TY - JOUR
T1 - Deciphering recent climate change in central Mexican lake records
AU - Metcalfe, Sarah
AU - Davies, Sarah J.
N1 - Metcalfe, S., Davies, S. (2007). Deciphering recent climate change in central Mexican lake records. Climatic Change, 83(1-2), 169-186.
PY - 2007/7/4
Y1 - 2007/7/4
N2 - Central Mexico contains a large number of lake basins offering opportunities for
climatic reconstruction. The area has, however, also been the focus for human settlement
since the time of the earliest occupation of the Americas, as well as being subject to tectonic
and volcanic activity. A number of methodological issues arise including the susceptibility of
common palaeoecological proxies (pollen, diatoms) to multiple forcing factors and problems
of obtaining reliable chronologies. Published lake records indicate that the last 1,500 years
have been marked by strong climatic variability, superimposed on continuing high levels of
anthropogenic impact. Dry conditions, probably the driest of the Holocene, are recorded over
the period 1400 to 800 14C yr BP (ca. AD 700–1200). Climatic change over the last 1,000
years is not well represented, but there are indications of drier conditions corresponding to
the ‘Little Ice Age’ of mid- to high latitudes. A range of mechanisms (e.g. solar cycles, ENSO
variability) have been proposed to explain climatic variability over the last 1,500 years, but
current lake records are inadequate to test these. The developing dendroclimatology for the
Mexican highlands and the rich historical archives of the Hispanic period (from AD 1521)
offer new opportunities and challenges to palaeolimnologists.
AB - Central Mexico contains a large number of lake basins offering opportunities for
climatic reconstruction. The area has, however, also been the focus for human settlement
since the time of the earliest occupation of the Americas, as well as being subject to tectonic
and volcanic activity. A number of methodological issues arise including the susceptibility of
common palaeoecological proxies (pollen, diatoms) to multiple forcing factors and problems
of obtaining reliable chronologies. Published lake records indicate that the last 1,500 years
have been marked by strong climatic variability, superimposed on continuing high levels of
anthropogenic impact. Dry conditions, probably the driest of the Holocene, are recorded over
the period 1400 to 800 14C yr BP (ca. AD 700–1200). Climatic change over the last 1,000
years is not well represented, but there are indications of drier conditions corresponding to
the ‘Little Ice Age’ of mid- to high latitudes. A range of mechanisms (e.g. solar cycles, ENSO
variability) have been proposed to explain climatic variability over the last 1,500 years, but
current lake records are inadequate to test these. The developing dendroclimatology for the
Mexican highlands and the rich historical archives of the Hispanic period (from AD 1521)
offer new opportunities and challenges to palaeolimnologists.
U2 - 10.1007/s10584-006-9152-0
DO - 10.1007/s10584-006-9152-0
M3 - Article
SN - 0165-0009
VL - 83
SP - 169
EP - 186
JO - Climatic Change
JF - Climatic Change
IS - 1-2
ER -