El Malpais Tree-Ring Width Chronology from 750 to 37 BCE

Tree-ring width data from El Malpais National Monument in New Mexico, covering 787 years from 750 to 37 BCE. The dataset was archived by NOAA's World Data Service for Paleoclimatology and originates from a study by Grissino-Mayer. It was last updated in the NOAA system in 1987.

Use Cases

• Reconstruct annual precipitation and drought indices for the southwestern US using standardized tree-ring width series.
• Calibrate climate models by comparing the 787-year tree-ring chronology with instrumental climate records.
• Analyze growth response and climate sensitivity of Ponderosa pine (PSME) in a semi-arid volcanic landscape.
• Study the frequency and severity of historical drought events in New Mexico over a multi-century scale.

Strengths

• 787-year continuous chronology from 750 to 37 BCE provides a long-term climate proxy.
• Data is curated and archived by the authoritative NOAA/NCEI World Data Service for Paleoclimatology.
• Specific geographic location at El Malpais National Monument, New Mexico.

Limitations

• Data is temporally stale, with a last recorded update in 1987.
• The single site location limits spatial representativeness for broader regional analysis.
• Unknown sample depth (number of tree cores) underlying the chronology.

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

750 to -37 calendar years BP (Before Present, where 0 BP = 1950 CE), equivalent to approximately 750 to 37 BCE.

Freshness

1987-01-01

Geography

El Malpais National Monument, New Mexico, United States of America.