German Kaiserstuhl Tree Ring Chronology from 24 to -45 BP

Schweingruber's tree ring chronology from the Kaiserstuhl region of Germany provides a 69-year record of past environmental conditions. This dataset, archived by NOAA's World Data Service for Paleoclimatology, is a foundational resource for reconstructing climate in Western Europe. The data was published and last updated in 1995.

Use Cases

• Calibrating radiocarbon dates for archaeological sites in the region using the tree ring chronology.
• Reconstructing annual temperature or precipitation anomalies from the ring width measurements.
• Analyzing growth suppression events in the chronology to identify volcanic eruptions or climatic extremes.
• Comparing this local chronology with other European ITRDB series to assess regional climate coherence.

Strengths

• Data spans a continuous 69-year period from 24 to -45 calendar years BP.
• Part of the authoritative International Tree Ring Data Bank (ITRDB) collection curated by NOAA NCEI.

Limitations

• The dataset is temporally stale, with no updates since its publication in 1995.
• Limited geographic scope focused solely on the Kaiserstuhl region in Germany.
• The short 69-year time series restricts analysis of long-term climate trends or low-frequency variability.

Provenance

Source

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

Collection Method

Tree ring analysis (dendrochronology) of samples collected from the Kaiserstuhl region.

Time Range

24 to -45 calendar years Before Present (BP).

Freshness

Static archive; last updated 1995-01-01.

Geography

Kaiserstuhl region, Germany, Western Europe.