Open Access. Powered by Scholars. Published by Universities.®

Physical Sciences and Mathematics Commons

Open Access. Powered by Scholars. Published by Universities.®

Articles 1 - 19 of 19

Full-Text Articles in Physical Sciences and Mathematics

Elevation-Dependent Warming In Mountain Regions Of The World, Mountain Research Institute, Nicolas Pepin, Raymond S. Bradley Jan 2015

Elevation-Dependent Warming In Mountain Regions Of The World, Mountain Research Institute, Nicolas Pepin, Raymond S. Bradley

Raymond S Bradley

"There is growing evidence that the rate of warming is amplified with elevation, such that high-mountain environments experience more rapid changes in temperature than environments at lower elevations. Elevation-dependent warming (EDW) can accelerate the rate of change in mountain ecosystems, cryospheric systems, hydrological regimes and biodiversity. Here we review important mechanisms that contribute towards EDW: snow albedo and surface-based feedbacks; water vapour changes and latent heat release; surface water vapour and radiative flux changes; surface heat loss and temperature change; and aerosols. All lead to enhanced warming with elevation (or at a critical elevation), and it is believed that combinations …


Winter Climate Extremes Over The Northeastern United States And Southeastern Canada And Teleconnections With Large-Scale Modes Of Climate Variability, Liang Ning, Raymond S. Bradley Jan 2015

Winter Climate Extremes Over The Northeastern United States And Southeastern Canada And Teleconnections With Large-Scale Modes Of Climate Variability, Liang Ning, Raymond S. Bradley

Raymond S Bradley

The relationship between winter climate extremes across the northeastern United States and adjacent parts of Canada and some important modes of climate variability are examined to determine how these circulation patterns are related to extreme events. Linear correlations between 15 extreme climate indices related to winter daily precipitation, maximum and minimum temperature, and three dominant large-scale patterns of climate variability [the North Atlantic Oscillation (NAO), Pacific–North American (PNA) pattern, and El Niño–Southern Oscillation (ENSO)] were analyzed for the period 1950–99. The mechanisms behind these teleconnections are analyzed by applying composite analysis to the geopotential height, sea level pressure (SLP), moisture …


Climate Change In The Northeastern Us: Regional Climate Model Validation And Climate Change Projections, Fangxing Fan, Raymond S. Bradley, Michael A. Rawlins Jan 2014

Climate Change In The Northeastern Us: Regional Climate Model Validation And Climate Change Projections, Fangxing Fan, Raymond S. Bradley, Michael A. Rawlins

Raymond S Bradley

A high resolution regional climate model (RCM) is used to simulate climate of the recent past and to project future climate change across the northeastern US. Different types of uncertainties in climate simulations are examined by driving the RCM with different boundary data, applying different emissions scenarios, and running an ensemble of simulations with different initial conditions. Empirical orthogonal functions analysis and K-means clustering analysis are applied to divide the northeastern US region into four climatologically different zones based on the surface air temperature (SAT) and precipitation variability. The RCM simulations tend to overestimate SAT, especially over the northern part …


Climatic Changes In Mountain Regions Of The American Cordillera And The Tropics: Historical Changes And Future Outlook, Henry F. Diaz, Raymond S. Bradley, Liang Ning Jan 2014

Climatic Changes In Mountain Regions Of The American Cordillera And The Tropics: Historical Changes And Future Outlook, Henry F. Diaz, Raymond S. Bradley, Liang Ning

Raymond S Bradley

We review some recent work regarding climatic changes in selected mountain regions, with particular attention to the tropics and the American Cordillera. Key aspects of climatic variability and trends in these regions are the amplification of surface warming trends with height, and the strong modulation of tempera¬ture trends by tropical sea surface temperature, largely controlled by changes in El Niño–Southern Oscillation on multiple time scales. Corollary aspects of these climate trends include the increase in a critical plant growth temperature threshold, a rise in the freezing level surface, and the possibility of enhanced subtropical drying. Anthropogenic global warming projections indicate …


Winter Precipitation Variability And Corresponding Teleconnections Over The Northeastern United States, Liang Ning, Raymond S. Bradley Jan 2014

Winter Precipitation Variability And Corresponding Teleconnections Over The Northeastern United States, Liang Ning, Raymond S. Bradley

