Mongolian Climate Studies

Mongolian Climate Studies:
History of an Extreme Climate

Current Studies
Publications
Dendro Fieldweek 2000
Photo Gallery
Siberian Climate Studies
S.E. Asia Dendro
Coolio Mongolian Links
TREE-RING LAB HOMEPAGE
LAMONT-DOHERTY
COLUMBIA UNIVERSITY

Mini-Conference on
Mongolian Paleoclimatology and Environmental Research
Fall 2000

MATRIP: Mongolian-American Tree-RIng Project

MATRIP [pronounced /may-trip/] - a research collaboration between Mongolian and American scientists.

Mongolian Research Overview:

Mongolia possesses one of the most extreme continental climates in the world. Very little long-term climatic information is available for Mongolia. The dendroclimatic studies will determine:
1) if there is any evidence about climatic change in this relatively unknown, yet very important region

2) how it relates to larger-scale global changes.

We have initiated studies of Mongolian paleoclimate that includes temperature, precipitation and streamflow reconstructions. A map of Mongolia will give perspective on Mongolia's location within the Asiatic continent. [For a slightly better quality map, patience is required - >900K!]

Current Studies:
1) Central Mongolia surface temperatures for the past 1700 years.

This study shows unusual warming this century versus the previous 1000 years. It was published in Geophysical Research Letters in 2001 {see Publications below}.

2) An adaptation of a paper reporting the preliminary investigations of temperature and precipitation for central Mongolia is now available online.

3) Annual precipitation reconstruction from 1651 - 1996 for east-central Mongolia.

This study is currently in press. A picture of a typical tree at the site can be seen here!

4) Annual streamflow for the Kherlen River in eastern Mongolia.

This reconstruction (KRS) is currently in press. It was constructed using trees from the Urgun Nars and Zuun Mod [100 Trees] site.

Continuing Studies:

We have recently made collections from western Mongolia. An exciting discovery is the sampling of a Siberian larch over 700 years old. This tree was alive when Mongolia ruled much of the Asian continent under Khublai Khaan!

We will continue to build a network of tree-ring sites to further explore climate characteristics within the region of Mongolia.

Some publications about or using our Mongolian tree-ring work:
* = used MATRIP data

Selected Presentations:

  • Nachin, B., G.C. Jacoby, N. Pederson, R.D. DŐArrigo, B.M. Buckley, C. Dugarjav, R. Mijiddorj, Dendroclimatic studies in Mongolia: the MATRIP project. IntŐl. Conf. on Dendrochronology for the Third Millennium, Mendoza, Argentina April 2000.

  • Pederson, N., G.C. Jacoby, R.D. DŐArrigo, B. Nachin, D. Frank, B.M. Buckley, C. Dugarjav, R. Mijiddorj, Temperature fluctuations over the past 1000 years in western Mongolia. for International Conference on Dendrochronology for the Third Millennium, Mendoza, Argentina April 2000.

  • Pederson, N.: Climate Change from a Tree's Perspective. Fairbank Science Museum & Planetarium, St. Johnsbury, VT. Annual Weather Program Series. March 12, 1999.

  • Buckley, B, G. Jacoby, R. D'Arrigo, N. Pederson, Ch. Dugarjav, R. Mijiddorj, 1998. Recent tree-ring paleoclimate investigations in Mongolia, at School Seminars on Natural Sciences Methods and Applications, Ulaanbaatar, Mongolia, August, 1998.

  • Pederson, N., B. Buckley, G. Jacoby, R. D'Arrigo, Ch Dugarjav, R. Mijiddorj, 1998. Precipitation and streamflow in Mongolia based on tree-ring paleoclimate investigations, at School Seminars on Natural Sciences Methods and Applications, Ulaanbaatar, Mongolia, August, 1998.

  • Jacoby, G.C.: Principles of Dendroclimatology, Seminar at National University of Mongolia, Ulaanbaatar, August 1997.

  • Buckley, B.M.: Dendroclimatology in Australasia, Seminar at National University of Mongolia, Ulaanbaatar, August 1997.

  • Jacoby, G.C.: Dendrochronology in Mongolia, Seminar at the Institute of Biological Sciences, Mongolian Academy of Sciences, August 1997.

  • Jacoby, G.C.: Tree-Ring Studies in Mongolia, at the Science Planning Workshop for Mongolian-American Research Initiative, Seabrook, South Carolina, October, 1995.

Other Products:

28 sites have been sampled to date. One in particular, Sologotyin Davaa (SolDav; formerly called Tarvagatay Mts.), has been used by ourselves and others in reconstructions and analyses of large-scale to hemispheric temperature variations over the past four centuries.
Acknowledgements:

This material is based upon work supported by the National Science Foundation under Grant No. ATM98-09230 and by the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO)
Any opinions, findings and conclusions or recomendations expressed in this material are those of the authors(s) and do not neccessarily reflect the views of the National Science Foundation (NSF)


Tree-Ring Laboratory
LDEO of Columbia Univ.
Route 9W
Palisades, NY 10964
Voice: (845) 365-8517
Fax: (845) 365-8152

Last Updated: March, 2002 (Neil)