Hf. Diaz et Rs. Pulwarty, AN ANALYSIS OF THE TIME SCALES OF VARIABILITY IN CENTURIES-LONG ENSO-SENSITIVE RECORDS IN THE LAST 1000 YEARS, Climatic change, 26(2-3), 1994, pp. 317-342
We document the characteristic time scales of variability for seven cl
imate indices whose time-dependent behavior is sensitive to some aspec
t of the El Nino/Southern Oscillation (ENSO). The ENSO sensitivity ari
ses from the location of these long-term records on the periphery of t
he Indian and Pacific Oceans. Three of the indices are derived princip
ally from historical sources, three others consist of tree-ring recons
tructions (one of summer temperature, and the other two of winter rain
fall), and one is an annual record of oxygen isotopic composition for
a high-elevation glacier in Peru. Five of the seven indices sample at
least portions of the Medieval Warm Period (approximately A.D. 950 to
1250). Time series spectral analysis was used to identify the major ti
me scales of variability among the different indices. We focus on two
principal time scales: a high frequency band (approximately 2-10 yr),
which comprises most of the variability found in the modem record of E
NSO activity, and a low frequency band to highlight variations on deca
dal to century time scales (11 < P < 150 yr). This last spectral band
contains variability on time scales that are of general interest with
respect to possible changes in large-scale air-sea exchanges. A techni
que called evolutive spectral analysis (ESA) is used to ascertain how
stable each spectral peak is in time. Coherence and phase spectra are
also calculated among the different indices over each full common peri
od, and following a 91-yr window through time to examine whether the r
elationships change. In general, spectral power on time scales of appr
oximately 2-6 yr is statistically significant and persists throughout
most of the time intervals sampled by the different indices. Assuming
that the ENSO phenomenon is the source of much of the variability at t
hese time scales, this indicates that ENSO has been an important part
of interannual climatic variations over broad areas of the circum-Paci
fic region throughout the last millennium. Significant coherence value
s were found for El Nino and reconstructed Sierra Nevada winter precip
itation at approximately 2-4 yr throughout much of their common record
(late 1500s to present) and between 6 and 7 yr from the mid-18th to t
he early 20th century. At decadal time scales each record generally te
nds to exhibit significant spectral power over different periods at di
fferent times. Both the Quelccaya Ice Cap deltaO-18 series and the Qui
nn El Nino event record exhibit significant spectral power over freque
ncies approximately 35 to 45 yr; however, there is low coherence betwe
en these two series at those frequencies over their common record. The
Sierra Nevada winter rainfall reconstruction exhibits consistently st
rong variability at periods of approximately 30-60 yr.