This project examines the natural patterns of hydroclimate variability in the Mediterranean Basin using tree-rings, historical and paleo climate data, and modeling. The researchers will use a spatially intense multi-century to millennial-length gridded reconstruction of hydroclimate variability from North Africa to create a Mediterranean Basin Drought Atlas (MBDA) which would be compatible with similar atlases for other areas of the Northern Hemisphere. The analysis of climatic and paleoclimatic data will help identify potential linkages of Mediterranean climate variability with large-scale patterns of atmospheric and oceanic variability.
The broader impacts include international collaboration and outreach, the creation of the MBDA for the wider science community, and research of relevance to water supply issues.
