Yosemite Valley Tree Ring Chronology from 270 BC

Tree ring width measurements from Douglas fir trees in Yosemite National Park provide a climate proxy record spanning 311 years. The data covers the period from 270 to 41 years before present, calibrated to calendar years. NOAA's National Centers for Environmental Information archived this paleoclimatology study.

Use Cases

• Reconstruct past temperature or precipitation anomalies using the tree ring width time-series.
• Calibrate climate models by comparing the ring chronology with instrumental records for the Yosemite region.
• Analyze growth response patterns to identify extreme drought or wet periods within the 311-year span.
• Study the frequency of climatic events like El Niño Southern Oscillation (ENSO) as recorded in the PSME (Douglas fir) ring data.

Strengths

• 311-year continuous chronology from 270 to 41 BP provides a multi-century climate record.
• Data is curated and archived by NOAA's World Data Service for Paleoclimatology, an authoritative source.

Limitations

• The dataset was last updated in 1991, indicating potential staleness and lack of recent methodological revisions.
• Sample size and replication statistics for the underlying tree cores are unknown, limiting assessment of signal strength.
• Geographic coverage is limited to a single valley within Yosemite National Park.

Provenance

Source

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

Collection Method

Tree ring core samples analyzed to create a width chronology.

Time Range

270 to 41 calendar years before present (BP).

Freshness

Last updated in 1991.

Geography

Yosemite Valley, Yosemite National Park, California, United States.