@mastersthesis {511, title = {Unraveling environmental factors that affect Pinus longaeva growth in the White Mountains, California}, volume = {PhD}, year = {2010}, school = {University of Arizona}, abstract = {

Two of the most pressing questions involving ancient bristlecone pines are how microsite factors lead to differences in tree responses to climate at high-elevation sites, and how global change has impacted growing season events. Disparities in climate response at treeline and subalpine locations have been associated with local environmental characteristics while the increasing growth trend found at treeline has been linked to warming. In this study, environmental conditions were considered in order to identify microsite differences between trees growing at two different elevations on four aspects of a conical-shaped mountain in the White Mountains, California. Dendrochronological, environmental, correlational, and spectral methods were employed to explore differences in ring-width chronologies. Albedo, soil thickness, and percent slope led to ring-width variability. Northwestern upper site was most highly correlated with precipitation, while the Southeastern lower site showed a strong negative correlation with temperature. This work indicates that selection of climate-sensitive trees a priori necessitates the consideration of local environmental factors, and these microsite differences resulted in different climate responses between nearby trees. By monitoring growing season events at the historic phenology site from the 1962-64 (Fritts 1969), natural variations and responses to climate change can be identified. Morphological and physiological phenophases, dendrometer traces, and environmental data were collected throughout the summers of 2007 and 2008. Duration and timing of cambial activity (tracheid lifespan) in the present study were similar to those recorded in the Fritts (1969) investigation, while pollination onset and bud opening occurred earlier in this study. No change was found in duration and timing of cambial activity suggesting that changes in cambial phenology are not an explanation for the increasing growth trend found at upper forest borders. On the other hand, changes in bud opening and pollination onset may be related to recent warming. To monitor diurnal and seasonal stem variability as part of phenologic studies on several trees, a point potentiometer dendrometer was designed. The newly designed point potentiometer dendrometer was tested in multiple environments and found to be versatile, cost-effective, and portable, working well in semi-arid and arid environments.

}, keywords = {Physical geography}, url = {http://ezproxy.library.arizona.edu/login?url=http://proquest.umi.com/pqdweb?did=2108905281\&sid=32\&Fmt=2\&clientId=43922\&RQT=309\&VName=PQD}, author = {Hallman, Christine Lee} } @mastersthesis {839, title = {Spatial Relationships in Frost-Damaged High-Elevation Pines and Links to Major Volcanic Eruptions}, volume = {MS}, year = {2001}, pages = {67}, school = {University of Arizona}, address = {Tucson}, abstract = {

Frost injury in the annual growth rings of pines growing at upper treeline is a consequence of sudden freezing temperatures during the growing season (LaMarche \& Hirschboeck 1984). This updated and spatially extensive frost-ring study involves the systematic identification of frost rings in high-elevation pines located in 16 western USA tree-ring sites whose chronologies range from 1692 BC to AD 2000. Several \"notable frost events\" were identified, based on the criteria of frost damage occurring in greater than 25\% of trees at a given site and in two or more sites. The spatial variations between frost events indicate regional variations based on differences in elevation, latitude, and the location of polar outbreaks and their associated upper-level atmosphere circulation patterns. The 17 notable frost events correspond to previous frost ring and light ring evidence, and 13 of them are associated with climatically effective volcanic eruptions.

