Journal article
Reconstructions of great plains low-level jet wind and moisture transport indicate a complex mix of Atlantic and Pacific influences over the past 300 years
Environmental Research: Climate
05/05/2026
DOI: 10.1088/2752-5295/ae6888
Abstract
The Great Plains Low-Level Jet (GPLLJ) plays a critical role in transporting moisture into the central United States and has been linked to floods and droughts. Here, we use tree-ring records to separately reconstruct both the wind and moisture transport components of May-July GPLLJ to examine long-term changes and compare variability in the wind and moisture components over time. We then integrate proxy- and data-assimilation-based reconstructions of Atlantic and Pacific teleconnection indices to determine the consistency of those influences on the GPLLJ over multiple centuries. The resulting long-term records of GPLLJ wind and moisture transport (based on meridional wind and integrated water vapor transport), which span 1690-1989 CE, demonstrate periods of synchrony and asynchrony through time, with a notable lack of coherence in the mid-to-late 1800s. In recent decades, high extremes in GPLLJ moisture transport (but not wind) appear to be moving outside the bounds of the pre-instrumental past. The wind component shows spectral power in the decadal (10-15 year) and subdecadal (7-8 year) bands, while moisture transport varies at bidecadal (19-27 year) and lower frequencies. Changes in GPLLJ wind and moisture are driven by a complex mix of both Atlantic and Pacific variability. GPLLJ wind is most consistently linked to Pacific conditions, while GPLLJ moisture transport has a stronger Atlantic influence. Warm-season oceanic conditions more strongly impact GPLLJ wind and moisture than conditions in the preceding cool season. The complex set of influences on GPLLJ and their impact during the concurrent season underline the challenges in modeling and predicting warm-season hydroclimate in this region.
Details
- Title: Subtitle
- Reconstructions of great plains low-level jet wind and moisture transport indicate a complex mix of Atlantic and Pacific influences over the past 300 years
- Creators
- Erika K Wise - University of North Carolina at Chapel HillMatthew Paul Dannenberg - University of Iowa
- Resource Type
- Journal article
- Publication Details
- Environmental Research: Climate
- DOI
- 10.1088/2752-5295/ae6888
- ISSN
- 2752-5295
- eISSN
- 2752-5295
- Publisher
- IOP
- Language
- English
- Electronic publication date
- 05/05/2026
- Academic Unit
- School of Earth, Environment, and Sustainability
- Record Identifier
- 9985161442502771
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