Swiss Fir Tree Ring Chronology From 63 to 29 BCE

92-year tree ring width chronology from fir trees in Illiswil, Switzerland, capturing environmental conditions from 63 to 29 BCE. The dataset was archived by NOAA's World Data Service for Paleoclimatology and is associated with the Schweingruber collection. This record was last updated in the NOAA system in 1979.

Use Cases

• Calibrate radiocarbon dating curves using the precisely dated annual tree ring sequence.
• Reconstruct summer temperature or precipitation anomalies for Western Europe from tree ring width measurements.
• Identify volcanic eruption signals or other short-term environmental disturbances within the ring width series.
• Compare this fir chronology with other regional tree ring datasets to analyze spatial climate patterns.
• Validate climate model simulations of the late Holocene using this high-resolution proxy record.

Strengths

• Provides a 92-year continuous annual resolution record (63 to 29 BCE).
• Sourced from the authoritative NOAA/NCEI World Data Service for Paleoclimatology.
• Data is precisely dated to calendar years before present, enabling direct comparison with other chronologies.

Limitations

• Record length is relatively short for some climate reconstruction techniques.
• Single geographic site (Illiswil, Switzerland) limits spatial representativeness.
• The underlying raw measurement data and sample depth are not detailed in this metadata.

Provenance

Source

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

Collection Method

Tree ring measurements (dendrochronology) from fir (Abies alba) samples.

Time Range

63 to 29 BCE (92 years).

Freshness

null

Geography

Illiswil, Switzerland, Western Europe.