}, keywords = {atmosphere circulation, damage, dendrochronology, dendroclimatology, frost, high elevation, pine, polar outbreak, relationship, spacial, tree ring, tree-ring, volcanic eruption}, author = {Hallman, Christine Lee} } @mastersthesis {542, title = {Analysis and reconstruction of the relationship between a circulation anomaly feature and tree rings: Linear and nonlinear approaches}, volume = {PhD}, year = {2000}, school = {University of Arizona}, abstract = {Tree rings can be reliable recorders of past weather and climate variations. Tree rings from mountain regions can be linked to upper air atmospheric sounding observations and large-scale atmospheric circulation patterns. A {\textquotedblleft}synoptic dendroclimatology{\textquotedblright} approach is used to define the relationship between tree rings and a specific upper air anomaly feature that affects climate in the western US. I have also reconstructed this anomaly feature using both regression and fuzzy logic approaches. Correlation analysis between 500 mb geopotential heights and tree rings at a site near Eagle, Colorado reveals an important anomaly centered over the western US. This center can be viewed as a circulation anomaly center index (CACI) that can quantitatively represent the relationship between atmospheric circulation and tree growth variations. To reconstruct this index from tree rings, I used both a multiple linear regression (MLR) and a fuzzy-rule-based (FRB) model. The fuzzy-rule-based model provides a simple structural approach to capture nonlinear relationships between tree rings and circulation. The reconstructing capability of both models is validated directly from an independent data set. Results show that the fuzzy-rule-based model performs better in terms of calibration and verification statistics than the multiple linear regression model. The reconstructed anomaly index can provide a long-term temporal context for evaluation of circulation variability and how it is linked to both climate and tree rings.}, keywords = {Statistics}, url = {http://ezproxy.library.arizona.edu/login?url=http://proquest.umi.com/pqdweb?did=731915311\&sid=23\&Fmt=2\&clientId=43922\&RQT=309\&VName=PQD}, author = {Ni, Fenbiao} } @mastersthesis {653, title = {Aspen: Ecological processes and management eras in northwestern Wyoming, 1807--1998}, volume = {PhD}, year = {2000}, school = {University of Arizona}, abstract = {Quaking aspen stands in many areas of the intermountain west are currently dominated by older (>100 year) age classes and may be in decline. The goals of my research are to: (1) place current observations of aspen decline into context by using historical and ecological data to investigate the interaction of fire, ungulate browsing, climate and human institutions in the regeneration of aspen stands over the last two centuries; (2) evaluate the challenges and limitations associated with using ecological history for management of aspen and other systems; and (3) compare current and historical aspen regeneration across three elk winter range areas in the intermountain West. Based on results from stand age structures, aspen regeneration in the Jackson Valley has occurred episodically since 1830, with three major periods of regeneration: 1860-1885; 1915-1940; and 1955-1990. These multi-decadal episodes of aspen regeneration are related to similar variability in precipitation, where above average periods of annual precipitation are associated with aspen regeneration. However, significant levels of aspen regeneration have only coincided with low or moderate elk population estimates and fewer aspen have regenerated than expected when elk populations are high ( X 2 = 59.92, p < 0.0001). Current aspen reproduction, though minimal, is strongly affected by elk browse with percent browse significantly higher in elk winter range than outside of elk winter range (p = 0.051). Though extensive or frequent fires may have maintained aspen communities during the pre-settlement era, current management controlled fires have not affected aspen sucker density. The influence of multiple interacting processes and drivers in the Jackson Valley suggests that reconstructing past ecosystems as benchmarks for ecological management should be considered carefully. Given future environmental variability, reconstructions of past systems should focus on ecological relationships rather than on single states or processes. Comparison of aspen in the three elk winter range areas indicates that heavy browsing by elk populations has had a strong influence on episodes of aspen regeneration for the last 150 years in all three elk winter ranges. However, elk are not having strong impacts on aspen outside of elk winter range. }, keywords = {Ecology, Geography, Paleoecology}, url = {http://ezproxy.library.arizona.edu/login?url=http://proquest.umi.com/pqdweb?did=731957311\&sid=11\&Fmt=2\&clientId=43922\&RQT=309\&VName=PQD}, author = {Amy Hessl} } @mastersthesis {654, title = {The organization of migrant communities on a Pueblo frontier}, volume = {PhD}, year = {1999}, school = {University of Arizona}, abstract = {The Mogollon Rim Region of the eleventh and twelfth centuries presents a contradiction to those who study it. Population reconstructions demonstrate low populations, but the region, situated on the far southwestern edge of the puebloan world, is overbuilt with a form of community integrative architecture called the "great kiva." Situated outside the areas of Southwest archaeology{\textquoteright}s strong organizations, the region is considered one of archaeology{\textquoteright}s "weak patterns." "Weak patterns" indicate a lack of normative behavior and are associated with patterns of expediency, diversity, and mobility, and identify regions with alternative forms of social organization, including frontiers. The frontier can be understood as both a "place" and a "process." This definition provides an analytic bridge between weakly patterned behavioral manifestations and sociopolitical interpretations of areas beyond and between archaeology{\textquoteright}s strong patterns. It also clarifies the implications of the coincidence of the processes migration, integrative architecture, and situations of low population density. In this dissertation, ethnographic and historical accounts are used to develop a model of the frontier. The frontier situation has an effect on the organization of households and communities. Understanding the relationships of households and communities is a means of reconstructing the social and political organization of a region. The frontier model is operationalized by deriving expectations for household and community production, distribution, transmission, reproduction, and coresidence. Data from five excavated Mogollon Rim region great kiva sites: Cothrun{\textquoteright}s Kiva Site, Hough{\textquoteright}s Great Kiva Site, AZ P:16:160(ASM), Tla Kii Pueblo, and Carter Ranch Pueblo, four management projects, and over 20 surveys provide information about household and community production, distribution, transmission, reproduction, and coresidence. These data are then used to reconstruct the sociopolitical organization of the region as a frontier. Comparison of the material culture of the Mogollon Rim region to that of the three contemporaneous regional organizations of Chaco, Mimbres, and Hohokam suggests that the Mogollon Rim region was a frontier to the Chacoan organization. This application of a frontier model suggests that is possible to use ethnographic and historical information to construct models that integrate regions of weak patterns and temporary social formations into models of social and political organization. }, keywords = {Arizona, Eleventh century, Frontier, Migrant communities, Pueblo, Twelfth century}, url = {http://ezproxy.library.arizona.edu/login?url=http://proquest.umi.com/pqdweb?did=733967891\&sid=13\&Fmt=2\&clientId=43922\&RQT=309\&VName=PQD}, author = {Sarah Herr} } @mastersthesis {500, title = {Sierra Nevada Tree Rings and Atmospheric Circulation}, volume = {PhD}, year = {1998}, school = {University of Arizona}, abstract = {

