Tree Ring Chronology from Yosemite National Park Ponderosa Pines

Tree ring width data from Ponderosa pines (Pinus ponderosa) in Yosemite National Park, California, covering a period of 110 years from 70 to -40 calendar years before present. The dataset was archived by NOAA's National Centers for Environmental Information under its Paleoclimatology program. It was last updated in the NOAA system in January 1990.

Use Cases

• Reconstruct past precipitation and temperature anomalies by analyzing annual tree ring width variations.
• Calibrate climate models using the 110-year proxy record of environmental conditions from Yosemite National Park.
• Study the growth response of Pinus ponderosa (PIPO) to historical climate events within the specified time period.
• Compare this ITRDB site chronology (CA578) with other regional tree ring datasets to identify broader climate signals.

Strengths

• Data spans a continuous 110-year period (70 to -40 BP), providing a multi-decadal climate proxy.
• Sourced from the authoritative International Tree-Ring Data Bank (ITRDB) and maintained by NOAA NCEI.

Limitations

• The dataset is temporally stale, with a last update recorded in 1990, potentially lacking modern reanalysis.
• Limited geographic scope to a single site (Hodgdon, Yosemite National Park), reducing regional representativeness.
• Unknown sample size (number of tree cores) and measurement precision limits statistical confidence assessments.

Provenance

Source

NOAA National Centers for Environmental Information (NCEI) World Data Service for Paleoclimatology.

Collection Method

Tree ring measurements (dendrochronology) from Pinus ponderosa samples.

Time Range

70 to -40 calendar years before present (BP).

Freshness

null

Geography

Hodgdon site, Yosemite National Park, California, United States.