High Elevation Tree Rings and Climate in the North American Tropics

这是一项利用来自墨西哥和中美洲最高山脉的树木年轮记录来发展北美热带气候变化长期视角的建议。本文将探讨以下问题：(1)北美热带地区气候变化的年轮记录是什么？(2)林木线生长是ENSO调制还是年代际调制？(3)北美季风的主要变率模态能否从树木年代学记录中得到？(4)热带和/或温带火山喷发是否反映在高海拔树木年轮特征中？将在墨西哥内华达德科利马海拔约3600米的地方进行每日天气和树木生长的密集监测，以量化生长季节长度和树木气候关系。将在墨西哥中部和南部对几个树带界线地点进行取样，并将对中美洲最高的山脉进行实地考察。由此产生的树木年轮年表网络将根据仪器和历史记录进行校准，以重建大规模的气候特征。

This is a proposal to develop a long-term perspective on climate variability in the North American tropics using tree-ring records from the highest mountains in Mexico and Central America. The following questions will be addressed: (1) what is the tree-ring record of climate change in tropical North America?; (2) is ENSO or decadal-scale modulation represented in treeline growth?; (3) can the major modes of variability in the North American monsoon be retrieved from dendrochronological records?; (4) are tropical and/or extratropical volcanic eruptions reflected in high-elevation tree-ring features? Intensive monitoring of daily weather and tree growth will be performed at about 3600 m elevation on Nevado de Colima, Mexico, to quantify growing season length and dendroclimatic relationships. Several timberline sites will be sampled in central and southern Mexico, and exploratory field trips will be made to the highest mountains of Central America. The resulting network of tree-ring chronologies will be calibrated against instrumental and historical records to reconstruct large-scale features of climate.