The primary objective of this research is to investigate relationships between extremes in central Sierra Nevada tree growth, temperature and precipitation and winter and summer atmospheric circulation. Using existing Sierra Nevada chronologies, I developed two mean chronologies for the period of overlap between instrumental and tree-ring records (1900-1987), one for giant sequoia (Sequoiadendron giganteum) and one for treeline pines (Pinus balfouriana, Pinus albicaulis) and selected the highest and lowest quintiles of tree growth as extreme years. For these years, I constructed and analyzed maps of composite anomalies for the following climatic data: tropospheric pressure (SLP, 700 mb, 500 mb), storm track (positive vorticity advection [PVA], a variable not previously used in dendroclimatology), temperature, precipitation, and snow (a variable often assumed have the same effects on growth as winter precipitation). Results suggest that extreme growth in these trees is associated with distinct patterns of winter atmospheric circulation and snow depth that are consistent with instrumental studies for the Western U.S. The storm track and snow analyses, seldom used in dendroclimatology, added substance to inferences based on analyses of tropospheric and surface climate parameters. This study shows the strong potential for reconstruction of these variables using Sierra Nevada trees. Synthesis of these results suggests that sequoia exhibit low growth during years with meridional winter and summer circulation, winter storms primarily occluded in the Gulf of Alaska, and low snow depth; sequoia exhibit high growth during years with low winter pressure in the north Pacific, long duration storms, a SW-NE oriented storm track entering North America at the California-Oregon border, high snow depth and zonal summer flow. Treeline pines exhibit low growth during years with enhanced ridging over the eastern Pacific, cool, short duration winter storms along a northern track, low snow depth and high east Pacific summer SLP; these pines exhibit high growth during years with warm, long duration winter storms following a southern track, a quasi-PNA atmospheric circulation pattern, average snow depth and a northeastward displaced summer subtropical high. Evidence presented herein suggests that variation in extreme treeline pine growth tracks low frequency changes in north Pacific atmospheric circulation.

