NOAA's Paleoclimatology archive provides a tree-ring chronology from the Cossatot River area in Arkansas, USA. The data covers a period from 292 to -41 calendar years before present (BP), representing over three centuries of environmental proxy data. This study was archived by the NOAA National Centers for Environmental Information in 1991.
Use Cases
- Reconstruct past temperature or precipitation anomalies by analyzing the annual tree-ring width series.
- Calibrate climate models using the dated proxy record spanning 292 to -41 BP.
- Study local environmental stress events, such as droughts, encoded in the tree-ring growth patterns.
- Compare this Arkansas chronology with other North American tree-ring datasets to identify regional climate patterns.
Strengths
- Data spans over 330 years (292 to -41 BP), providing a multi-century climate proxy.
- Archived and maintained by the authoritative NOAA National Centers for Environmental Information (NCEI).
Limitations
- Temporal coverage ends at 41 years before present, limiting analysis of very recent climate trends.
- Geographic scope is limited to a single site (Cossatot River, Arkansas), reducing regional generalizability.
- The dataset was last updated in 1991, and underlying raw measurements or metadata may be outdated.
Provenance
- Source
- NOAA National Centers for Environmental Information (NCEI), World Data Service for Paleoclimatology.
- Collection Method
- Tree ring analysis (dendrochronology), likely measuring ring widths from core samples.
- Time Range
- 292 to -41 calendar years before present (BP).
- Freshness
- null
- Geography
- Cossatot River area, Arkansas, United States of America.