Frost rings in trees as records of major volcanic eruptions

LaMarche, Valmore C.; Hirschboeck, Katherine K.

doi:10.1038/307121a0

Cited by 361 publications

(207 citation statements)

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“…As a consequence, several studies have used special features or anomalies in radial growth for ecological and climatological interpretation [11,60,61]. Such studies have included frost rings [9,35], light rings [20,36,58,64], and the formation of intra-annual density fluctuations (IADFs) [12,46,47,62]. In the literature IADFs have also been referred to as "double rings" [22], "false rings" [51], "multiple growth layers" [26], "multiple rings" [32] or "intra-annual growth bands" [23].…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Climatic significance of tree-ring width and intra-annual density fluctuations in Pinus pinea from a dry Mediterranean area in Portugal

et al. 2007

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-In Mediterranean climates trees may go through two periods of dormancy, resulting in special anatomical features such as false rings and other intra-annual density fluctuations (IADFs). In this paper, ring growth and the presence of IADFs were studied in Pinus pinea L. growing in the coastal and inland regions of Alentejo (southern Portugal). In order to identify the triggering factors associated with the IADFs, a new classification was proposed for the IADFs in P. pinea: Type E (latewoodlike cells within earlywood); Type E+ (transition cells between earlywood and latewood); Type L (earlywoodlike cells within latewood) and Type L+ (earlywoodlike cells between latewood and earlywood of the next tree ring). Response function analyses showed that radial growth of P. pinea was strongly correlated with precipitation in southern Portugal. The climatic response of P. pinea was higher in the inland area where the summer drought is more severe, the winter temperatures are lower and the soils have low water-holding capacity, in comparison with the coastal area. IADFs were frequent in P. pinea and most of the IADFs were observed in latewood. The presence of IADFs was correlated with fluctuations in climate parameters during the growing season. The IADF type E+ was linked to precipitation events early in summer. The IADF type L and L+ were associated with above-average precipitation in early autumn.false tree-ring / Mediterranean climate / Pinus pinea / radial growth / wood anatomy Résumé -Signification climatique de la largeur des cernes et des fluctuations intra annuelles de la densité chez Pinus pinea dans une région méditerranéenne sèche du Portugal. Dans les climats méditerranéens, les arbres peuvent traverser deux périodes de dormance, ce qui a pour consé-quence des caractéristiques anatomiques particulières telles que des faux cernes et des fluctuations intra annuelles de densité (IADFs). Dans cet article, la croissance des cernes et la présence de IADFs ont été étudiées chez Pinus pinea L. poussant dans les régions côtières et intérieures de l'Alentejo (sud-ouest du Portugal). Dans le but d'identifier les facteurs déclenchants associés à l'IADFs, une nouvelle classification a été proposée pour l'IADFs chez Pinus pinea : Type E (cellules ressemblant à du bois final dans le bois initial) ; Type E+ (cellules de transition entre bois initial et bois final) ; Type L (cellules ressemblant à du bois initial dans du bois final) et Type L+ (cellules ressemblant à du bois initial entre bois final et bois initial du prochain cerne). Les analyses des fonctions de réponse ont montré que la croissance radiale de Pinus pinea était fortement corrélée avec les précipita-tions dans le sud-ouest du Portugal. La réponse climatique de Pinus pinea a été plus forte dans la zone intérieure où la sécheresse d'été est plus sévère, les températures hivernales plus basses et où les sols ont une plus faible capacité de rétention de l'eau, comparativement aux zones côtières. IADFs a été fréquent chez Pinus pinea et la majorité d'IADFs ...

