# Guatemala 300 Year Documentary Hydrological Records #----------------------------------------------------------------------- # World Data Service for Paleoclimatology, Boulder # and # NOAA Paleoclimatology Program # National Centers for Environmental Information (NCEI) #----------------------------------------------------------------------- # Template Version 3.0 # Encoding: UTF-8 # NOTE: Please cite original publication, online resource and date accessed when using this data. # If there is no publication information, please cite Investigator, title, online resource and date accessed. # # Description/Documentation lines begin with # # Data lines have no # # # Online_Resource: https://www.ncdc.noaa.gov/paleo/study/22772 # Description: NOAA Landing Page # Online_Resource: http://www1.ncdc.noaa.gov/pub/data/paleo/historical/northamerica/guatemala/guatemala2017hydro.txt # Description: NOAA location of the template # # Original_Source_URL: # Description: # # Archive: Historical # # Dataset DOI: # # Parameter_Keywords: weather observation, document #--------------------------------------- # Contribution_Date # Date: 2017-10-06 #--------------------------------------- # File_Last_Modified_Date # Date: 2017-10-06 #--------------------------------------- # Title # Study_Name: Guatemala 300 Year Documentary Hydrological Records #--------------------------------------- # Investigators # Investigators: Guevara-Murua, A; Williams, C.A.; Hendy, E.J.; Imbach, P. #--------------------------------------- # Description_Notes_and_Keywords # Description: Hydrological conditions (Dry, Normal, Wet) interpreted from historical documentary evidence for the Guatemalan Pacific coastal region 1645-1944 AD. # Provided Keywords: Historical Climatology #--------------------------------------- # Publication # Authors: Alvaro Guevara-Murua, Caroline A. Williams, Erica J. Hendy, and Pablo Imbach # Published_Date_or_Year: 2017-03-17 # Published_Title: 300-years of hydrological records and societal responses to droughts and floods on the Pacific coast of Central America # Journal_Name: Climate of the Past Discussions # Volume: # Edition: # Issue: # Pages: # Report Number: # DOI: 10.5194/cp-2017-30 # Online_Resource: https://www.clim-past-discuss.net/cp-2017-30/ # Full_Citation: # Abstract: The management of hydrological extremes and impacts on society is inadequately understood because of the combination of short-term hydrological records, an equally short-term assessment of societal responses and the complex multi-directional relationships between the two over longer timescales. Rainfall seasonality and interannual variability on the Pacific coast of Central America is high due to the passage of the Inter Tropical Convergence Zone (ITCZ) and large-scale phenomena El Nino Southern Oscillation (ENSO). Here we reconstruct hydrological variability and the associated impacts drawing on documentary sources from the cities of Santiago de Guatemala (now Antigua Guatemala) and Guatemala de la Asuncion (now Guatemala City) over the period from 1640 to 1945. Near continuous records of city and municipal council meetings provide a rich source of information dating back to the beginning of Spanish colonisation in the 16thC. Beginning in 1640, we use almost continuous sources, including >190 volumes of Actas de Cabildo and Actas Municipales (minutes of meetings of the city and municipal councils) held by the Archivo HistOrico de la Municipalidad de Antigua Guatemala (AHMAG) and the Archivo General de Centro America (AGCA) in Guatemala City. For this 305-year period (with the exception of a total of 11 years where the books were either missing or damaged), information relating to Catholic rogation ceremonies and reports of