Tree Ring Chronology from Yosemite's Merced Grove (70 to -40 BP)

California's Merced Grove in Yosemite National Park provides a tree-ring chronology for paleoclimate study. The data covers the period from 70 to -40 calendar years before present. It is archived by NOAA's National Centers for Environmental Information under its World Data Service for Paleoclimatology.

Use Cases

• Reconstruct past temperature or precipitation anomalies by analyzing the tree-ring width chronology.
• Calibrate climate models for the Sierra Nevada region using the dated proxy record.
• Study ecological responses to historical climate events, such as droughts, using the annual resolution of tree-ring data.
• Establish a dated chronology for cross-referencing with other paleoclimate archives from the same geographic location.

Strengths

• Data spans 110 years of calendar years before present (70 to -40 BP).
• Sourced from the authoritative NOAA/NCEI World Data Service for Paleoclimatology.
• Provides annual-resolution proxy data for climate reconstruction.

Limitations

• Temporal coverage is limited to a specific 110-year period, not a long-term record.
• Geographic scope is restricted to a single grove in California, limiting regional generalization.
• Data was last updated in 1990, potentially lacking modern reanalysis or integration with newer datasets.

Provenance

Source

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

Collection Method

Tree ring analysis (dendrochronology).

Time Range

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

Freshness

null

Geography

Merced Grove, Yosemite National Park, California, United States of America.