Data from: Reconstruction of the regional summer ground surface temperature in the permafrost region of Northeast China from 1587 to 2008

To extend the historical temperature record in the permafrost region of
northeast China, we reconstructed the regional ground surface temperature
(GST) for the past four centuries based on a network of Dahurian larch
(Larix gmelinii Rupr.) tree ring width chronologies. Seven standard tree
ring chronologies, which correlated well with each other, were averaged to
create a regional mean chronology. The GST was the major limiting factor
for tree growth in this region. The optimum range of GSTs was from 30 May
to 26 August (summer GST), identified by combining the days on which tree
growth was strongly influenced by the daily GST data. The summer GST was
significantly correlated with the regional mean chronology (r=0.704,
p<0.001) over the common period 1971–2008 and was reconstructed for
the period 1587–2008. The reconstructed GST accounted for 49.4% of the
actual variance in the GST over the period 1971–2008 and captured four
warm periods (1597–1603, 1716–1723, 1781–1788, and 1925–1929) and three
cold periods (1639–1647, 1686–1711, and 1799–1805). The reconstructed GST
was consistent with the northern hemisphere temperature in the Little Ice
Age, and the warming rate from 1857 to 2008 was similar to a previously
reported temperature reconstruction in the Xiao Xing’an Mountains. The low
frequency of the reconstructed GST was well matched with that of the
permafrost thawing depth. The reconstructed GST represents the longest
temperature record in this study region and may be used as a reference for
the permafrost thawing depth.