Collaborative Research: A Geospatial Approach to Dendroclimatology of Multi-Millennial Bristlecone Pine

University Of Arizona, Tucson AZ

Investigators

Abstract

Funding is provided to integrate topography into dendroclimatological analyses to better account for the effects of elevation on the climate signal recorded in trees. The researchers will use bristlecone, and other pines, from between 2800-3600 meters above sea level in the semi-arid southwest United States as the database for this research because an existing network of well-replicated chronologies already exists and these species are among the longest living trees. Specifically, the researchers will look for topographic modification of tree-ring response to climate variability along elevation transects and apply process-based modeling to the formation of tree rings from living and relict wood below and above the present limit of tree growth in eastern California, Nevada, and the Four-Corners States. The scientific goals of the research include examining the influences of differing climate variables on the growth of the old trees and evaluating the implications of the research results on the utility of tree-ring records as natural archives of climate information. The research aims to address important issues regarding the factors underlying past climate variability and the implications for understanding future variability. The research will examine present climate variability (e.g., recent droughts) in a multi-millennial perspective as well as providing a potentially important and unique tool for investigating the causes of extreme climate events. The bristlecone tree-ring records are at the center of the scientific controversy concerning the reconstruction of Northern Hemispheric temperature from recent centuries and the work should help better inform this debate. The researchers plan to spin off student research projects through a summer internship program. In addition, the research will provide information for an exhibit, highlighting bristlecone pine research, at the US Forest Service Visitor Center in the Inyo National Forest.