Raymond S Bradley

The variability of winter precipitation over the northeastern United States and the corresponding teleconnections with five dominant large-scale modes of climate variability (Atlantic Multidecadal Oscillation, AMO; North Atlantic Oscillation, NAO; Pacific-North American pattern, PNA; Pacific Decadal Oscillation, PDO; and El Niño–Southern Oscillation, ENSO) were systemically analyzed in this study. Three leading patterns of winter precipitation were first generated by empirical orthogonal function (EOF) analysis. The correlation analysis shows that the first pattern is significantly correlated with PNA and PDO, the second pattern is significantly correlated with NAO and AMO, and the third pattern is significantly correlated with ENSO, PNA, and …


Locating Cryptotephra In Sediments Using Fluid Imaging Technology, Robert D'Anjou, Nicholas L. Balascio, Raymond S. Bradley Jan 2014

Locating Cryptotephra In Sediments Using Fluid Imaging Technology, Robert D'Anjou, Nicholas L. Balascio, Raymond S. Bradley

Raymond S Bradley

We report a new approach to locate and quantify cryptotephra in sedimentary archives using a continuously-imaging Flow Cytometer and Microscope (FlowCAM_). The FlowCAM rapidly photographs particles flowing in suspension past a microscope lens and performs semi-automated analysis of particle images. It has had primarily biological applications, although the potential sedimentological applications are numerous. Here we test the ability of this instrument to image irregularly shaped, vesicular glass shards and to screen sediment samples for the presence of cryptotephra. First, reference samples of basalt and rhyolite tephra (sieved <63>microns) were analyzed with the FlowCAM, demonstrating the ability of the instrument to …


Biogeochemical Evidence For Hydrologic Change During The Holocene In A Lake Sediment Record From Southeast Greenland, Nicholas L. Balascio, William J. D'Andrea, Raymond S. Bradley, Bianca B. Perren Jan 2013

Biogeochemical Evidence For Hydrologic Change During The Holocene In A Lake Sediment Record From Southeast Greenland, Nicholas L. Balascio, William J. D'Andrea, Raymond S. Bradley, Bianca B. Perren

Raymond S Bradley

Holocene paleoclimate records from Greenland help us understand the response of the Greenland Ice Sheet and regional oceanic and atmospheric circulation systems to natural climate variability in order to place recent changes in a longer-term perspective. Here biogeochemical analysis of a lake sediment core from southeast Greenland is used to define changes in moisture balance and runoff during the Holocene in a catchment near the margin of the Greenland Ice Sheet. A 1.6 m sediment core that spans the last 8.8 ka was recovered from Flower Valley Lake on Ammassalik Island. Magnetic susceptibility, diatoms, bulk biogeochemical properties (TOC, C/N, δ13Corg), …


Evaluating Holocene Climate Change In Northern Norway Using Sediment Records From Two Contrasting Lake Systems., Nicholas L. Balascio, Raymond S. Bradley Jan 2012

Evaluating Holocene Climate Change In Northern Norway Using Sediment Records From Two Contrasting Lake Systems., Nicholas L. Balascio, Raymond S. Bradley

Raymond S Bradley

We analyzed Holocene sedimentary records from two lakes in the Lofoten Islands, northern Norway to evaluate environmental changes during the Holocene related to northern North Atlantic climate dynamics. The lakes are located in different geomorphological settings, and thus provide a contrast in their response to regional climate change. Environmental changes at both lakes were interpreted based on magnetic susceptibility, organic-matter flux, C/N, d13 Corg , Ti concentrations, and mass accumulation rates. Chronologies were established using 16 AMS radiocarbon dates, and average deposition rates in both environments are higher than 0.2 mm/year throughout the Holocene. At Vikjordvatnet, sedimentary geochemical properties define …


What Can We Learn From Past Warm Climates?, Raymond S. Bradley Jan 2012

What Can We Learn From Past Warm Climates?, Raymond S. Bradley

Raymond S Bradley

With limited political action to control fossil fuel use and associated greenhouse gas emissions, there is increasing emphasis on preparing for inevitable climate changes. But what changes should the world plan for? Model simulations provide some guidance about expected future climate scenarios, but we can also learn from past experience. Although there are no episodes in the past that are strictly comparable to the future, which is a world in which climate is modulated by human activities, there were warm periods in the past which resulted from other forcing factors. There are some lessons we can learn from paleoclimate records …


