Alaskan Mountain Hemlock Tree-Ring Chronology from 585 to 42 BCE

Tree-ring width measurements from Mountain Hemlock (Tsuga mertensiana) trees at Cordova Eyak Mountain in Alaska. The chronology covers 543 years from 585 to 42 BCE, providing a high-resolution paleoclimate proxy. The data is archived by NOAA's National Centers for Environmental Information under the World Data Service for Paleoclimatology.

Use Cases

• Reconstruct past summer temperatures by analyzing the annual tree-ring width series.
• Calibrate the tree-ring chronology against other paleoclimate proxies using its 543-year time span.
• Study extreme climate events in coastal Alaska by identifying marker years of exceptionally narrow or wide rings.
• Assess the growth response of Mountain Hemlock to volcanic events during the covered period.

Strengths

• Covers a 543-year period (585 to 42 BCE), offering a long-term paleoclimate record.
• Sourced from a specific tree species (Tsuga mertensiana) at a defined Alaskan mountain site, ensuring ecological consistency.
• Archived by the authoritative NOAA NCEI World Data Service for Paleoclimatology.

Limitations

• The dataset is temporally stale, with a last recorded update in 1992.
• The sample size (number of tree cores or series) is unknown, limiting assessment of statistical robustness.
• Geographic coverage is limited to a single mountain site in Alaska.

Provenance

Source

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

Collection Method

Tree-ring analysis (dendrochronology) of Mountain Hemlock (Tsuga mertensiana).

Time Range

585 to 42 BCE (calendar years before present).

Freshness

1992-01-01

Geography

Cordova Eyak Mountain, Alaska, United States of America.