San Joaquin River Millerton Lake Tree Ring Chronology 240-46 BP

Tree ring width measurements from California provide a 286-year hydroclimate record from 240 to -46 calendar years before present. The NOAA National Centers for Environmental Information (NCEI) archives this paleoclimatology study for the World Data Service. The dataset was last updated in 1996.

Use Cases

• Reconstruct annual river flow or drought indices for the San Joaquin River basin using the tree ring width chronology.
• Calibrate climate models by comparing the tree ring proxy record with simulated precipitation and temperature for California.
• Analyze the frequency and severity of pre-industrial droughts in the Sierra Nevada region from the 286-year time series.
• Cross-date and validate other tree ring chronologies from the western US using the established ITRDB CA627 series.

Strengths

• 286-year continuous annual-resolution record from 240 to -46 BP.
• Data is curated and archived by the authoritative NOAA NCEI World Data Service for Paleoclimatology.

Limitations

• Temporal coverage ends 46 years before present (1946 CE), lacking modern instrumental overlap.
• Dataset metadata and files have not been updated since 1996, potentially missing newer corrections or standards.

Provenance

Source

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

Collection Method

Tree ring measurements (dendrochronology) from the International Tree-Ring Data Bank (ITRDB) site CA627.

Time Range

240 to -46 calendar years before present (BP).

Freshness

Last updated in 1996.

Geography

California, United States Of America, specifically the San Joaquin River Millerton Lake area.