Sunset Crater Ponderosa Pine Tree Ring Chronology

Tree ring width measurements from Ponderosa Pine (PIPO) in Arizona cover a 72-year period from 19 to -53 calendar years before present. This chronology is archived by NOAA's World Data Service for Paleoclimatology and was last updated in 2003. Data originates from the Sunset Crater Visitor Center area.

Use Cases

• Calibrating past climate conditions by analyzing annual tree ring width variations.
• Cross-dating the chronology with other regional tree ring series to validate temporal alignment.
• Investigating local environmental impacts, such as volcanic activity from Sunset Crater, on forest growth.

Strengths

• Data spans a 72-year period (19 to -53 BP), providing a multi-decadal record.
• Archived by NOAA's authoritative World Data Service for Paleoclimatology.

Limitations

• Chronology covers only 72 years, a relatively short period for long-term climate analysis.
• Data is geographically limited to a single site (Sunset Crater, Arizona).
• Last update was in 2003, indicating potential staleness and lack of recent maintenance.

Provenance

Source

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

Collection Method

Tree ring analysis (dendrochronology) of Ponderosa Pine samples.

Time Range

19 to -53 calendar years before present (BP).

Freshness

null

Geography

Sunset Crater Visitor Center, Arizona, United States of America.