Tree ring width measurements from Ponderosa Pine (PSME) trees near Salida, Colorado provide a 636-year climate proxy record. The NOAA National Centers for Environmental Information archives this dataset for paleoclimatology research. Data coverage spans from 622 to 14 years before present.
Use Cases
- Reconstruct annual temperature or precipitation anomalies for Colorado using the tree ring width index.
- Calibrate the chronology against known climate events by analyzing the year-by-year growth measurements.
- Compare this Ponderosa Pine (PSME) record with other ITRDB chronologies to assess regional climate synchronicity.
- Model forest growth responses to past droughts using the time-series of ring widths.
Strengths
- 636-year continuous chronology from 622 to 14 BP
- Sourced from the International Tree-Ring Data Bank (ITRDB) under NOAA/NCEI
Limitations
- Sample size and replication statistics for the chronology are unknown
- Data last updated in 1964, indicating potential staleness versus modern methods
- Geographic coverage is limited to a single site near Salida, Colorado
Provenance
- Source
- NOAA National Centers for Environmental Information (NCEI) World Data Service for Paleoclimatology
- Collection Method
- Dendrochronological analysis of Ponderosa Pine (PSME) tree cores.
- Time Range
- 622 to 14 calendar years before present (BP).
- Freshness
- 1964-01-01
- Geography
- Salida, Colorado, United States.