1. GEOG5426 Climate modes

2. Compared to my other classes, I am working:
4
3
0 0 0
A lot less Less About average More A lot more

3. Compared to my other classes, I am learning:
4
2
1
0 0
A lot less Less About average More A lot more

4. PRINCIPLES OF
Dendroclimatology

5. “
The trees composing the forest rejoice and
lament with its successes and failures and
carry year by year something of its story in
their annual rings.”
A. E. Douglass
University of Arizona

6. The principle of cross-dating
The principle of aggregate tree growth
The principal of ecological amplitude

7. THE PRINCIPLE OF CROSS-DATING
Matching pa erns in tree-ring widths or other ring
characteristics (such as ring density) among several trees
allow the identification of the exact year in which each ring
was formed.

8. Same environmental forcings
Similar
growth pa erns

10. THE PRINCIPLE OF CROSS-DATING
1900 1910 1920 1930
Two Douglas-fir cores from Eldorado Canyon, CO
Graphic: Jeff Lukas, INSTAAR

11. THE PRINCIPLE OF CROSS-DATING
1900 1910 1920 1930
Two Douglas-fir cores from Eldorado Canyon, CO
Graphic: Jeff Lukas, INSTAAR

12. Smith and Lewis, 2006

13. THE PRINCIPLE OF AGGREGATE TREE GROWTH
Any individual tree-growth series can be "decomposed" into
a set of environmental signals that affected the tree’s growth
through its lifespan.

14. THE PRINCIPLE OF AGGREGATE TREE GROWTH
Rt = At + Ct + δD1t + δD2t + Et
tree growth in year ‘t’

15. THE PRINCIPLE OF AGGREGATE TREE GROWTH
Rt = At + Ct + δD1t + δD2t + Et
size-related growth trend
caused by physiological aging

17. Ring width
Tree age

18. THE PRINCIPLE OF AGGREGATE TREE GROWTH
Rt = At + Ct + δD1t + δD2t + Et
climate during year ‘t’

20. THE PRINCIPLE OF AGGREGATE TREE GROWTH
Rt = At + Ct + δD1t + δD2t + Et
disturbance within the forest

22. THE PRINCIPLE OF AGGREGATE TREE GROWTH
Rt = At + Ct + δD1t + δD2t + Et
disturbance from outside
the forest

24. THE PRINCIPLE OF AGGREGATE TREE GROWTH
Rt = At + Ct + δD1t + δD2t + Et
random processes
not accounted by other sources

25. THE PRINCIPLE OF AGGREGATE TREE GROWTH
Rt = At + Ct + δD1t + δD2t + Et

26. THE PRINCIPLE OF ECOLOGICAL AMPLITUDE
Ecological range limits are o en controlled by climate, and
trees growing near the limits of their range are o en more
sensitive to climatic fluctuations than similar trees growing
under more suitable conditions.

33. Ring-width
index

38. Single-site reconstruction

39. never trust
one tree

43. Multiple-site reconstruction

48. Network reconstruction

49. THE PRINCIPLE OF AGGREGATE TREE GROWTH
Rt = At + Ct + δD1t + δD2t + Et

50. GEOG5426 Climate modes

53. Workload
A paper, not to exceed 10 pages of text plus figures
and references, which reviews the climate history of a
single region over a specific time period during the
Holocene (e.g., the mid-Holocene, the last 2ka or the
last 500 yr).

54. (at least 5)
Workload
>
A paper, not to exceed 10 pages of text plus figures
and references, which reviews the climate history of a
single region over a specific time period during the
Holocene (e.g., the mid-Holocene, the last 2ka or the
last 500 yr).

55. Focus questions
What are the most important features of the modern
climate in your region?
What proxies are available in your region, over the
time interval specified? How are they related to
climate?
How different were past climates from modern
conditions? Why is that important?

56. NARROW AND FOCUSED

57. NARROW AND FOCUSED
“How has the climate of Australia changed since A.D. 1000?”
OK

58. NARROW AND FOCUSED
“How has the climate of Australia changed since A.D. 1000?”
OK
“Was Western Austria drier during the Medieval Period,
compared to today?”
Better

59. Course schedule (current)
October 27, 2010
The human dimension of past climate change
November 3, 2010
Megadrought II / Natural hazards
November 10, 2010
Isotope paleoclimatology
November 17, 2010
Climate forcings
November 24, 2010
Climate models
December 1, 2010
Regional climate history I
December 8, 2010
Regional climate history II
December 15, 2010
No class - Fall meeting, American Geophysical Union

60. OPTIONS
Presentations ➜ Feedback ➜ Papers
OR
Papers ➜ Feedback ➜ Presentations

61. By November 3
[Tentative] list of 10 articles related to
your region and time period.