Tree-ring width measurements from the Lötschental region of Switzerland provide a 682-year climate proxy record. The dataset, archived by NOAA's World Data Service for Paleoclimatology, covers the period from 692 to 10 calendar years before present. It was contributed by the author Buntgen and is managed by NOAA National Centers for Environmental Information.
Use Cases
- Reconstruct past summer temperatures using tree-ring width as a proxy climate indicator.
- Calibrate the chronology against known historical climate events within the 682-year time span.
- Analyze growth patterns to identify periods of environmental stress or favorable conditions.
- Compare this Alpine tree-ring series with other regional chronologies to assess spatial climate patterns.
Strengths
- 682-year continuous chronology from 692 to 10 years BP.
- Data is curated and archived by NOAA's authoritative World Data Service for Paleoclimatology.
Limitations
- The temporal coverage ends at 10 years BP, limiting direct overlap with the modern instrumental record.
- Geographic scope is limited to a single valley (Lötschental) in Switzerland.
- Sample size and replication depth of the underlying tree cores are unknown from provided metadata.
Provenance
- Source
- NOAA National Centers for Environmental Information (NCEI) World Data Service (WDS) for Paleoclimatology.
- Collection Method
- Tree-ring analysis (dendrochronology) of samples from the Lötschental region.
- Time Range
- 692 to 10 calendar years before present (BP).
- Freshness
- null
- Geography
- Lötschental, Switzerland, Western Europe.