# Therrell et al. 2006 Zimbabwe Summer Precipitation Reconstruction #---------------------------------------------------- # World Data Service for Paleoclimatology, Boulder # and # NOAA Paleoclimatology Program # National Centers for Environmental Information (NCEI) #---------------------------------------------------- # Template Version 4.0 # Encoding: UTF-8 # NOTE: Please cite original publication, NOAA Landing Page URL, dataset and publication DOIs (where available), and date accessed when using downloaded data. If there is no publication information, please cite investigator, study title, NOAA Landing Page URL, and date accessed. # # Description/Documentation lines begin with # # Data lines have no # # # NOAA_Landing_Page: https://www.ncei.noaa.gov/access/paleo-search/study/6297 # Landing_Page_Description: NOAA Landing Page of this file's parent study, which includes all study metadata. # # Study_Level_JSON_Metadata: https://www.ncei.noaa.gov/pub/data/metadata/published/paleo/json/noaa-recon-6297.json # Study_Level_JSON_Description: JSON metadata of this data file's parent study, which includes all study metadata. # # Data_Type: Climate Reconstructions # # Dataset_DOI: 10.25921/ztvm-tn34 # # Science_Keywords: Precipitation Reconstruction #-------------------- # Resource_Links # # Data_Download_Resource: https://www.ncei.noaa.gov/pub/data/paleo/treering/reconstructions/africa/zimbabwe-precip2006-noaa.txt # Data_Download_Description: NOAA Template File; Zimbabwe November-February Precipitation Reconstruction # # Related_Online_Resource: https://www.ncei.noaa.gov/pub/data/paleo/treering/reconstructions/africa/zimbabwe-precip2006-supp.txt # Related_Online_Description: Supplemental File; Raw Tree Ring Measurements # #-------------------- # Contribution_Date # Date: 2006-07-01 #-------------------- # File_Last_Modified_Date # Date: 2025-07-08 #-------------------- # Title # Study_Name: Therrell et al. 2006 Zimbabwe Summer Precipitation Reconstruction #-------------------- # Investigators # Investigators: Therrell, M.D.(https://orcid.org/0000-0002-9174-6005); Stahle, D.W.; Ries, L.P.; Shugart, H.H.(https://orcid.org/0000-0002-1766-8379) #-------------------- # Description_Notes_and_Keywords # Description: November-February Precipitation Reconstruction from residual Pterocarpus angolensis regional tree ring chronology, developed from samples from three tree-ring sites: MAT (19.00S, 27.00E, NA m), Matabeleland Province, Zimbabwe; MZO (18.333S, 27.666E, 1120m), Mzola Forest, Zimbabwe; SIK(18.542S, 26.933E, 1100m), Sikumi Forest, Zimbabwe. Reconstruction target is the November-February sum of the mean of 4 Hulme grid points, as obtained from 'gu23wld0098.dat' (Version 1.0) constructed and supplied by Dr. Mike Hulme at the Climatic Res. Unit, Univ. of East Anglia, Norwich, UK (Hulme's work been supported by the UK Dept. of Environment, Transport and the Regions, Contract EPG 1/1/85). Gridpoint locations: 17.50S, 26.25E; 20.00S, 26.25E; 17.50S, 30.00E; 20.00S, 30.00E. #-------------------- # Publication # Authors: Therrell, M.D., D.W. Stahle, L.P. Ries, and H.H. Shugart # Journal_Name: Climate Dynamics # Published_Title: Tree-ring reconstructed rainfall variability in Zimbabwe # Published_Date_or_Year: 2006 # Volume: 26 # Issue: # Pages: 