}, keywords = {Paleoecology}, url = {http://ezproxy.library.arizona.edu/login?url=http://proquest.umi.com/pqdweb?did=733009441\&sid=28\&Fmt=2\&clientId=43922\&RQT=309\&VName=PQD}, author = {Garfin, Gregg Marc} } @mastersthesis {589, title = {Climate variability in the southwestern United States as reconstructed from tree-ring chronologies}, volume = {PhD}, year = {1996}, school = {University of Arizona}, abstract = {The primary goal of this research is to gain a better understanding of the spatial and temporal relationships between atmospheric circulation features and winter climate variability in the southwestern United States, and to investigate the variations in these relationships over the past three centuries. A set of six circulation indices is compiled that describes circulation features important to winter climate variability in this region. This set includes pre-existing indices such as the SOI and a modified PNA index, as well as regionally-tailored indices. A network of 88 tree-ring chronologies is then used to reconstruct the indices and the regional winter climate variables: numbers of rainy days (a variable not previously reconstructed with tree rings) and mean maximum temperature. Analyses suggest that three types of circulation features have influenced winter climate in the Southwest over the past three centuries. Although ENSO-related circulation patterns have been an important factor, especially in the 20th century, circulation patterns featuring a southwestern low appear to be as important if not more important to climate in some time periods. Results suggest that low frequency variations in atmospheric circulation patterns have occurred over the past three centuries and have had spatially and temporally varying impacts on winter climate in the Southwest.}, keywords = {Paleoecology}, url = {http://ezproxy.library.arizona.edu/login?url=http://proquest.umi.com/pqdweb?did=739718221\&sid=24\&Fmt=2\&clientId=43922\&RQT=309\&VName=PQD}, author = {Woodhouse, Connie Ann} } @mastersthesis {588, title = {Synoptic Dendroclimatology in the Upper Marmada River Basin: An Exploratory Study in Central Asia}, volume = {MS}, year = {1996}, school = {University of Arizona}, abstract = {Dendrochronological analysis of teak (Tectona grandis) collected from stumps in the Malpathar National Reserved Forest of the upper Narmada River Basin in central India has the potential to provide continuous and long-term information about changes in both the local climate of the Malpather National Reserved Forest site and the Indian monsoon circulation{\textellipsis}}, author = {Wood, Michelle Lee} } @mastersthesis {726, title = {Great kivas as integrative architecture in the Silver Creek community, Arizona}, volume = {M.A.}, year = {1994}, school = {University of Arizona}, abstract = {This thesis explores the relationship between circular great kiva sites in the Silver Creek area and counterparts in regions across the Southwest. Great kivas, as communal architecture, are important in community integration. Exploring their distribution through the variables of time, space and form helps us understand change in community integration. The patterns in the temporal and spatial distribution of the Silver Creek great kivas correspond to the patterning of these variables in the Upper Little Colorado region. The majority of Silver Creek great kivas appear in a period of westward population movement after A.D. 1000. The Silver Creek great kivas, do not, however, show the same range of formal variation. Since many of the changes in the Upper Little Colorado area are described as resolving problems of increasing population and aggregation, lower population densities in the Silver Creek area may explain the reduced formal variability of its great kivas. }, url = {http://ezproxy.library.arizona.edu/login?url=http://proquest.umi.com/pqdweb?did=748072191\&sid=58\&Fmt=2\&clientId=43922\&RQT=309\&VName=PQD}, author = {Sarah Herr} } @mastersthesis {451, title = {Spatial and Temporal Reconstruction of Twentieth-century Growth Trends in a Naturally-seeded Pine Forest}, volume = {PhD}, year = {1994}, school = {University of Arizona}, abstract = {

This research uncovered growth trends from 1920 to 1990 in a stand of south-western ponderosa pine (Pinus ponderosa Dougl. ex Laws. var. scopulorum), and investigated the role of climate and competition in shaping the observed trends. I focused on a 800 x 400-m permanent plot maintained by the U.S. Forest Service since 1920 near Flagstaff, Arizona. Temporal growth trends were quantified by size class using a mixed linear model applied to forest inventories, repeated at 10-year intervals. Tree density and stand basal area increased from 1920 to 1990, but growth rates of individual trees declined regardless of size class. Growth of large pines, whose density increased slightly, declined more than that of small pines, whose density almost tripled. I argued that competition for resources reduced growth rates of large trees more than those of small trees. Geostatistical analyses showed that, from 1920 to 1990, stem size was spatially autocorrelated over distances no greater than 30 m, a measure of average patch diameter. Tree density increased by increasing the number of pine groups rather than their horizontal dimension. Increased tree crowding corresponded to lower average, variance, and spatial dependence of individual growth rates. Since growth variation was less related to inter-tree distance at higher tree densities, density-dependent limitation of tree growth did not necessarily correspond to distance-dependent growth rates. No significant trend from 1910 to 1990 was found in climatic variables computed from daily meteorological records. Dendroclimatic analyses showed that climate-tree growth relations had not significantly changed over the twentieth century. Annual growth of both large and small pines was positively related to winter snowfall and to July monsoon rainfall. Periodic basal area increment obtained from dendrochronological data revealed that forest inventories over-estimated growth rates, especially for small pines. On the other hand, tree-ring chronologies developed using different standardization options showed different temporal trends. Repeated forest inventories quantified growth of individual trees and of the entire stand, but integrated bark and wood increment. Dendrochronological data had superior temporal resolution and accuracy, but their limited spatial coverage hindered representation of growth trends for the entire stand.

