Swiss Alpine Tree Ring Chronology from 164 to -45 BP

Tree ring width measurements from a site in Grindelwald, Switzerland, provide a 209-year climate proxy record. The data, archived by NOAA's World Data Service for Paleoclimatology, originates from the Schweingruber collection and was last updated in 1995.

Use Cases

• Calibrating temperature and precipitation reconstructions using the tree ring width time-series.
• Analyzing growth anomalies in the ring width series to identify volcanic eruption or extreme drought events.
• Cross-dating this chronology (SWIT174) with other European tree ring datasets to validate regional climate signals.
• Investigating the response of Alpine forest ecosystems to climate forcing during the period 164 to -45 BP.

Strengths

• Covers a 209-year continuous period from 164 to -45 calendar years before present.
• Sourced from the authoritative NOAA/NCEI World Data Service for Paleoclimatology.
• Provides a high-resolution annual climate proxy from a key Alpine location.

Limitations

• Temporal coverage is relatively short (209 years) compared to millennial-length tree ring chronologies.
• Data is geographically limited to a single site (Grindelwald Nord) in Switzerland.
• The dataset has not been updated since 1995, potentially lacking modern reanalysis or standardization.

Provenance

Source

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

Collection Method

Tree ring core samples analyzed via dendrochronological techniques.

Time Range

164 to -45 calendar years before present (BP).

Freshness

Last updated in 1995.

Geography

Grindelwald Nord, Switzerland, Western Europe.