NOAA/WDS Paleoclimatology archives a tree-ring width dataset from the Blanca Peak site in Colorado, USA. The chronology provides annual-resolution proxy climate data covering the period from 750 to -37 calendar years before present. This study was contributed by Douglas and is managed by NOAA National Centers for Environmental Information.
Use Cases
- Reconstruct past temperature or precipitation anomalies from the tree-ring width time-series.
- Calibrate and validate climate model simulations for the Rocky Mountain region using the proxy chronology.
- Analyze the frequency and severity of historical drought events recorded in the ring-width data.
- Study ecological growth responses to volcanic or other forcing events within the 787-year coverage period.
Strengths
- 787-year continuous chronology from 750 to -37 BP
- Annual-resolution data for high-precision climate analysis
Limitations
- Data collection ended in 1987, making it temporally stale for recent climate studies
- Single geographic site (Blenca Peak, CO) limits spatial representativeness
Provenance
- Source
- NOAA National Centers for Environmental Information (NCEI) World Data Service for Paleoclimatology
- Collection Method
- Tree-ring analysis (dendrochronology)
- Time Range
- 750 to -37 calendar years before present (BP)
- Freshness
- null
- Geography
- Blanca Peak, Colorado, United States of America