North Carolina Beech Ridge Tree Ring Chronology from 179 to 47 BCE

226 calendar years of tree ring width data from a Quercus rubra (Northern Red Oak) site in North Carolina, USA, covering the period from 179 to 47 years before present. This paleoclimatology dataset was archived by NOAA's National Centers for Environmental Information and the World Data Service for Paleoclimatology. The data collection was last updated in 1997.

Use Cases

• Reconstruct historical climate variables like precipitation or temperature by analyzing the tree ring width time-series.
• Calibrate regional climate models using the precisely dated 226-year chronology from the Beech Ridge site.
• Study the growth response of Quercus rubra to environmental stressors over two centuries.
• Compare this North Carolina chronology with other tree ring datasets to analyze spatial climate patterns.

Strengths

• Time-series covers a continuous 226-year period from 179 to 47 BCE.
• Data is curated and archived by the authoritative NOAA NCEI World Data Service for Paleoclimatology.

Limitations

• Data collection ended in 1997, making it temporally stale for contemporary climate studies.
• Geographic coverage is limited to a single site in North Carolina, reducing generalizability.
• Specific sample size, measurement parameters, and potential measurement noise are not detailed in the provided metadata.

Provenance

Source

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

Collection Method

Tree ring analysis (dendrochronology) from a Quercus rubra (Northern Red Oak) site.

Time Range

179 to 47 calendar years before present (BP).

Freshness

Last updated in 1997.

Geography

Beech Ridge site, North Carolina, United States of America.