Tree ring width measurements from ponderosa pine (PIPO) trees in the Hualapai Mountains of Arizona provide a 402-year climate proxy record. The data spans from 381 to 21 years before present, archived by NOAA's World Data Service for Paleoclimatology. This study was contributed to the International Tree-Ring Data Bank (ITRDB) with the identifier AZ135.
Use Cases
- Reconstruct annual precipitation or drought indices for Arizona using tree ring width as a proxy.
- Calibrate climate models by comparing the tree ring chronology against instrumental records for the region.
- Analyze the frequency of extreme climatic events, such as megadroughts, within the 402-year time series.
- Study the growth response of ponderosa pine (PIPO) to temperature variations over four centuries.
Strengths
- 402-year continuous chronology from 381 to 21 BP.
- Data is part of the authoritative International Tree-Ring Data Bank (ITRDB).
- Sourced from a specific tree species (Ponderosa Pine) and geographic location (Hualapai Mountains).
Limitations
- Sample size and replication depth per year are unknown from the description.
- The record ends 21 years before present (circa 1929 AD), lacking very recent decades.
- Geographic coverage is limited to a single mountain range in Arizona.
Provenance
- Source
- NOAA National Centers for Environmental Information (NCEI) World Data Service for Paleoclimatology.
- Collection Method
- Tree ring core samples analyzed to produce a standardized width chronology.
- Time Range
- 381 to 21 calendar years before present (BP).
- Freshness
- null
- Geography
- Hualapai Mountains, Arizona, United States of America.