Tree-ring analysis of winter climate variability and ENSO in Mediterranean California

The feasibility of using tree-ring data as a proxy for regional precipitation and ENSO events in the Mediterranean region of California is explored. A transect of moisture-sensitive tree-ring sites, extending from southwestern to north-central California, documents regional patterns of winter precipitation and replicates the regional response to ENSO events in the 20th century. Proxy records of ENSO were used with the tree-ring data to examine precipitation/ENSO patterns in the 18and 19th centuries. Results suggest some temporal and spatial variability in the regional precipitation response to ENSO over the last three centuries.