flooding events and crop shortages, were used to classify the annual rainy season (May to October) on a 5 point scale from very wet to very dry. In total 12 years of very wet conditions, 25 years of wetter than usual conditions, 34 years of drier conditions and 21 years of very dry conditions were identified. An extended drier period from the 1640s to the 1740s was identified as well as two shorter periods (the 1820s and the 1840s) dominated by dry conditions. Wetter conditions dominated the 1760s-1810s, possibly coincident with reconstructions of more persistent La NiNa conditions that are typically associated with higher precipitation over the Pacific Coast of Central America. The 1640s-1740s dry period coincides with the onset of the Little Ice Age and the associated southward displacement of the ITCZ. #--------------------------------------- # Funding_Agency # Funding_Agency_Name: University of Bristol # Grant: postgraduate scholarship #--------------------------------------- # Funding_Agency # Funding_Agency_Name: RCUK # Grant: RCUK Academic Fellowship #--------------------------------------- # Funding_Agency # Funding_Agency_Name: La Caixa # Grant: La Caixa Scholarship #--------------------------------------- # Site Information # Site_Name: Guatemala City # Location: North America>Central America>Guatemala # Country: Guatemala # Northernmost_Latitude: 14.628434 # Southernmost_Latitude: 14.628434 # Easternmost_Longitude: -90.522713 # Westernmost_Longitude: -90.522713 # Elevation: 1520 m #--------------------------------------- # Data_Collection # Collection_Name: Guatemala2017Hydro # First_Year: 1645 # Last_Year: 1944 # Time_Unit: AD # Core_Length: # Notes: Yearly #--------------------------------------- # Chronology_Information # Chronology: #--------------------------------------- # Variables # Data variables follow that are preceded by "##" in columns one and two. # Variables list, one per line, shortname-tab-longname components (9 components: what, material, error, units, seasonality, archive, detail, method, C or N for Character or Numeric data) ## year_AD age,,,years AD,,,,,N, ## Hydro_Index Hydrological Index as plotted in Figure 4 Guevara et al. 2017 in press.,documentary,,,Rainy season (May to October) ,historical,,A five-point scale (from -2 for very dry to +2 for very wet) was developed to describe the hydrological characteristics of each year based on information from the wet season (May-October; accounting for >90% of the annual rainfall). Based on the information collected from the minutes of the meetings of the city and municipal councils (Actas de Cabildo and Actas Municipales) of Santiago de Guatemala (Antigua Guatemala) and Guatemala de la Asunción (Guatemala City); Claxton (1986,1998); and Pardo (1944).,N,Annual rainy season (May to October) ## E_Rogative Report of an early rogative (April - May),documentary,,,May,historical,Y = Yes a Rogative was held in this year,Reports of early rogatives were identified from the minutes of the meetings of the city and municipal councils (Actas de Cabildo and Actas Municipales) of Santiago de Guatemala (Antigua Guatemala) and Guatemala de la Asunción (Guatemala City) ,C,An early Rogation ceremony was conducted in May concident with the start of the rainy season and is treated as an irregular and dryer start of this season. ## L_Rogative Report of a late rogative (in July August or September),documentary,,,July August September,historical,Y = Yes a Rogative was held in this year,Reports of late rogatives were identified from the minutes of the meetings of the city and municipal councils (Actas de Cabildo and Actas Municipales) of Santiago de Guatemala (Antigua Guatemala) and Guatemala de la Asunción (Guatemala City),C,A late