| Ref ID: | 28646 |
|---|---|
| Ref Type: | Journal Article |
| Authors: | Buckley, Brendan M. Anchukaitis, Kevin J. Penny, Daniel Fletcher, Roland Cook, Edward R. Sano, Masaki Nam, Le Canh Wichienkeeo, Aroonrut Minh, Ton That Hong, Truong Mai |
| Title: | Climate as a contributing factor in the demise of Angkor, Cambodia |
| Date: | 2010 |
| Source: | PNAS |
| DOI: | 10.1073/pnas.0910827107 |
| Abstract: | The hydraulic city of Angkor, the capitol of the Khmer Empire in Cambodia, experienced decades-long drought interspersed with intense monsoons in the fourteenth and fifteenth centuries that, in combination with other factors, contributed to its eventual demise. The climatic evidence comes from a seven-and-a-half century robust hydroclimate reconstruction from tropical southern Vietnamese tree rings. The Angkor droughts were of a duration and severity that would have impacted the sprawling citys water supply and agricultural productivity, while high-magnitude monsoon years damaged its water control infrastructure. Hydroclimate variability for this region is strongly and inversely correlated with tropical Pacific sea surface temperature, indicating that a warm Pacific and El Niño events induce drought at interannual and interdecadal time scales, and that low-frequency variations of tropical Pacific climate can exert significant influence over Southeast Asian climate and society. |
| Date Created: | 9/27/2011 |
| Volume: | 107 |
| Number: | 15 |
| Page Start: | 6748 |
| Page End: | 6752 |