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Spring temperatures in the far-western Nepal Himalaya since AD 1640 reconstructed from Picea smithiana tree-ring widths

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Abstract

We developed a new, 422-year long tree-ring width chronology (spanning AD 1591–2012) from Picea smithiana (Wall.) Boiss in Khaptad National Park, which is located in the far-western Nepalese Himalaya. Seasonal correlation analysis revealed significant indirect relationship with spring temperature and lead to the reconstruction of March–May average temperature for the past 373 years (AD 1640–2012). The reconstruction was found significant based on validation statistics commonly used in tree-ring based climate reconstruction. Furthermore, it was validated through spatial correlation with gridded temperature data. This temperature reconstruction identified several periods of warming and cooling. The reconstruction did not show the significant pattern of cooling during the Little Ice Age but there were few cold episodes recorded. The spring temperature revealed relationship with different Sea Surface Temperature index over the equatorial Pacific Ocean, which showed linkages with climatic variability in a global scale.

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Acknowledgments

The authors express their gratitude to the Department of National Park and Wildlife Conservation and Khaptad National Park for providing permission to carry out this study. We thank Prof. Sunil Bajpai for permission to publish this work (vide: BSIP/RDCC/Publication No. 21/2014-15) and for providing permission and infrastructure to conduct sample analysis. Udya Kuwar Thapa was supported by the Institute of Social and Environmental Transition-Nepal and GoldenGate International College with an education grant. Udya also thank Mr. Ganesh S. Thangunna for assisting him during sample collection. The Department of Hydrology and Meteorology of Nepal provided meteorological data. The authors are indebted to two anonymous reviewers for their critical comments and valuable suggestions to improve this manuscript. Authors are indebted to Dr. Scott St George, Department of Geography, Environment and Society, University of Minnesota, Minneapolis, MN, USA, for improving the final manuscript with his comments and suggestions.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Environmental Science, GoldenGate International College, Kathmandu, Nepal

    Udya Kuwar Thapa

  2. Department of Geography, Environment and Society, University of Minnesota, Minneapolis, MN, 55455, USA

    Udya Kuwar Thapa

  3. Birbal Sahni Institute of Palaeobotany, Lucknow, India

    Santosh K. Shah

  4. Nepal Academy of Science and Technology, Lalitpur, Nepal

    Narayan Prasad Gaire

  5. Central Department of Environmental Science, Tribhuvan University, Kirtipur, Kathmandu, Nepal

    Narayan Prasad Gaire & Dinesh Raj Bhuju

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  1. Udya Kuwar Thapa
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Correspondence to Santosh K. Shah.

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Thapa, U.K., Shah, S.K., Gaire, N.P. et al. Spring temperatures in the far-western Nepal Himalaya since AD 1640 reconstructed from Picea smithiana tree-ring widths. Clim Dyn 45, 2069–2081 (2015). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00382-014-2457-1

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