Max Torbenson

Aug 16, 2024 | nature.com | Feng Chen |Max Torbenson

AbstractHistorians and paleoclimatologists have long studied the connection between ecoclimatic changes and empire growth, transformation, and decline, but striking cases remain rare. Here, we introduce a tree-ring chronology from southern China to reconstruct changes in April-to-November water balance of the middle reaches of the Yangtze River over the last 464 years.

May 14, 2024 | nature.com | Jan Esper |Max Torbenson

AbstractIncluding an exceptionally warm Northern Hemisphere summer1,2, 2023 has been reported as the hottest year on record3,4,5. However, contextualizing recent anthropogenic warming against past natural variability is challenging because the sparse meteorological records from the nineteenth century tend to overestimate temperatures6.

Dec 3, 2023 | nature.com | James H. Stagge |Max Torbenson |Kyungmin Sung |Benjamin Phillips

AbstractA large proportion of western North America experiences regular water stress, compounded by high seasonal and interannual variability. In the Intermountain West region, the El Niño/Southern Oscillation (ENSO) is a critical control on winter precipitation, but the nature of this signal is entangled with a combination of orographic effects and long-term climate trends.