Tree ring data show unusual summer droughts

Evidence of unusual drought conditions in Europe in recent years. (Image: Pixabay CC0) - Researchers have used tree-ring isotope data to prove that summer droughts in some parts of Europe in recent years have been very unusual compared to past centuries. To this end, scientists - including some from Freie Universität Berlin - have applied a new measurement method based on isotope data. The associated study, entitled "European tree-ring isotopes indicate unusual recent hydroclimate," has now been published in the renowned journal Nature Communications Earth and Environment. In recent decades, floods and droughts have occurred more frequently in Europe. However, little was previously known about past, long-term, hydroclimatic changes in the region. Now, a research team has created a climate field reconstruction covering the entire European continent based on stable isotope data from tree rings.