La Junta Tree Ring Chronology for Climate Reconstruction

NOAA/WDS Paleoclimatology archives a tree ring chronology from a Ponderosa Pine (PIPO) site at the mouth of La Junta, New Mexico. The data covers the period from 260 to -36 calendar years before present (BP), indicating a time span of 296 years. This dataset was created by Swetnam and archived by NOAA National Centers for Environmental Information, with a last recorded update in 1986.

Use Cases

• Reconstruct past climate variables like precipitation or temperature by analyzing annual tree ring width measurements.
• Calibrate regional climate models using the precisely dated chronology spanning 296 years.
• Study historical drought frequency and severity in New Mexico from the Ponderosa Pine growth record.
• Cross-date and validate other tree ring series from the southwestern US using this ITRDB NM554 site chronology.

Strengths

• Covers a 296-year time period (260 to -36 BP) for long-term trend analysis.
• Part of the authoritative International Tree-Ring Data Bank (ITRDB) collection from NOAA.

Limitations

• Data is temporally stale, with a last update recorded in 1986.
• Geographic coverage is limited to a single site in New Mexico, limiting regional generalization.
• Specific sample depth, measurement parameters, and raw data formats are not detailed in the provided metadata.

Provenance

Source

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

Collection Method

Tree ring data collection and dendrochronological analysis.

Time Range

260 to -36 calendar years before present (BP).

Freshness

1986-01-01

Geography

Mouth of La Junta, New Mexico, United States of America.