Tree Ring Chronology From Arkansas For Paleoclimate Study

NOAA/WDS Paleoclimatology archives a tree-ring chronology dataset from the McGarrah-Reed House site in Arkansas, USA. The data provides a 368-year time series of tree-ring parameters, covering the period from 325 to -43 calendar years before present. NOAA National Centers for Environmental Information (NCEI) published this study, with an archival date of 1993.

Use Cases

• Reconstruct past climate variables like temperature or precipitation using the tree-ring width chronology.
• Calibrate and validate climate models for the Arkansas region using the 368-year proxy record.
• Analyze the frequency of extreme climatic events (e.g., droughts) recorded in the tree-ring series.
• Study ecological responses to historical climate shifts by examining the tree-ring growth parameters.

Strengths

• Provides a 368-year continuous chronology for climate proxy analysis.
• Data is curated and archived by the authoritative NOAA National Centers for Environmental Information.

Limitations

• Temporal coverage ends at -43 BP, making the most recent data over 2000 years old and not directly applicable to modern climate.
• Geographic scope is limited to a single site in Arkansas, reducing regional representativeness.
• The dataset's last known update was in 1993, potentially lacking modern methodological revisions.

Provenance

Source

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

Collection Method

Tree-ring analysis (dendrochronology) from the McGarrah-Reed House site.

Time Range

325 to -43 calendar years before present (BP).

Freshness

Archived 1993-01-01; static historical dataset.

Geography

Arkansas, United States Of America.