Rogation ceremony to Our Lady of Socorro was carried out in the middle of the rainy season (July August or September) If the rainfall deficit was particularly severe. ## Shortages_Dr Reports of drought-related food shortages ,documentary,,,year,historical,Y = Yes; reports of drought-related food shortages,Shortages associated to droughts were identified from the minutes of the meetings of the city and municipal councils (Actas de Cabildo and Actas Municipales) of Santiago de Guatemala (Antigua Guatemala) and Guatemala de la Asunción (Guatemala City),C, ## Shortages_NR Reports of food shortages but no reason given in the Actas,documentary,,,year,historical,Y = Yes; reports of food shortages but no reason for the shortage given.,Shortages with an unspecified cause were identified from the minutes of the meetings of the city and municipal councils (Actas de Cabildo and Actas Municipales) of Santiago de Guatemala (Antigua Guatemala) and Guatemala de la Asunción (Guatemala City),C, ## Shortages_Rn Reports of food shortages ascribed to excessive rainfall,documentary,,,year,historical,Y = Yes; reports of excessive rain-related food shortages,Shortages associated to rain were identified from the minutes of the meetings of the city and municipal councils (Actas de Cabildo and Actas Municipales) of Santiago de Guatemala (Antigua Guatemala) and Guatemala de la Asunción (Guatemala City),C, ## Storms Reports of 'temporales' and excessive rainfall,documentary,,,year,historical,Y = Yes; report of 'temporales',Temporales were identified from the minutes of the meetings of the city and municipal councils (Actas de Cabildo and Actas Municipales) of Santiago de Guatemala (Antigua Guatemala) and Guatemala de la Asunción (Guatemala City),C,Most flooding events occurred during the late rainy season and especially in September and October ## Hydro_cond Number of entries reporting hydrological conditions used for reconstructing the hydrological index and transcribed,documentary,,,year,historical,Count of number of entries in documents,Confidence rating based on the number of entries transcribed from the minutes of the meetings of the city and municipal councils (Actas de Cabildo and Actas Municipales) of Santiago de Guatemala (Antigua Guatemala) and Guatemala de la Asunción (Guatemala City),N,Only those entries transcribed are considered in this study. However for certain events the Actas contain many more entries that have not been counted or transcribed. ## Hydro_notes Years with reports of hydrological information but not considered sufficiently detailed to enable classification of the year as wet or otherwise,documentary,,,year,historical,Y = Yes; hydrological information reported but not specific,Entries transcribed from the minutes of the meetings of the city and municipal councils (Actas de Cabildo and Actas Municipales) of Santiago de Guatemala (Antigua Guatemala) and Guatemala de la Asunción (Guatemala City) that contain hydrological information but not used for the hydrological index,C,These entries were not considered for reconstructing the hydrological index. ## Claxton_1986 Years reconstructed by using the different sources used by the following study: Claxton R.H.: Weather-based hazards in colonial Guatemala. Studies in the Social Sciences 25:139-163 1986.,documentary,,,year,historical,Source of hydrological information used by Claxton given,Additional information from Claxton (1986; 1998) used to reconstruct some of the years of the hydrological index where there was no information from the Actas; or it did not have enough detail to let us classify a year as Very Wet; Wet; Dry; Very Dry,C,This study was reviewed in 1998 (Claxton R. H.: Historia de la meteorología y los registros de sequías en