The temporal variability of the Indian monsoon penetrating through the Himalayan range and into the southern Tibetan Plateau is poorly understood. Intermittent ingress of wet monsoon air masses into the otherwise arid and deserted landscapes beyond the orographic barrier can have consequences for erosion and flooding, as well as for water availability. Furthermore, the latitudinal rainfall distribution across the mountain range is crucial to better understand the hydrological cycles of rivers originating there.
Because instrumental measurements are rare in the High Himalayas and on the Plateau, hydro-climatic sensitive proxies, such as oxygen stable isotope ratios in cellulose of tree-rings, are a valuable source of data covering decades to centuries. To cope with the lack of direct measurements, we strive to reconstruct a record of intense monsoon years based on tree-ring isotope (18O) chronologies along a latitudinal gradient. Thus, we need to answer whether water availability is the main driver of tree growth in the trans-Himalayan region and how dendro-isotopic data relate to seasonal precipitation inputs and sources.
Doktorandin
- Camilla F. Brunello
Betreuer
- Christoff Andermann
- Niels Hovius
- Francesco Comiti (Free University of Bozen-Bolzano, Italy)
Partner
- Gerhard Helle (Klimadynamik und Landschaftsentwicklung)
- Giustino Tonon (Free University of Bozen-Bolzano, Italy)
