title: A preliminary reconstruction (A.D. 1635-2000) of spring precipitation using oak tree rings in the western Black Sea region of Turkey.
abstract: Tree-ring data for Turkey are crucial to the understanding of the climatological effect of drought and rainfall from one era to the next. To this end, the present study reconstructed precipitation patterns in the western Black Sea region of Turkey. Tree-ring widths of oak trees were used to reconstruct March-June precipitation patterns for the years A.D. 1635-2000. According to the findings, during the past four centuries drought events in this region persisted for no more than 2 years, and extreme dry and wet events occurred generally in 1-year intervals. Historical records of droughts in Anatolia and neighboring countries corroborate the data furnished by tree-ring widths to indicate that major droughts and famine events occurred in 1725, 1757, 1887, 1890-1891, 1893-1894 and 1927-1928.
authors.affiliation: Department of Forest Botany, Faculty of Forestry, Istanbul University, 34473 Bahceköy-Istanbul, Turkey. uakkemik@istanbul.edu.tr
authors.forename: Unal
authors.initials: U
authors.lastname: Akkemik
authors.forename: Nesibe
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Dağdeviren
authors.forename: Aliye
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Aras
mesh_terms: D002980:Climate; D049670:History, 17th Century; D049671:History, 18th Century; D049672:History, 19th Century; D049673:History, 20th Century; D029963:Quercus / Q000254:growth & development*; D011891:Rain; D012621:Seasons; D014421:Turkey