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On the quality of climate proxies derived from newspaper reports – a case study
1Dpto. de Sistemas Físicos, Químicos y Naturales, Universidad Pablo de Olavide, Ctra. de Utrera Km 1, 41013 Sevilla, Spain
2Departamento de Física de la Tierra, Astronomía y Astrofísica II, Facultad de Ciencias Físicas, Universidad Complutense de Madrid, Ciudad Universitaria, 28040 Madrid, Spain
3CRICYT Instituto de Nivología, Glaciología y Ciencias Ambientales (IANIGLA), Calle Bajada del Cerro s/n, Parque Gral. San Martín, Mendoza, Argentina
Abstract. In this paper, the quality of a reconstruction of daily snow frequency in the central Andes is evaluated by studying the atmospheric patterns related to anomalies in the reconstructed series. The origin of precipitation anomalies in this part of the world is relatively well known and is has been related to the El Niño/Southern Oscillation cycle through the Pacific South American pattern, which implies changes in the subtropical jet across the Pacific, the blocking activity in the Southeastern Pacific and the ice formation around the Antarctic Peninsula. We found that the reconstructed series of snow frequency reproduces every expected anomaly pattern related to precipitation in the central Andes during the period 1958–1996. The methodology developed can help to validate reconstructed series in absence of instrumental data to perform a direct calibration. In addition, it provides a physical link between the variability of a climate proxy and the underlying atmospheric dynamics.
Discussion Paper (PDF, 1537 KB) Interactive Discussion (Closed, 4 Comments) Final Revised Paper (CP)
Citation: Gallego, D., García-Herrera, R., Prieto, R., and Peña-Ortiz, C.: On the quality of climate proxies derived from newspaper reports – a case study, Clim. Past Discuss., 3, 977-997, 2007. Bibtex EndNote Reference Manager
