Tree-Ring Records of Regional Climate and Large-Scale Atmospheric Circulation

University Of Arkansas, Fayetteville AR

Investigators

Abstract

This award will support a study using tree rings to monitor past variations in large-scale atmospheric circulation features such as El Nino/Southern Oscillation (ENSO). The study will use classic dendrochronological methods to exactly date annual tree-ring time series, and then will use modern numerical methods for data-quality control, chronology computations, and paleoclimate reconstructions. The project will sample trees to fill data gaps in the ENSO-sensitive areas of Mexico and the southwestern United States, and will develop climatically sensitive tree ring chronologies in ENSO-teleconnected areas in Florida and southern Africa. It will also explore the dendroclimatological potential of indigenous tree species in Costa Rica.