Daily rainfall along the United States Pacific Coast appears to conform to a square-root normal probability distribution

EXTRACT (SEE PDF FOR FULL ABSTRACT): As part of a study of climatic influences on landslide initiation, a statistical analysis of long-term (>40 years) records of daily rainfall from 24 Pacific coastal stations, from San Diego to Cape Flattery, disclosed an unexpected result - the square root of the daily rainfall closely approximates a normal distribution function. ... This paper illustrates the use of the square-root-normal distribution to analyze variations in precipitation along the mainland United States Pacific Coast with examples of orographic enhancement, rain shadows, and increase in precipitation frequency with geographic latitude.

Quantifying global terrestrial carbon influx and storage as stimulated by an increase in atmospheric carbon dioxide concentration

EXTRACT (SEE PDF FOR FULL ABSTRACT): Measurements of spatial and temporal distributions of carbon dioxide concentration and carbon-13/carbon-12 ratio in the atmosphere suggest a strong biospheric carbon sink in terrestrial ecosystems. Quantifying the sink, however, has become an enormous challenge for Earth system scientists because of great uncertainties associated with biological variation and environmental heterogeneity in the ecosystems. This paper presents an approach that uses two driving parameters to bound terrestrial carbon sequestration associated with an increase in carbon dioxide concentration.

The near-AD 1600 multi-proxy puzzle

EXTRACT (SEE PDF FOR FULL ABSTRACT): A varve chronology with annual resolution (AD 1117-1992) has been developed recently for Santa Barbara Basin. Varve thickness and water content show an exponential trend consistent with expected patterns in the presence of sediment compaction over time. Annual varve thickness was decomposed into orthogonal components using singular spectrum analysis (SSA) to identify and retrieve inter-decadal oscillations. ... This suggests a connection with global-scale decadal cycles identified in the subtropical Pacific gyre circulation and, possibly, with solar-driven phenomena. The near-1600 AD event coincides with (a) a similarly sudden change of state in nearby Santa Monica Basin that triggered the onset of anoxic conditions and the preservation of laminated sediments, (b) an extreme drought over the American Southwest, (c) a transformation of the age structure in a number of forest populations throughout Arizona and New Mexico. Total organic carbon burial flux in Santa Barbara Basin varves also shows a marked change after AD 1600. A possible climatic link is proposed that involves pathways for moisture transport in the Southwest at decadal and longer time scales.

Proceedings of the Thirteenth Annual Pacific Climate (PACLIM) Workshop, Asilomar, California - April 14-17, 1996 [abstracts]

Abstracts of 24 oral presentations and 25 poster presentations.

Proceedings of the Thirteenth Annual Pacific Climate (PACLIM) Workshop, Asilomar, California - April 14-17, 1996 [appendices]

The appendices include the workshop agenda, a list of poster presentations, and a list of attendees.