Natural proxy records of temperature- and hydroclimate variability with annual resolution from the Northern Balkan-Carpathian region for the past millennium - Review & recalibration

The studied summer proxies show a remarkably strong linear relationship with nearby records outside the NBC, weakening as their distance increases. The two most persistent multi-decadal cold summer periods (∼1780-1840 & 1430-1500 AD) were decisively mirrored in the proxies. The longest and most recent reconstruction from the North Slovakian Tatras shows a unique warming (after ∼1900 AD) reflected neither within, nor outside the NBC, casting doubt on its reliability. In general, weaker coherence was observed between the hydroclimate proxies, drawing attention to a general phenomenon: the range of the spatial representativity of hydroclimate proxies is usually smaller. Therefore, their network should be further developed. One of a few shared regional summer drought periods occurred in the 1750s, being most pronounced in the Central and Southeastern NBC. Moreover, this was reflected in the neighboring South Moravian drought history, too. These results will hopefully serve as a stepping-stone for future research on spatiotemporal patterns of climate changes and their causes in the NBC region.