Thornton Lakes Tree Ring Chronology From 219 BC

Tree ring width measurements from Tsuga mertensiana (mountain hemlock) trees in Washington state provide a 261-year climate proxy record. The chronology spans from 219 to -42 calendar years before present, equivalent to 219 BC to 42 AD, and is archived by NOAA's World Data Service for Paleoclimatology. Data collection and publication were completed around 1992.

Use Cases

• Reconstruct past temperature or precipitation anomalies by calibrating tree ring width series against modern climate data.
• Analyze growth patterns in Tsuga mertensiana to identify extreme climate events like droughts or cold periods within the 261-year record.
• Compare this site chronology with other regional tree ring datasets to assess spatial coherence of climate signals across the Cascades.

Strengths

• Chronology covers a continuous 261-year period in the pre-instrumental era.
• Data is curated and hosted by the authoritative NOAA/NCEI World Data Service for Paleoclimatology.

Limitations

• Dataset is temporally stale, with a last update date of 1992, potentially preceding modern analytical methods.
• The geographic scope is limited to a single site (Thornton Lakes, Washington), limiting broad spatial analysis.
• Specific sample depth (number of tree cores) and measurement statistics are unknown from the provided metadata.

Provenance

Source

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

Collection Method

Tree ring analysis (dendrochronology) of Tsuga mertensiana samples.

Time Range

219 to -42 calendar years BP (219 BC to 42 AD).

Freshness

1992-01-01

Geography

Thornton Lakes, Washington, United States of America.