Dutch Tree Ring Chronology from 125 BCE to 1861 CE

NOAA's World Data Service for Paleoclimatology archives this tree ring chronology from the Leudal region of the Netherlands. The dataset provides a proxy climate record covering 125 calendar years BCE to 1861 CE, created by researcher Maessen. Data were published through the International Tree-Ring Data Bank (ITRDB) and last updated in 1986.

Use Cases

• Reconstruct past temperature or precipitation variations in Western Europe using the annual tree-ring width series.
• Calibrate the tree-ring chronology against instrumental climate records for the Netherlands region.
• Analyze the frequency of extreme growth years (narrow or wide rings) as proxies for climatic stress or favorable conditions.
• Compare the Leudal chronology (ITRDB NETH026) with other European tree-ring datasets to identify regional climate patterns.

Strengths

• Temporal coverage spans 125 BCE to 1861 CE, providing a multi-century climate proxy.
• Data is curated and archived by NOAA's authoritative World Data Service for Paleoclimatology.
• Part of the standardized International Tree-Ring Data Bank (ITRDB) collection.

Limitations

• Data is temporally stale, with a last update date of 1986, potentially missing newer methodological refinements.
• Geographic scope is limited to a single site (Leudal) in the Netherlands, limiting regional representativeness.
• The raw data structure and specific measured parameters (e.g., raw ring widths, standardized indices) are not detailed in the provided metadata.

Provenance

Source

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

Collection Method

Tree-ring analysis (dendrochronology), likely measuring ring widths from sampled trees.

Time Range

125 BCE to 1861 CE (89 to -36 calendar years BP).

Freshness

1986-01-01

Geography

Leudal, Netherlands, Western Europe.