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Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Climatic significance of tree-ring width and intra-annual density fluctuations in Pinus pinea from a dry Mediterranean area in Portugal

et al. 2007

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“…Michael 1976;Betancourt 1987;Manning 1988;Friedrich et al 1990;Housley et al 1990;Manning and Bronk Ramsey 2003). In the 1980s, it was suggested that tree-ring and ice-core evidence also suggested similarly "early" dates in the mid-to later-17th century BC (LaMarche and Hirschboeck 1984;Hammer et al 1987;Baillie and Munro 1988).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Dating the Volcanic Eruption at Thera

2004

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ABSTRACT. The eruption of the volcano at Thera (Santorini) in the Aegean Sea undoubtedly had a profound influence on the civilizations of the surrounding region.The date of the eruption has been a subject of much controversy because it must be linked into the established and intricate archaeological phasings of both the prehistoric Aegean and the wider east Mediterranean. Radiocarbon dating of material from the volcanic destruction layer itself can provide some evidence for the date of the eruption, but because of the shape of the calibration curve for the relevant period, the value of such dates relies on there being no biases in the data sets. However, by dating the material from phases earlier and later than the eruption, some of the problems of the calibration data set can be circumvented and the chronology for the region can be resolved with more certainty.In this paper, we draw together the evidence we have accumulated so far, including new data on the destruction layer itself and for the preceding cultural horizon at Thera, and from associated layers at Miletos in western Turkey. Using Bayesian models to synthesize the data and to identify outliers, we conclude from the most reliable 14 C evidence (and using the INTCAL98 calibration data set) that the eruption of Thera occurred between 1663 and 1599 BC.

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“…To solve this problem, some studies have used analysis of the anatomical structure of tree rings or anomalies in tree-ring width, which often contain indications of abrupt changes in temperatures, precipitation regime or natural disturbances. Useful wood anatomical characteristics include: early and latewood frost rings, used as indicators of unusually cold periods during the growth season (Glerum and Farrar 1966;La Marche and Hirschboeck 1984;Brunstein 1996;Hantemirov et al 2004); light rings as clues for summer and autumn periods with low temperatures (Filion et al 1986;Yamaguchi et al 1993;Gindl 1999;Hantemirov et al 2004); light rings as indicators of very dry summers (Liang and Eckstein 2006); intra-annual density fluctuations (IADF-s) as indicators of summer drought conditions (Rigling et al 2001;De Micco et al 2007) or drought-induced dormancy periods in Mediterranean-type climate (Campelo et al 2007;Bogino and Bravo 2009;Vieira et al 2009) and radial cracks as indicators of moisture deficiency in summer (Grabner et al 2006).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Fingerprints of extreme climate events in Pinus sylvestris tree rings from Bulgaria

Panayotov

Zafirov

Cherubini

2012

Trees

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Tree-ring studies may help better understand climate variability and extreme climate event frequency and are especially useful in regions where detailed meteorological records lack. We studied the effect of droughts and unusually cold periods on Pinus sylvestris tree-ring width and wood anatomy. Study sites were selected along an altitudinal gradient on Vitosha Mountain, Bulgaria. Drought conditions caused the formation of narrow tree rings or light rings if the drought occurred in July-August at the lower altitude sites. In years with droughts in June and the first half of July, followed by precipitation in the middle of July, intra-annual density fluctuations (IADFs) were formed. Trees in the zone with optimal growth conditions produced fewer light rings and narrow rings in years with either strongest droughts or unusually cold summers. At the timberline zone, low summer temperature triggered narrow tree rings and light rings. Frost rings were formed when there was a drop in temperatures below the freezing point in the second half of May or at the beginning of June. Our findings show that studies of tree-ring anatomy may contribute to obtain further knowledge about extreme climatic events in the Balkan Peninsula and in other regions where meteorological data lack.

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Frost rings in trees as records of major volcanic eruptions

Cited by 361 publications

References 24 publications

Climatic significance of tree-ring width and intra-annual density fluctuations in Pinus pinea from a dry Mediterranean area in Portugal

Climatic significance of tree-ring width and intra-annual density fluctuations in Pinus pinea from a dry Mediterranean area in Portugal

Dating the Volcanic Eruption at Thera

Fingerprints of extreme climate events in Pinus sylvestris tree rings from Bulgaria

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