Tree-ring derived Little Ice Age temperature trends (MSc)We created a continuous tree-ring chronology incorporating samples from both living trees and wood extracted from the bottom of a high-elevation lake located in the central Coast Mountains. The resulting tree-ring record, which extended from AD 1225-2010 provided the opportunity to reconstruct regional June-July air-temperature anomolies. Our reconstruction provides the first annual resolved insights into high-elevation climates spanning the Little Ice Age in the region and indicates that Little Ice Age moraine development corresponds to intervals of warmer-than-average temperatures.
Publication: Pitman, K.J and Smith, D.J. 2012. Tree-ring derived Little Ice Age temperature trends from the central British Columbia Coast Mountains, Canada. Quaternary Research 78: 417-426. |
A dendroclimatic analysis of mountain hemlock (Tsuga mertensiana) ring-width and maximum density parameters (MSc)This study highlights the importance of using multiple tree-ring parameters to showcase the complex growth behaviour in mountain hemlock tress. Maximum tree-ring density values provided a robust data series for constructing site-specific proxy records of late-summer temperatures. Annual ring-width measurements provided independent proxies of spring snowpack trends. By constructing a more robust proxy climate record, we showed significant decreases in temperatures and increases in snowpack depth during the early 1700s and early 1800s coinciding with documented PDO phases and Little Ice Age glacier advances.
Publication: Pitman, K.J. and Smith, D.J. 2013. A dendroclimatic analysis of mountain hemlock (Tsuga mertensiana) ring-width and maximum density parameters, southern British Columbia Coast Mountains, Canada. Dendrochronologia 31: 165-174. |