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European climate variations over the past half‐millennium reconstructed from groundwater
Author(s) -
Corcho Alvarado J. A.,
Barbecot F.,
Purtschert R.,
Gillon M.,
AeschbachHertig W.,
Kipfer R.
Publication year - 2009
Publication title -
geophysical research letters
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 2.007
H-Index - 273
eISSN - 1944-8007
pISSN - 0094-8276
DOI - 10.1029/2009gl038826
Subject(s) - groundwater recharge , groundwater , water table , aquifer , seasonality , environmental science , climatology , climate change , global warming , hydrology (agriculture) , geology , atmospheric sciences , physical geography , geography , oceanography , statistics , geotechnical engineering , mathematics
Temperature reconstructions for recent centuries are the basis of estimations of the natural variability in the climate system before and during the onset of anthropogenic perturbation. Here we present, for the first time, an independent and physically based reconstruction of mean annual temperature over the past half millennium obtained from groundwater in France. The reconstructed noble gas temperature (NGT) record suggests cooler than present climate conditions throughout the 16th–19th centuries. Periods of warming occur in the 17th–18th and 20th century, while cooling is reconstructed in the 19th century. A noticeable coincidence with other temperature records is demonstrated. Deuterium excess varies in parallel with the NGT, and indicates variation in the seasonality of the aquifer recharge; whereas high excess air in groundwater indicates periods with high oscillations of the water table.