High-Resolution Paleoclimatic Records from Tree Rings in the Soudan Sahel of West Africa

该奖项有助于资助西非苏丹萨赫勒地区200年树木年轮年表的编制，以此重建这一时期降雨量的变化。这项研究将有助于产生自公元1800年以来萨赫勒地区历史干旱的记录。 研究的前提是，西非萨赫勒地区从20世纪50年代和60年代的潮湿条件到随后30年的干燥条件的变化代表了一个强烈的年代际信号。 然而，目前尚不清楚持续的数十年气候变异是否是一个反复出现的特征，或者干旱是否是该区域气候动态中的一个新现象。 这项研究将通过重建西非近代气候史的一个方面，提供一个更长远的视角，从一个气候和社会相互作用的地区了解当代和历史气候模式和过程。

This awards helps fund the development of a 200-year tree-ring chronology for the Sudan Sahel of West Africa as a means to reconstruct rainfall variability over the time period. This research will help produce a record of historical drought from the Sahel since 1800 AD. The premise of the research is that the change from wet conditions in the 1950's and 1960's to drier conditions in the three decades following over the West African Sahel represents a strong inter-decadal signal. It is unclear, however, whether persistent multi-decadal climatic variability is a recurring feature or if drought represents a new phenomenon in the climate dynamics of the region. This research will, by reconstructing one aspect of West African recent climate history, provide a longer perspective about contemporary and historical climatic patterns and processes from a region in which climate and society interact with deadly results.