Tree-ring width data from a Ponderosa Pine (PIPO) chronology in Arizona provides a climate proxy record spanning 356 years. The dataset, archived by NOAA's World Data Service for Paleoclimatology, was contributed by researcher Graybill from the Muletank site. This paleoclimate record was last updated in the public archive in 1986.
Use Cases
- Calibrating regional climate models using the tree-ring width time-series as a proxy for past temperature or precipitation.
- Analyzing growth anomaly years within the 356-year chronology to identify extreme drought or wet periods.
- Cross-dating this Muletank site chronology (ITRDB AZ527) with other regional tree-ring records to build a master climate reconstruction.
- Studying the frequency of narrow or wide rings to infer past climate stress and resilience patterns in Ponderosa Pine ecosystems.
Strengths
- Chronology covers a 356-year time period from 320 to -36 calendar years before present.
- Data is part of the authoritative International Tree-Ring Data Bank (ITRDB) collection curated by NOAA/NCEI.
- Site-specific data (Muletank, Arizona) allows for localized climate analysis.
Limitations
- The dataset's last update was in 1986, indicating potential staleness relative to modern collection and analysis methods.
- The sample size (number of core samples or trees) and replication statistics are unknown, limiting assessment of statistical confidence.
- Geographic coverage is limited to a single site in Arizona, reducing generalizability for broader regional studies.
Provenance
- Source
- NOAA National Centers for Environmental Information (NCEI), World Data Service for Paleoclimatology.
- Collection Method
- Tree-ring width measurements from Ponderosa Pine cores, processed into a standardized chronology.
- Time Range
- 320 to -36 calendar years before present (BP).
- Freshness
- null
- Geography
- Muletank site, Arizona, United States.