May Relative Humidity Reconstruction Based on Populus cathayana Ring-Width Chronology on the Eastern Tibetan Plateau, China

Le résumé fourni par la source

Long-term relative humidity (RH) variations on the Tibetan Plateau remain poorly understood due to the limited length of instrumental records. Here we developed a 160-year tree-ring width chronology from Populus cathayana on the eastern Tibetan Plateau. Based on climate-tree growth relationships between the tree growth of P. cathayana and current May relative humidity, we reconstructed May relative humidity for the past 146 years. The reconstruction reveals three drought periods (1874–1901, 1921–1932 and 2001–2011) and two wet periods (1902–1920 and 1955–2000). The RH reconstruction is highly consistent with other nearby tree-ring-based temperature and moisture records, suggesting our reconstruction represents large-scale relative humidity variability on the eastern Tibetan Plateau. Spectral analysis detected 2–5 years cycles, likely related to EI Nino–Southern Oscillation (ENSO) variability. Moreover, the reconstruction correlates significantly with the East Asian Summer Monsoon (EASM) index, indicating EASM’s influence on regional moisture transport. These findings highlight the role of ocean–atmosphere coupling in driving humidity variability on the eastern Tibetan Plateau. This study advances understanding of regional climate dynamics and provides a valuable proxy record for future climate change assessments.

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