NOAA/WDS Paleoclimatology archives a tree ring dataset from Pieterlen, Switzerland. The chronology covers the period from 45 to -29 calendar years before present. This study was contributed by Schweingruber and last updated in the NOAA NCEI system in 1979.
Use Cases
- Reconstruct past temperature or precipitation anomalies using the tree ring width index as a proxy.
- Calibrate radiocarbon dating models by correlating the tree ring chronology with known historical periods.
- Analyze growth response to environmental stressors by examining the annual resolution of ring width data.
- Compare this Swiss tree ring series with other regional chronologies to identify broader climate patterns.
Strengths
- Provides a precisely dated annual-resolution chronology spanning 74 years.
- Sourced from a recognized paleoclimate data repository (NOAA NCEI/WDS).
Limitations
- The dataset is temporally stale, with a last update recorded in 1979.
- Limited geographic scope, containing data from only one site in Switzerland.
- The small temporal coverage (74 years) may limit analysis of long-term climate trends.
Provenance
- Source
- NOAA National Centers for Environmental Information (NCEI), World Data Service for Paleoclimatology.
- Collection Method
- Tree ring core samples analyzed to create a width chronology.
- Time Range
- 45 to -29 calendar years before present (BP).
- Freshness
- null
- Geography
- Pieterlen, Switzerland, Western Europe.