Crater Lake Tree-Ring Chronology from 100 to 42 BCE

142-year tree-ring chronology from mountain hemlock trees at Crater Lake, Oregon, provides annual climate proxy data. The dataset was archived by NOAA's World Data Service for Paleoclimatology and originates from a study published in 1992. It covers the period from 100 to 42 years before the present era.

Use Cases

• Reconstruct annual temperature or precipitation anomalies using the tree-ring width series as a climate proxy.
• Analyze growth patterns in mountain hemlock (Tsuga mertensiana) from the ITRDB site OR075 for ecological studies.
• Calibrate radiocarbon dating curves by cross-referencing the precisely dated ring chronology.
• Study volcanic climate impacts by examining growth trends around the 42 BCE endpoint, potentially linked to regional events.

Strengths

• Covers a continuous 142-year period with annual resolution.
• Sourced from the authoritative NOAA/NCEI World Data Service for Paleoclimatology.
• Provides a geographically specific record for a key site (Crater Lake, Oregon).

Limitations

• Temporal coverage is limited to a short, ancient period (142 years).
• Data is temporally stale, with no updates since the original 1992 publication.
• Lack of accessible column metadata limits understanding of specific measurement parameters.

Provenance

Source

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

Collection Method

Tree-ring analysis (dendrochronology) of mountain hemlock (Tsuga mertensiana) samples.

Time Range

100 to -42 calendar years BP (approximately 100 BCE to 42 BCE).

Freshness

1992-01-01

Geography

Crater Lake East High site, Oregon, United States of America (ITRDB code OR075).