The lynx cycle: a climatic perspective

Abstract

A tree growth index from central Canada that covers the period 1710-1982 was calibrated to local Churchill (Manitoba, Canada) summer temperatures for 1932-90. The temperature and precipitation series of the calibration period and other proxy data were used to determine the changes in atmospheric circulation which were compared to the 1735-1934 lynx cycle as derived from Hudson's Bay Company fur returns. The three phases of the lynx cycle coincide with three phases in the general circulation. The first phase occurs during a warm period (1735-1820), has small fluctuations, and the periodicity is variable. The second phase occurs in the last resurgence of the Little Ice Age (1821-1913) and has a classical 10 yr cycle. The third phase occurs during the warming at the end of the Little Ice Age, has declining frequencies, and appears to have a decaying periodicity. -from Authors