Southern Hemisphere Climate Reconstructions from Proxy Data, 1900-2005

Four annually resolved reconstructions of zonal surface wind, sea level pressure, and surface temperature anomalies for the Southern Hemisphere from 1900 to 2005 CE. The reconstructions were generated by Gemma K. O’Connor of the University of Washington using the Last Millennium Reanalysis data assimilation framework, assimilating proxy records from the PAGES2k database, ice cores, and corals. Each reconstruction is based on a different climate model prior and provides ensemble means across 100 members.

Use Cases

• Analyze long-term trends in Southern Hemisphere surface temperature anomalies based on the 106-year reconstruction period.
• Study interannual variability in zonal surface winds based on proxy-data assimilation.
• Compare climate model performance in historical reconstructions based on the four different model priors used.
• Investigate sea level pressure patterns in the Southern Hemisphere based on annually resolved data.

Strengths

• Provides four distinct reconstructions based on different climate model priors, allowing for comparison.
• Covers a 106-year period (1900-2005) with annual resolution for three key climate variables.
• Assimilates proxy data from multiple sources, including the PAGES2k database, ice cores, and corals.
• Each reconstruction is an ensemble mean derived from 100 ensemble members.

Limitations

• Column-level documentation is absent; field semantics must be inferred after download.
• Row count is unknown, which may limit suitability assessment for some analyses.
• Last update date is unknown; freshness unverified.

Provenance

Source

University of Washington, generated using the Last Millennium Reanalysis framework.

Collection Method

Data assimilation of proxy records from the PAGES2k database, ice cores, and corals into four climate model priors.

Time Range

1900 to 2005 CE, with an anomaly reference period of 1961-1990.

Geography

Southern Hemisphere