677-685 # Report_Number: # DOI: 10.1007/s00382-005-0108-2 # Full_Citation: # Abstract: We present the first tree-ring reconstruction of rainfall in tropical Africa using a 200-year regional chronology based on samples of Pterocarpus angolensis from Zimbabwe. The regional chronology is significantly correlated with summer rainfall (November–February) from 1901 to 1948, and the derived reconstruction explains 46% of the instrumental rainfall variance during this period. The reconstruction is well correlated with indices of the El Niño-southern oscillation (ENSO), and national maize yields. An aridity trend in instrumental rainfall beginning in about 1960 is partially reproduced in the reconstruction, and similar trends are evident in the nineteenth century. A decadal-scale drought reconstructed from 1882 to 1896 matches the most severe sustained drought during the instrumental period (1989–1995), and is confirmed in part by documentary evidence. An even more severe drought is indicated from 1859 to 1868 in both the tree-ring and documentary data, but its true magnitude is uncertain. A 6-year wet period at the turn of the nineteenth century (1897–1902) exceeds any wet episode during the instrumental era. The reconstruction exhibits spectral power at ENSO, decadal and multi-decadal frequencies. Composite analysis of global sea surface temperature during unusually wet and dry years also suggests a linkage between reconstructed rainfall and ENSO. #-------------------- # Funding_Agency # Funding_Agency_Name: US National Science Foundation # Grant: ATM-0400713 #-------------------- # Funding_Agency # Funding_Agency_Name: US National Aeronautic and Space Administration (NASA) # Grant: NNG-04-GM71G #-------------------- # Site_Information # Site_Name: Zimbabwe # Location: Zimbabwe # Northernmost_Latitude: -16.25 # Southernmost_Latitude: -21.25 # Easternmost_Longitude: 31.875 # Westernmost_Longitude: 24.375 # Elevation_m: #-------------------- # Data_Collection # Collection_Name: Therrell2006 # First_Year: 1796 # Last_Year: 1996 # Time_Unit: CE # Core_Length_m: # Parameter_Keywords: reconstructions # Notes: #-------------------- # Chronology_Information # Chronology: #-------------------- # Variables # PaST_Thesaurus_Download_Resource: https://www.ncei.noaa.gov/access/paleo-search/skos/past-thesaurus.rdf # PaST_Thesaurus_Download_Description: Paleoenvironmental Standard Terms (PaST) Thesaurus terms, definitions, and relationships in SKOS format. # # Data variables follow that are preceded by '##' in columns one and two. # Variables list, one per line, shortname-tab-var components: what, material, error, units, seasonality, data type, detail, method, C or N for Character or Numeric data) # ## age_CE age,,,year Common Era,,climate reconstructions;tree ring;instrumental,,,N, ## Recon precipitation,,,millimeter,Nov-Feb,climate reconstructions;tree ring,,,N, ## Obs precipitation,,,millimeter,Nov-Feb,instrumental,,,N,Sum of mean observed Nov-Feb precipitation at 4 Hulme gridpoints #-------------------- # Data: # Data lines follow (have no #) # Data line format - tab-delimited text, variable short name as header # Missing_Values: age_CE Recon Obs 1796 521.50 NA 1797 626.39 NA 1798 355.02 NA 1799 508.77 NA 1800 491.94 NA 1801 569.12 NA 1802 523.14 NA 