New and Improved Tree-Ring Records of Climate from Siberia

University Of Arizona, Tucson AZ

Investigators

Abstract

This award will help produce two tree-ring records of climate from high-latitude sites in Siberia covering the last 2,000+ years. Field work will be undertaken to collect several hundred samples of live wood (by increment corer and cut cross sections) and relict material (by cut cross sections) from each locality. Ring width measurements, X-ray microdensitometry and chronology building will be performed on both records. Samples will be archived to allow for future laboratory analyses such as cell dimension and isotopic analyses. High resolution 2,000 year records of climate have the potential for improving our understanding of global and Northern Hemisphere temperatures variability over recent millennia and whether the warmth of the late 20th century was unusual.