}, keywords = {Paleoecology}, url = {http://ezproxy.library.arizona.edu/login?url=http://proquest.umi.com/pqdweb?did=740900561\&sid=29\&Fmt=2\&clientId=43922\&RQT=309\&VName=PQD}, author = {Biondi, Franco} } @mastersthesis {708, title = {Hydroclimatology of flow events in the Gila River Basin, Central and Southern Arizona}, volume = {PhD}, year = {1985}, school = {University of Arizona}, abstract = {

Traditional flood-frequency techniques are based on the assumption that the observed flood record represents a sample that has been drawn from a single climatically homogeneous population of floods. A hydroclimatic approach was used to evaluate this assumption by identifying the circulation patterns and atmospheric flood-generating mechanisms which control the temporal and spatial variability of flooding. Mean monthly discharges and instantaneous peak flows of the partial duration series were analyzed for thirty gaging stations in the climatically sensitive, semiarid, Gila River basin for the period 1950 to 1980. Correlation fields and composite maps were constructed to define the relationship between 700 mb height circulation anomalies and mean monthly streamflow. Individual flood events were linked to climate by analyzing daily synoptic weather maps and classifying each flood event into one of eight hydroclimatic categories on the basis of the atmospheric mechanisms which generated each flow. The analysis demonstrated that floods and anomalously high streamflow in the Gila River basin originate from a variety of atmospheric processes which vary spatially, seasonally, and from year-to-year. The mechanisms most important for generating floods included winter fronts, cutoff lows, tropical storms, snowmelt, and widespread and localized summer monsoon-related circulation patterns. When flood discharges were grouped into hydroclimatically homogeneous categories, histogram plots of their frequency distributions exhibited means and variances that differed from those of the overall frequency distribution of the entire flood series. The means of the discharges generated by frontal precipitation and tropical storms tended to plot above the mean of the overall series, while the means of floods generated by snowmelt tended to plot below the overall mean. Flood estimates computed from a series containing mixed distributions were not the same as flood estimates computed from climatically homogeneous subsets of the same series. These results have implications for traditional flood-frequency analysis and other stochastic methods of analyzing hydrologic time series. The hydroclimatically-defined subgroups in the flood series of the Gila River basin indicate that nonhomogeneity and nonstationarity can be imparted to a hydrologic time series by differing atmospheric mechanisms alone.

}, keywords = {floods, Hydrology, mixed populations}, url = {http://ezproxy.library.arizona.edu/login?url=http://proquest.umi.com/pqdweb?did=753278081\&sid=23\&Fmt=2\&clientId=43922\&RQT=309\&VName=PQD}, author = {Hirschboeck, K.} } @mastersthesis {710, title = {Prehistoric agricultural adaptation and settlement in Long House Valley, Northeastern Arizona}, volume = {PhD}, year = {1982}, school = {University of Arizona}, abstract = {

A recently completed intensive archaeological survey of Long House Valley in northeastern Arizona has provided a detailed body of data on prehistoric settlement distribution and environmental variation. Long House Valley was occupied between A.D. 1 and 1300 by prehistoric agriculturalists referred to as the Kayenta Anasazi. This study examines the changing relationship between settlement locations and agricultural adaptations from A.D. 500 to 1300 in Long House Valley. As part of this analysis, the archaeological, ethnographic, and environmental background of the Kayenta region is reviewed as a basis for understanding the nature of agricultural adaptation in this region. Agricultural practices of the Hopi Indians of northern Arizona provide the basis for a model of probable agricultural field locations. This combined with an examination of the physiographic, hydrographic, and edaphic features in the valley allow identification of potential field areas. Changes in the potential of identified field areas are postulated on the basis of variation in available moisture as determined from a regional dendroclimatic reconstruction. Prehistoric habitation site locations and their changing distribution through time are examined against these proposed changes in field potential. This study demonstrates that there is a distinct positive correlation between settlement location and potential field location as determined by available moisture. Beginning about A.D. 1150 deteriorating environmental conditions in the form of decreased moisture, arroyo cutting, and lowered water table are considered the primary determinants of changes in site locations. These changes are viewed as an adaptive response by the Kayenta Anasazi to conditions of decreased moisture. Continuing deterioration of the environment made the practice of agriculture impossible and resulted in the total abandonment of Long House Valley and the entire Kayenta region by A.D. 1300.