Guatemala 1563-1925; Anales de la Academia de Geografía e Historia de Guatemala LXXIII 1998.) ## Pardo_1944 Years reconstructed by using the following study: Pardo J.J.: Efemerides para escribir la historia de la muy noble y muy leal ciudad de Santiago de los Caballeros del Reino de Guatemala. Tip. Nacional 1944.,documentary,,,year,historical,,Additional information from Pardo (1944) used to reconstruct the hydrological index where there was no information from the Actas or it or it did not have enough detail to let us classify a year as Very Wet; Wet; Dry; Very Dry,C,Study conducted in the AGCA. #------------------------ # Data # Data lines follow (have no #) # Data line format - tab-delimited text, variable short name as header # Missing Value: year_AD Hydro_Index E_Rogative L_Rogative Shortages_Dr Shortages_NR Shortages_Rn Storms Hydro_cond Hydro_notes Claxton_1986 Pardo_1944 1640 0 1641 0 1642 0 1643 0 1644 0 1645 -2 Y Y 2 1646 0 1647 0 1648 0 1649 0 1650 -2 Y Y 1 1651 0 1652 1 Y 1 1653 0 1654 0 1655 -2 Y 1 1656 0 1657 0 1658 0 1659 0 1660 -2 Y 1 1661 -1 Y 1 1662 0 1663 0 1664 0 1665 0 1666 -1 Y 1 1667 0 1668 0 1669 -1 Y Y 1 1670 0 1671 0 1672 0 1673 0 1674 0 1675 0 1676 0 1677 0 1678 -1 Y 1 1679 0 1680 0 1681 0 1682 -1 Y 1 1683 0 1684 0 1685 2 1 1686 -2 Y Y 1 1687 0 1688 2 4 1689 0 1690 -1 Y Y 1 1691 -2 Y Y 1 1692 0 Y 1693 1 1 1694 -1 Y 1 Tributos 1695 0 1696 -2 Y Y 2 1697 2 1698 0 1699 -2 Y Y 1 1700 0 1701 -1 Y Y 1 1702 0 1703 0 Y 1704 0 1705 0 1706 0 1707 0 1708 0 1709 -1 Y Y 1 1710 -1 Y 1 1711 0 1712 0 1713 0 1714 -1 Y 2 1715 0 1716 0 1717 0 1718 -2 Y 1 1719 0 1 1720 -2 Y 1 1721 -2 Y 2 1722 -1 Y 1 1723 -1 Y 1 1724 0 1725 0 1726 -1 Y 1 1727 1 1 1728 0 1729 0 Y 1730 0 1731 0 1732 -1 1 1733 -1 Y 1 1734 -2 Y Y 1 1735 0 1736 -2 Y Y 2 1737 0 1738 0 1739 -2 Y Y 1 1740 0 Y 1741 0 1742 0 1743 0 1744 0 1745 0 1746 -2 Y Y 2 1747 -1 Y 1 Y 1748 -2 Y 4 1749 2 Y 2 1750 0 Y 1751 0 1752 -1 Y 3 Y 1753 0 1754 0 1755 0 Y 1756 1 Y 1 AGCA; Not Specified 1757 0 1758 0 1759 0 1760 0 Y 1761 0 1762 2 1 1763 0 1764 0 1765 1 2 1766 0 Y 1767 0 1768 0 1769 0 1770 0 1771 0 1772 0 1773 1 Y 1 1774 0 1775 0 1776 -999 1777 0 Y 1778 0 1779 0 1780 1 3 1781 0 1782 -999 1783 2 Y 1 1784 1 2 1785 -999 1786 -999 1787 0 1788 0 1789 0 Y 1790 0 1791 0 1792 2 2 1793 0 1794 1 2 1795 0 1796 -2 Y Y 1 1797 -999 1798 -999 1799 0 1800 0 1801 0 1802 0 1803 -1 Y 2 Tributos 1804 0 1805 0 1806 0 1807 1 Y 2 1808 0 1809 0 1810 -1 Y 2 Abastos 1811 0 1812 0 1813 1 2 1814 0 1815 0 1816 2 Y 1 1817 1 1 1818 0 1819 1 1 1820 0 1821 -2 Y Y 1 1822 -2 Y Y 1823 0 1824 -1 1 1825 0 Y 1826 0 1827 1 1828 0 1829 -1 1 1830 -999 1831 0 Y 1832 0 1833 0 Y 1834 0 1835 0 1836 0 1837 0 1838 0 1839 0 1840 -2 Y 1 1841 0 1842 0 1843 -1 1 Gaceta de Guatemala 1844 -1 1 Gaceta de Guatemala 1845 0 1846 2 1 1847 0 1848 0 Y 1849 0 1850 0 1851 0 1852 1 1 1853 0 1854 0 1855 -999 1856 0 1857 0 1858 -999 1859 0 1860 -1 Y 1 Gaceta de Guatemala 1861 -999 1862 -999 1863 0 1864 0 1865 1 1866 0 1867 1 1 1868 -1 Gaceta de Guatemala 1869 0 1870 0 1871 0 Y 1872 0 1873 0 1874 1 4 1875 0 1876 0 1877 0 1878 2 2 1879 0 1880 0 1881 0 1882 0 1883 0 1884 0 1885 -1 1 El Guatemalteco 1886 0 1887 0 1888 -1 1 El Guatemalteco 1889 0 1890 0 1891 -1 1 El Guatemalteco 1892 0 1893 0 Y 1894 0 1895 -1 1 El Guatemalteco 1896 1 1 1897 2 3 1898 0 1899 -1 1 El Guatemalteco 1900 0 1901 0 1902 0 1903 1 1 1904 0 1905 0 1906 0 Y 1907 0 1908 0 1909 1 1 1910 0 1 Y 1911 1 1 1912 -1 1 El Guatemalteco 1913 0 1914 -2 Y 1 1915 0 1916 0 1917 0 1918 0 1919 0 1920 -1 1 Diario de Centroamerica 1921 1 3 1922 -1 1 Ministerio de Agricultura 1923 1 Y 1 1924 0 1925 0 1926 0 1927 0 1928 0 1929 0 1930 0 1931 0 1932 0 Y 1933 2 1 1934 0 Y 1935 0 1936 0 1937 0 1938 0 Y 1939 0 1940 0 1941 0 1942 0 1943 0 1944 1 1 1945 0