Testing the detectability of spatio–temporal climate transitions from paleoclimate networks with the START model


Contact
kira.rehfeld [ at ] awi.de

Abstract

A critical challenge in paleoclimate data analysis is the fact that the proxy data are heterogeneously distributed in space, which affects statistical methods that rely on spatial embedding of data. In the paleoclimate network approach nodes represent paleoclimate proxy time series, and links in the network are given by statistically significant similarities between them. Their location in space, proxy and archive type is coded in the node attributes. We develop a semi-empirical model for Spatio-Temporally AutocoRrelated Time series, inspired by the interplay of different Asian Summer Monsoon (ASM) systems. We use an ensemble of transition runs of this START model to test whether and how spatio–temporal climate transitions could be detectable from (paleo)climate networks. We sample model time series both on a grid and at locations at which paleoclimate data are available to investigate the effect of the spatially heterogeneous availability of data. Node betweenness centrality, averaged over the transition region, does not respond to the transition displayed by the START model, neither in the grid-based nor in the scattered sampling arrangement. The regionally defined measures of regional node degree and cross link ratio, however, are indicative of the changes in both scenarios, although the magnitude of the changes differs according to the sampling. We find that the START model is particularly suitable for pseudo-proxy experiments to test the technical reconstruction limits of paleoclimate data based on their location, and we conclude that (paleo)climate networks are suitable for investigating spatio–temporal transitions in the dependence structure of underlying climatic fields.



Item Type
Article
Authors
Divisions
Primary Division
Programs
Primary Topic
Publication Status
Published
Eprint ID
35815
DOI 10.5194/npg-21-691-2014

Cite as
Rehfeld, K. , Molkenthin, N. and Kurths, J. (2014): Testing the detectability of spatio–temporal climate transitions from paleoclimate networks with the START model , Nonlinear Processes in Geophysics, 21 (3), pp. 691-703 . doi: 10.5194/npg-21-691-2014


Download
[thumbnail of npg-21-691-2014.pdf]
Preview
PDF
npg-21-691-2014.pdf

Download (2MB) | Preview
Cite this document as:

Share
Add to AnyAdd to TwitterAdd to FacebookAdd to LinkedinAdd to PinterestAdd to Email


Citation

Geographical region

Research Platforms
N/A

Campaigns
N/A


Actions
Edit Item Edit Item