Tree ring width measurements from Tasmania provide a 528-year proxy record for climate conditions from 487 to 41 years before present. The data is archived by NOAA's World Data Service for Paleoclimatology as part of the PAGES Australasia 2k project. This paleoclimate study was last updated in 1991.
Use Cases
- Reconstruct historical temperature or precipitation anomalies in Australasia by calibrating tree-ring width time-series against instrumental records.
- Analyze the frequency and severity of past drought events in Tasmania by identifying periods of suppressed growth in the ring width chronology.
- Validate regional climate model simulations for the last millennium using the tree-ring width proxy data as an independent benchmark.
- Study the response of Tasmanian tree species to volcanic forcing events by examining ring width deviations around known eruption dates.
Strengths
- Covers a 528-year time period from 487 to 41 BP, providing multi-century context.
- Part of the standardized PAGES Australasia 2k network, facilitating regional comparisons.
Limitations
- Data record ends at 41 BP, limiting direct overlap with the modern instrumental period.
- The study was last updated in 1991, potentially preceding more recent methodological advances.
Provenance
- Source
- NOAA National Centers for Environmental Information (NCEI) World Data Service for Paleoclimatology.
- Collection Method
- Tree ring core samples analyzed to measure annual ring width.
- Time Range
- 487 to 41 calendar years before present (BP).
- Freshness
- null
- Geography
- Tasmania, Australia.