NOAA/WDS Paleoclimatology - Bàsura Cave Geochemical Data from 750 to 4 Cal Yr BP

The Little Ice Age (LIA; ca. 1450–1850 C.E.) is the best documented cold period of the past millennium, characterized by high-frequency volcanism, low solar activity, and high variability of Arctic sea-ice cover. Past studies of LIA Atlantic circulation changes have referenced the North Atlantic Oscillation (NAO), but recent studies have noted that LIA climate patterns appear to possess complexity not captured by an NAO analogue. Here, we present a new precipitation-sensitive stalagmite record from northern Italy that covers the past 800 years. We show that in the early LIA (1470–1610 C.E.), increased atmospheric ridging over northern Europe split the climatological westerlies away from central and northern Europe, possibly caused by concurrent Artic sea-ice reduction. With ongoing ice melting in the northern high latitudes and decreasing solar irradiance in the coming years, the early LIA may potentially serve as an analogue for European hydroclimatic conditions in the coming decades.

本存档古气候学研究数据集可通过美国国家海洋和大气管理局（National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, NOAA）下属的国家环境信息中心（National Centers for Environmental Information, NCEI）获取，该数据集隶属于世界古气候学数据服务系统（World Data Service for Paleoclimatology, WDS）。其对应的NCEI研究类型为洞穴类（Cave）。数据集涵盖了南欧意大利地区洞穴沉积物（speleothems）的相关参数，时间覆盖范围为距今（before present, BP）752年至4年。有关参数与研究地点的详细信息，请参阅元数据（metadata）文档。使用该数据集时，请引用本研究。