Climate from tree rings : [material presented at the Second international workshop on global dendroclimatology, Norwich, 1980, supported by the World meteorological organization jointly with the United Nations environment programme and by the Scientific a

The impact of climatic change on human affairs has been demonstrated dramatically in past years. Climatic extremes have placed increasing pressure on world food supplies leading to a doubling, then trebling, of grain prices during the 1970s. Moreover, there is mounting concern that society itself may soon bring about an unparalleled climatic shift by atmospheric pollution and changing land use. In order to deal wisely with the Earth's limited natural resources and to assess society's potential to alter future climate, more information is needed about the course of past climatic change. Climate from Tree Rings brings together basic accounts of the methodology, techniques, available data and potential of dendroclimatology, the reconstruction of past climates from tree rings. The material presented in this volume, first published in 1982, represents a major step in the reconstruction of the past climatic record. It will be of particular interest to research workers, postgraduates, and advanced graduates in many branches of the atmospheric, earth and life sciences, especially those with an interest in climatic change and palaeoenviornments. Cover......Page 1 Frontmatter......Page 2 Contents......Page 6 Preface......Page 8 Contributors......Page 10 Introduction......Page 12 Sampling strategies......Page 13 Measurement of dencitometric properties of wood......Page 19 Stable isotopes in tree rings......Page 23 Oxygen-18, Carbon-13, and Carbon-14 in tree rings......Page 29 Chronology development and analysis......Page 32 Introduction......Page 43 The climate-growth response......Page 44 Response functions......Page 49 Transfer functions......Page 61 Verification of dendroclimatic reconstructions......Page 69 Climatic reconstructions from tree rings......Page 73 The design of palaeoenvironmental data networks fc estimating large-scale patterns of climate......Page 78 Introduction......Page 89 Climatic context......Page 90 Southern Africa......Page 93 Argentina and Chile......Page 95 Australasia......Page 101 Climatic context......Page 116 The Arctic......Page 118 Western North America......Page 129 Eastern North America......Page 137 Alpine Europe......Page 146 Tatra Mountains......Page 148 Europe......Page 153 European Russia......Page 161 The Mediterranean area......Page 162 Asia......Page 166 Introduction......Page 170 An illustration of alternative transfer function methods in Switzerland......Page 171 A long-term drought sequence for the Hudson Valley,......Page 174 Temperature reconstructions in the northeastern United StatesNew York......Page 176 Extension of riverflow records in Argentina......Page 179 Preliminary estimates of summer streamflow for Tasmania......Page 181 Preliminary temperature reconstructions for Tasmania......Page 188 Reconstructed annual precipitation for California......Page 196 An overview of dendroclimatic techniques, procedures, and prospects......Page 202 BIBLIOGRAPHY......Page 210 SPECIES INDEX......Page 226 SUBJECT INDEX......Page 230 The impact of climatic change on human affairs has been demonstrated dramatically in past years. Climatic extremes have placed increasing pressure on world food supplies leading to a doubling, then trebling, of grain prices during the 1970s. Moreover, there is mounting concern that society itself may soon bring about an unparalleled climatic shift by atmospheric pollution and changing land use. In order to deal wisely with the Earth's limited natural resources and to assess society's potential to alter future climate, more information is needed about the course of past climatic change. Climate from Tree Rings brings together basic accounts of the methodology, techniques, available data and potential of dendroclimatology, the reconstruction of past climates from tree rings. The material presented in this volume, first published in 1982, represents a major step in the reconstruction of the past climatic record. It will be of particular interest to research workers, postgraduates, and advanced graduates in many branches of the atmospheric, earth and life sciences, especially those with an interest in climatic change and palaeoenvironments Edited By M.k. Hughes ... [et Al.]. Based On The Second International Workshop On Global Dendroclimatology Held At The University Of East Anglia, Norwich, United Kingdom, July 7-11, 1980. Includes Indexes. Bibliography: P. 199-213.