Athabasca Tree Ring Chronology from 878 to 41 BCE

878 to 41 BCE tree ring width chronology from Alberta, Canada, providing a proxy for historical climate conditions. The dataset is part of the NOAA NCEI Paleoclimatology archive and was last updated in 1991. It was contributed by researcher Schweingruber under the International Tree-Ring Data Bank program.

Use Cases

• Reconstruct past temperature or precipitation anomalies by calibrating tree ring width series against instrumental records.
• Analyze growth anomaly years within the chronology to identify periods of extreme drought or volcanic cooling.
• Cross-date and validate other tree ring chronologies from the North American boreal region using this master series.
• Study long-term climate trends and variability in western Canada over a 919-year period before present.

Strengths

• Covers a 919-year period from 878 to 41 BCE, providing a long-term baseline.
• Part of the authoritative International Tree-Ring Data Bank (ITRDB) collection curated by NOAA NCEI.

Limitations

• Data is stale, last updated in 1991 and may lack modern quality control or updated metadata.
• Single geographic location (Athabasca, Alberta) limits spatial representativeness.
• Unknown sample depth (number of core samples) introduces uncertainty about chronology robustness.

Provenance

Source

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

Collection Method

Tree ring cores collected and measured using standard dendrochronological techniques, likely by F. Schweingruber.

Time Range

878 to 41 BCE (calendar years BP).

Freshness

Last updated 1991-01-01; static historical archive.

Geography

Athabasca region, Alberta, Canada.