Biogeochemical Evidence For Prehistoric Human Impacts On The Environment In Northwestern Norway, Raymond S. Bradley, Robert D'Anjou, Nicholas L. Balascio, David B. Finkelstein Jan 2012

Biogeochemical Evidence For Prehistoric Human Impacts On The Environment In Northwestern Norway, Raymond S. Bradley, Robert D'Anjou, Nicholas L. Balascio, David B. Finkelstein

Raymond S Bradley

Disentangling the effects of climate change and anthropogenic activities on the environment is a major challenge in paleoenvironmental research. Here, we used fecal sterols and other biogeochemical compounds in lake sediments from northern Norway to identify both natural and anthropogenic signals of environmental change during the late Holocene. The area was first occupied by humans and their grazing animals at ∼2,250 ± 75 calendar years before 1950 AD (calendar years before present). The arrival of humans is indicated by an abrupt increase in coprostanol (and its epimer epicoprostanol) in the sediments and an associated increase in 5β-stigmastanol (and 5β-epistigmastanol), which …


A Mild Little Ice Age And Unprecedented Warmth In An 1800 Year Record From Svalbard, William J. D'Andrea, Raymond S. Bradley, David Vaillencourt, Nicholas L. Balascio, Al Werner, Steve Roof, Michael J. Retelle Jan 2012

A Mild Little Ice Age And Unprecedented Warmth In An 1800 Year Record From Svalbard, William J. D'Andrea, Raymond S. Bradley, David Vaillencourt, Nicholas L. Balascio, Al Werner, Steve Roof, Michael J. Retelle

Raymond S Bradley

The Arctic region is subject to a great amplitude of climate variability and is currently undergoing large-scale changes due in part to anthropogenic global warming. Accurate projections of future change depend on anticipating the response of the Arctic climate system to forcing, and understanding how the response to human forcing will interact with natural climate variations. The Svalbard Archipelago occupies an important location for studying patterns and causes of Arctic climate variability; however, available paleoclimate records from Svalbard are of restricted use due to limitations of existing climate proxies. Here we present a sub-decadal- to multidecadal-scale record of summer temperature …


Climate Change In Central America And Mexico: Regional Climate Model Validation And Climate Change Projections, Ambarish V. Karmalkar, Raymond S. Bradley, Henry F. Diaz Jan 2011

Climate Change In Central America And Mexico: Regional Climate Model Validation And Climate Change Projections, Ambarish V. Karmalkar, Raymond S. Bradley, Henry F. Diaz

Raymond S Bradley

Central America has high biodiversity, it harbors high-value ecosystems and it’s important to provide regional climate change information to assist in adaptation and mitigation work in the region. Here we study climate change projections for Central America and Mexico using a regional climate model. The model evaluation shows its success in simulating spatial and temporal variability of temperature and precipitation and also in capturing regional climate features such as the bimodal annual cycle of precipitation and the Caribbean low-level jet. A variety of climate regimes within the model domain are also better identified in the regional model simulation due to …


Where Do We Stand On Global Warming?, Raymond S. Bradley Jan 2011

Where Do We Stand On Global Warming?, Raymond S. Bradley

Raymond S Bradley

Global temperatures have risen by ~0.8°C since the end of the 19th century. This increase has not been linear, as there have been periods when temperatures were stable for short periods before rising once again. The reasons for these changes in the rate of temperature rise are related to anthropogenic factors (sulphate aerosol pollution versus greenhouse gas inputs to the atmosphere) as well as to natural factors (volcanic eruptions, solar irradiance variations, El Ni.o/Southern Oscillation [ENSO] fluctuations, etc). Over the last decade or so, temperatures have not risen at the same rate as in previous decades, and this has led …


Natural Archives, Changing Climates, Raymond S. Bradley Jan 2011

Natural Archives, Changing Climates, Raymond S. Bradley

Raymond S Bradley

Climatic changes have occurred throughout human history, but instrumental measurements do not provide us with a very long perspective on climate variations. In many regions, instrumental records only extend back a century or two. To understand the longer-term variability of the climate system, we rely on natural archives— sediments, ice caps, peat bogs, cave deposits, banded corals and tree rings—in which a record of past changes in climate has been preserved. They are a treasure trove of the climatic and environmental history of the planet and provide information about factors that may have caused the climate to change, such as …


