (Grant No. RPG-2014-327, GHFY, NJL, DMc & DM). We thank CCW (now NRW) for SSSI consent, and the National Trust for assisting with access at Dinefwr and Allt Lan-las (RJB & NTN).

Conflict of interest

The authors declare that they have no conflict of interest.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Geography, College of Science, Swansea University, Singleton Park, Swansea, SA2 8PP, UK

    Giles H. F. Young, Neil J. Loader, Danny McCarroll, Joanne C. Demmler, Iain Robertson, Camilla Watts & Matthew Whitney

  2. Department of Archaeology, History and Anthropology, University of Wales Trinity Saint David, Lampeter, Ceredigion, SA48 7ED, UK

    Roderick J. Bale & Nigel T. Nayling

  3. Research Laboratory for Archaeology and the History of Art, Oxford University, Oxford, OX1 3YQ, UK

    Daniel Miles

  4. Paul Scherrer Institute, 5232, Villigen, Switzerland

    Katja T. Rinne

  5. The National Botanic Garden of Wales, Llanarthne, Carmarthen, SA32 8HN, UK

    Camilla Watts

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  1. Giles H. F. Young
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  2. Neil J. Loader
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  3. Danny McCarroll
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Correspondence to Giles H. F. Young.

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Young, G.H.F., Loader, N.J., McCarroll, D. et al. Oxygen stable isotope ratios from British oak tree-rings provide a strong and consistent record of past changes in summer rainfall. Clim Dyn 45, 3609–3622 (2015). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00382-015-2559-4

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