Tree ring width data from Cathedral Peak in Yosemite National Park provides a 459-year chronology for reconstructing past climate conditions. The dataset covers the period from 418 to 41 years before present. It is archived by NOAA's National Centers for Environmental Information under the World Data Service for Paleoclimatology.
Use Cases
- Reconstruct historical temperature or precipitation anomalies by analyzing annual tree ring width variations.
- Calibrate climate models using the 459-year proxy record to validate simulations of past climate events.
- Study ecological resilience and growth responses to past environmental stressors using the ring width time series.
- Cross-date and validate other paleoclimate proxy records from the Sierra Nevada region using this established chronology.
Strengths
- 459-year continuous chronology from 418 to 41 BP.
- Data is curated and archived by NOAA's authoritative World Data Service for Paleoclimatology.
Limitations
- Temporal coverage ends 41 years BP, providing no data for the most recent centuries.
- Data is geographically limited to a single site (Cathedral Peak) within California.
Provenance
- Source
- NOAA National Centers for Environmental Information (NCEI) World Data Service (WDS) for Paleoclimatology.
- Collection Method
- Tree ring analysis (dendrochronology).
- Time Range
- 418 to 41 calendar years before present (BP).
- Freshness
- null
- Geography
- Cathedral Peak, Yosemite National Park, California, United States.