Pennsylvania Tree Ring Chronology from 327 to 31 BC

Tree ring width measurements from the Ferncliffe Natural Area in Pennsylvania provide a climate proxy record spanning 358 years. The data covers the period from 327 to 31 calendar years before present, calibrated for dendrochronological analysis. NOAA National Centers for Environmental Information archived this paleoclimatology study in 1981.

Use Cases

• Calibrating tree ring width variations against modern climate data to infer past temperature or precipitation levels.
• Analyzing the time-series for growth anomalies to identify extreme historical drought or wet periods.
• Cross-dating this chronology with other regional tree ring records to validate and extend climate reconstructions.
• Investigating long-term forest growth trends and ecological responses to climate change over centuries.

Strengths

• 358-year continuous chronology from 327 to 31 BC
• Geographically specific data from a single natural area in Pennsylvania

Limitations

• Single-site data limits regional climate inference
• Record ends over 2000 years ago, lacking overlap with modern instrumental data
• Unknown sample depth (number of trees) affects statistical confidence

Provenance

Source

NOAA National Centers for Environmental Information (NCEI) World Data Service for Paleoclimatology

Collection Method

Tree ring core sampling and width measurement (dendrochronology)

Time Range

327 to -31 calendar years BP (Before Present, where present=1950)

Freshness

null

Geography

Ferncliffe Natural Area, Pennsylvania, United States