Ponderosa Pine Tree-Ring Chronology from Bear Wallow, Arizona

Tree-ring width measurements from Ponderosa Pine (PSME) at the Bear Wallow site in Arizona provide a climate proxy record spanning 377 years. The dataset, archived by NOAA NCEI's World Data Service for Paleoclimatology, covers the period from 340 to -37 calendar years before present. Data collection and publication were completed in 1987.

Use Cases

• Reconstruct annual precipitation or drought indices for Arizona using the tree-ring width time-series.
• Calibrate climate models by comparing the PSME ring-width chronology with instrumental climate records.
• Analyze growth response patterns to specific climatic events within the 377-year temporal coverage.
• Cross-date and validate other tree-ring chronologies from the southwestern U.S. using the ITRDB AZ515 series.

Strengths

• Time-series spans 377 calendar years (340 to -37 BP).
• Data is curated and archived by the authoritative NOAA NCEI World Data Service for Paleoclimatology.
• Focuses on a single species (Pinus ponderosa) at a specific site, reducing ecological confounding factors.

Limitations

• Temporal coverage ends at -37 BP (approximately 1987 CE), with no updates since the 1987 publication.
• Geographic scope is limited to a single site (Bear Wallow) in Arizona.
• Sample size (number of tree cores) and replication statistics are unknown from the provided metadata.

Provenance

Source

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

Collection Method

Tree-ring analysis (dendrochronology) of Ponderosa Pine (PSME) samples.

Time Range

340 to -37 calendar years before present (BP).

Freshness

Last updated 1987-01-01; static archive dataset.

Geography

Bear Wallow site, Arizona, United States of America.