Evidence of Long-Term NAO Influence on East-Central Europe Winter Precipitation from a Guano-Derived δ¹⁵N Record

Authors

Daniel M. Cleary, University of South FloridaFollow
Jonathan G. Wynn, University of South FloridaFollow
Monica Ionita, Alfred Wegener Institute for Polar and Marine Research
Ferenc L. Forray, Babes-Bolyai University, Cluj-Napoca, RomaniaFollow
Bogdan P. Onac, University of South FloridaFollow

Document Type

Article

Publication Date

2017

Digital Object Identifier (DOI)

https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-017-14488-5

Abstract

Currently there is a scarcity of paleo-records related to the North Atlantic Oscillation (NAO), particularly in East-Central Europe (ECE). Here we report δ¹⁵N analysis of guano from a cave in NW Romania with the intent of reconstructing past variation in ECE hydroclimate and examine NAO impacts on winter precipitation. We argue that the δ¹⁵N values of guano indicate that the nitrogen cycle is hydrologically controlled and the δ¹⁵N values likely reflect winter precipitation related to nitrogen mineralization prior to the growing season. Drier conditions indicated by δ¹⁵N values at AD 1848–1852 and AD 1880–1930 correspond to the positive phase of the NAO. The increased frequency of negative phases of the NAO between AD 1940–1975 is contemporaneous with higher δ¹⁵N values (wetter conditions). A 4‰ decrease in δ¹⁵N values at the end of the 1970’s corresponds to a strong reduction in precipitation associated with a shift from negative to positive phase of the NAO. Using the relationship between NAO index and δ¹⁵N values in guano for the instrumental period, we reconstructed NAO-like phases back to AD 1650. Our results advocate that δ¹⁵N values of guano offer a proxy of the NAO conditions in the more distant past, helping assess its predictability.

Rights Information

This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License.

Was this content written or created while at USF?

Yes

Citation / Publisher Attribution

Scientific Reports, v. 7, art. 14095

Scholar Commons Citation

Cleary, Daniel M.; Wynn, Jonathan G.; Ionita, Monica; Forray, Ferenc L.; and Onac, Bogdan P., "Evidence of Long-Term NAO Influence on East-Central Europe Winter Precipitation from a Guano-Derived δ¹⁵N Record" (2017). School of Geosciences Faculty and Staff Publications. 1923.
https://digitalcommons.usf.edu/geo_facpub/1923