Tree ring - derived Palmer Drought Severity Index (PDSI) time series have been widely used to estimate the spatial extent, duration, timing, and intensity of droughts from the past millennium across the American Southwest [31 — 37], but the amplitude and variance of hydroclimatic variability have received significantly less attention (but see [38]-RRB-. (journals.plos.org)
In this study, we demonstrate that the Little Ice Age (LIA, ~ 1400 — 1850 CE) might be more representative of future hydroclimatic variability than the conditions during the MCA megadroughts for the American Southwest, and thus provide a useful scenario for development of future water - resource management and drought and flood hazard mitigation strategies. (journals.plos.org)
Pairing these records enables scientists to infer past hydroclimatic variations under changing climatic states like the industrial period, the Little Ice Age, and the Last Interglacial. (eos.org)