1803 693.93 NA 1804 399.36 NA 1805 505.89 NA 1806 509.38 NA 1807 509.59 NA 1808 511.64 NA 1809 508.15 NA 1810 525.60 NA 1811 459.50 NA 1812 432.82 NA 1813 588.62 NA 1814 522.32 NA 1815 394.84 NA 1816 458.48 NA 1817 450.88 NA 1818 604.63 NA 1819 553.72 NA 1820 419.68 NA 1821 505.89 NA 1822 436.92 NA 1823 493.17 NA 1824 464.43 NA 1825 546.33 NA 1826 582.67 NA 1827 510.62 NA 1828 554.96 NA 1829 661.08 NA 1830 686.13 NA 1831 411.88 NA 1832 614.90 NA 1833 664.98 NA 1834 543.05 NA 1835 597.45 NA 1836 656.16 NA 1837 443.90 NA 1838 605.66 NA 1839 411.26 NA 1840 531.96 NA 1841 435.28 NA 1842 417.83 NA 1843 462.38 NA 1844 514.93 NA 1845 463.20 NA 1846 455.60 NA 1847 455.81 NA 1848 601.96 NA 1849 544.28 NA 1850 472.02 NA 1851 492.55 NA 1852 552.70 NA 1853 558.65 NA 1854 561.93 NA 1855 514.93 NA 1856 365.69 NA 1857 508.15 NA 1858 538.74 NA 1859 492.14 NA 1860 394.43 NA 1861 472.23 NA 1862 441.23 NA 1863 505.89 NA 1864 432.82 NA 1865 411.67 NA 1866 480.85 NA 1867 468.53 NA 1868 440.62 NA 1869 510.62 NA 1870 453.96 NA 1871 568.30 NA 1872 477.57 NA 1873 569.12 NA 1874 546.74 NA 1875 449.85 NA 1876 461.97 NA 1877 476.54 NA 1878 522.93 NA 1879 512.05 NA 1880 531.96 NA 1881 588.83 NA 1882 412.90 NA 1883 489.47 NA 1884 475.10 NA 1885 404.90 NA 1886 467.10 NA 1887 458.27 NA 1888 455.19 NA 1889 511.23 NA 1890 555.16 NA 1891 510.41 NA 1892 438.36 NA 1893 439.80 NA 1894 558.65 NA 1895 415.98 NA 1896 457.45 NA 1897 573.02 NA 1898 642.61 NA 1899 611.41 NA 1900 648.97 NA 1901 625.98 585.78 1902 521.50 603.28 1903 363.02 353.33 1904 528.89 512.88 1905 534.63 437.30 1906 468.12 498.37 1907 448.83 566.08 1908 668.47 560.95 1909 628.85 614.17 1910 411.47 393.05 1911 661.70 567.20 1912 448.21 390.33 1913 382.11 388.30 1914 456.22 405.10 1915 662.52 819.78 1916 576.30 292.45 1917 530.12 443.25 1918 749.97 833.80 1919 545.10 639.13 1920 567.48 582.12 1921 510.00 504.05 1922 436.10 371.65 1923 456.01 571.83 1924 386.42 262.23 1925 590.26 803.88 1926 446.36 458.00 1927 421.73 475.13 1928 471.00 396.85 1929 566.66 618.37 1930 491.73 462.55 1931 529.50 431.12 1932 389.50 475.65 1933 517.60 502.90 1934 466.48 465.30 1935 596.01 533.22 1936 549.41 386.10 1937 524.99 536.03 1938 503.84 461.00 1939 551.88 705.10 1940 430.15 514.65 1941 381.50 582.20 1942 410.85 387.80 1943 474.90 453.27 1944 628.44 733.92 1945 368.36 352.92 1946 558.86 645.40 1947 366.31 288.35 1948 501.58 471.42 1949 407.16 350.92 1950 529.71 404.65 1951 503.43 399.83 1952 552.90 645.10 1953 561.52 681.22 1954 410.03 562.37 1955 599.50 802.03 1956 384.78 510.30 1957 499.74 503.12 1958 560.70 703.62 1959 499.12 506.63 1960 525.19 382.37 1961 691.05 532.08 1962 431.58 466.25 1963 535.25 711.55 1964 521.29 419.13 1965 497.68 468.80 1966 522.11 478.98 1967 648.77 545.20 1968 472.23 335.00 1969 610.58 450.05 1970 538.33 411.00 1971 553.93 547.10 1972 419.47 627.72 1973 474.69 300.85 1974 531.96 796.10 1975 552.08 683.80 1976 548.59 469.83 1977 421.32 487.08 1978 593.34 703.20 1979 446.36 418.05 1980 542.84 506.35 1981 625.98 701.12 1982 466.28 322.88 1983 367.54 291.85 1984 542.64 323.37 1985 542.23 565.85 1986 485.57 413.42 1987 465.66 315.70 1988 481.06 576.12 1989 546.33 491.70 1990 583.28 489.40 1991 583.08 421.70 1992 425.84 248.57 1993 483.72 471.63 1994 602.17 474.70 1995 401.82 330.35 1996 462.99 673.92