Split westerlies over Europe in the early Little Ice Age

Hsun-Ming Hu, Chuan-Chou Shen (), John C. H. Chiang, Valerie Trouet, Véronique Michel, Hsien-Chen Tsai, Patricia Valensi, Christoph Spötl, Elisabetta Starnini, Marta Zunino, Wei-Yi Chien, Wen-Hui Sung, Yu-Tang Chien, Ping Chang and Robert Korty
Additional contact information
Hsun-Ming Hu: National Taiwan University
Chuan-Chou Shen: National Taiwan University
John C. H. Chiang: University of California
Valerie Trouet: University of Arizona
Véronique Michel: Université Côte d’Azur, CNRS, CEPAM
Hsien-Chen Tsai: National Taiwan University
Patricia Valensi: HNHP, UMR 7194: CNRS-MNHN-UPVD
Christoph Spötl: University of Innsbruck
Elisabetta Starnini: University of Pisa
Marta Zunino: Toirano Cave, Piazzale D. Maineri 1
Wei-Yi Chien: National Taiwan University
Wen-Hui Sung: National Taiwan University
Yu-Tang Chien: National Science and Technology Center for Disaster Reduction
Ping Chang: Texas A&M University
Robert Korty: Texas A&M University

Nature Communications, 2022, vol. 13, issue 1, 1-7

Abstract: Abstract 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.

Date: 2022
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DOI: 10.1038/s41467-022-32654-w

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