High-Resolution Paleoclimatology, Raymond S. Bradley Jan 2011

High-Resolution Paleoclimatology, Raymond S. Bradley

Raymond S Bradley

High resolution paleoclimatology involves studies of natural archives as proxies for past climate variations at a temporal scale that is comparable to that of instrumental data. In practice, this generally means annually resolved records, from tree rings, ice cores, banded corals, laminated speleothems and varved sediments. New analytical techniques offer many unexplored avenues of research in high resolution paleoclimatology. However, critical issues involving accuracy of the chronology, reproducibility of the record, frequency response to forcing and other factors, and calibration of the proxies remain. Studies of proxies at high resolution provide opportunities to examine the frequency and magnitude of extreme …


A Multi-Proxy Approach To Assessing Isolation Basin Stratigraphy From The Lofoten Islands, Norway, Nicholas L. Balascio, Zhaohui Zhang, Raymond S. Bradley, Bianca B. Perren, Svein-Olaf Dahl, Jostein Bakke Jan 2011

A Multi-Proxy Approach To Assessing Isolation Basin Stratigraphy From The Lofoten Islands, Norway, Nicholas L. Balascio, Zhaohui Zhang, Raymond S. Bradley, Bianca B. Perren, Svein-Olaf Dahl, Jostein Bakke

Raymond S Bradley

This study takes a comprehensive approach to characterizing the isolation sequence of Heimerdalsvatnet, a coastal lake in the Lofoten Islands, northern Norway. We use established methods and explore new techniques to assess changes in marine influence. Bathymetric and sub-bottom profiles were acquired to examine basin-wide sedimentation and a 5.8 m sediment core spanning the last 7800 cal yr BP was analyzed. We measured magnetic susceptibility, bulk organic matter properties, molecular biomarkers, diatom assemblages, and elemental profiles acquired by scanning X-ray fluorescence. These characteristics of the sediment reflect detailed changes in salinity and water column conditions as the lake was progressively …


Changes In Extreme Climate Indices For The Northeastern United States, 1870-2006, Paula J. Brown, Raymond S. Bradley, Frank T. Keimig Jan 2010

Changes In Extreme Climate Indices For The Northeastern United States, 1870-2006, Paula J. Brown, Raymond S. Bradley, Frank T. Keimig

Raymond S Bradley

The northeastern United States is one of the most variable climates in the world, and how climate extremes are changing is critical to populations, industries, and the environment in this region.Along-term (1870–2005) temperature and precipitation dataset was compiled for the northeastern United States to assess how the climate has changed. Adjustments were made to daily temperatures to account for changes in mean, variance, and skewness resulting from inhomogeneities, but precipitation data were not adjusted. Trends in 17 temperature and 10 precipitation indices at 40 stations were evaluated over three time periods—1893–2005, 1893– 1950, and 1951–2005—and over 1870–2005 for a subset …


The Younger Dryas And The Sea Of Ancient Ice, Raymond S. Bradley, John H. England Jan 2008

The Younger Dryas And The Sea Of Ancient Ice, Raymond S. Bradley, John H. England

Raymond S Bradley

We propose that prior to the Younger Dryas period, the Arctic Ocean supported extremely thick multi-year fast ice overlain by superimposed ice and firn. We re-introduce the historical term paleocrystic ice to describe this. The ice was independent of continental (glacier) ice and formed a massive floating body trapped within the almost closed Arctic Basin, when sea-level was lower during the last glacial maximum. As sea-level rose and the Barents Sea Shelf became deglaciated, the volume of warm Atlantic water entering the Arctic Ocean increased, as did the corresponding egress, driving the paleocrystic ice towards Fram Strait. New evidence shows …


Threats To Water Supplies In The Tropical Andes, Raymond S. Bradley, Mathias Vuille, Henry F. Diaz, Walter Vergara Jan 2006

Threats To Water Supplies In The Tropical Andes, Raymond S. Bradley, Mathias Vuille, Henry F. Diaz, Walter Vergara

Raymond S Bradley

Climate models predict that greenhouse warming will cause temperatures to rise faster at higher than at lower altitudes. In the tropical Andes, glaciers may soon disappear, with potentially grave consequences for water supplies.