}, url = {http://ezproxy.library.arizona.edu/login?url=http://proquest.umi.com/pqdweb?did=752836931\&sid=25\&Fmt=2\&clientId=43922\&RQT=309\&VName=PQD}, author = {Harrill, Bruce G.} } @mastersthesis {513, title = {The Response of Flooding in the Upper Mississippi Valley to Twentieth Century Climatic Fluctuations 1925-1969}, volume = {MS}, year = {1975}, school = {University of Wisconsin}, author = {Hirschboeck, K.} } @mastersthesis {510, title = {Relationship Between Douglas Fir Latewood and Some Environmental Factors}, volume = {MF}, year = {1962}, school = {University of British Colombia}, author = {Hall, Gavin Siegmund} } @mastersthesis {512, title = {A Sequence of Ruins in the Flagstaff Area Dated by Tree-Rings}, volume = {MA}, year = {1962}, school = {University of Arizona}, abstract = {A collection of 4263 archaeological tree-ring specimens from the region around Flagstaff, Arizona, was examined by means of the dendrochronological method. Although some of the specimens had been dated previously, the majority of the collection had never been studied. This analysis yielded 596 outside dates. Although these new dates do not differ greatly from previous dates obtained from previous dates obtained from this collection they have made possible certain refinements in the dating of the phases in the archaeological sequence for the region.}, author = {Harlan, Thomas P.} } @mastersthesis {446, title = {Tree-Ring Dating of Archaeological Sites in the Chaco Canyon Region, New Mexico}, volume = {PhD}, year = {1960}, school = {University of Arizona}, abstract = {A total of 828 tree-ring dates, representing 46 different sites in the Chaco Canyon region of northwestern new Mexico, has been compiled from published references, records of the Laboratory of Tree-Rig Research at the University of Arizona, and recent dating work carried out by the writer. When ever possible, these dates have been presented individually along with the species, type of sample, and site provenience of every dated specimen, and an accounting has been given of the collection and present location of the pieces, the people responsible for the dating, and any previous publication of the dates. Each dated site has been discussed with respect to name, location, description, excavation, and the temporal relationship between the site and the associated tree-ring dates. It has been shown that the correct archaeological interpretation of dates depends upon the satisfactory solution of two basic problems: (1) the time relationship that exists between the date of the specimen and the archaeological manifestation being dated, and (2) the complicating factor introduced by the possibility of exterior rings lost from a dated tree-ring sample. A third requisite for correct interpretation, and understanding of the symbols used in the listing of dates, has necessitated a detailed explanation of the various forms of presentation used with Chaco Canon region dates. An analysis of all the dates has revealed five broad occupational periods for the region, four of them delineated by the temporal clustering of dated sites, and a fifth period (typified by Mesa Verde sites) distinguishable mainly through archaeological considerations. The five periods cover a span of 13 centuries from the late 800{\textquoteright}s to the present day are characterized by (1) pithouse sites (2) classic Chaco sites, (3) Mesa Verde sites, (4) Navajo-Refugee Pueblo sites, and (5) Navajo sites.}, url = {http://ezproxy.library.arizona.edu/login?url=http://proquest.umi.com/pqdweb?did=763297551\&sid=4\&Fmt=1\&clientId=43922\&RQT=309\&VName=PQD}, author = {Bannister, Bryant} } @mastersthesis {524, title = {A Dendrochronological Investigation in the Clinch River Drainage, Tennessee}, volume = {MA}, year = {1938}, school = {University of Arizona}, abstract = {The purpose of this paper is to report the dendrochronological research done in northeastern Tennessee during the year 1934, 1935, and 1936. (No abstract provided)}, author = {Lassetter, Roy Jr.} }