%0 Thesis %B Department of Geography %D 1989 %T A Dendrochronological Study of the Great Salt Lake Basin %A Connie Woodhouse %K climatic variability %K dendrochronology %K dendroclimatology %K Geography %K great salt lake basin %K indices %K precipitation %K salt lake %K temperature %K tree ring %X

To date, no tree-ring chronologies have been generated for the Great Salt Lake basin. There is evidence of a winter air mass boundary across this area. Since the region receives a precipitation maximum in the winter and spring, information about boundary location variability would be useful. Tree-ring widths may be related to climatic variables and provide a record of past climate.

Four tree-ring chronologies in the four corners of the Great Salt Lake basin were generated using standard dendrochronological techniques. Precipitation and temperature data for the area were regionalized and tree-ring indices were correlated with regional temperature seasons and with precipitation regions and seasons. The chronologies were factor analyzed for the period of common growth, 1593-1985, and broken down into seven overlapping one hundred-year periods.

During the period for which there are weather records, tree growth in the northwest site was correlated with temperature variables, while in the other three sites, tree growth was mostly correlated with precipitation. The results of the factor analysis of the chronologies for the seven time periods were consistent with the correlation results. The results also indicate a similar pattern of variation of growth for the time periods of 1593-1650 and 1825-1940.

The four Great Basin chronology sites are located in a unique region and may be used to learn about climatic variability in this area.

%B Department of Geography %I University of Utah %C Salt Lake City %V Master of Science %P 77 %8 03/1989 %G English %0 Report %D 1968 %T Tree-Ring Growth in High-Altitude Bristlecone Pine as Related to Meteorological Factors: Research Proposal %A LaMarche, Valmore C. %K bristlecone pine %K cold sensitive %K dendroclimatology %K drought sensitive %K high altitude %K meteorological %K NSF %K pinus aristata %K precipitation %K temperature %K tree ring %X

Important climatic information may be contained in long tree-ring records from the upper treeline of mid-latitude mountains. Preliminary work and the results of related research suggest that the variation in annual ring-width series from bristlecone pine (P. aristata) at the upper treeline is related to year-to-year differences in the temperature regime, in contrast to the "drought sensitivity" of this species near the lower forest border. Therefore, the establishment of a quantitative relationship between meterological factors and tree-ring growth at the upper treeline may permit the extension of temperature records, ad would provide an additional tool for evaluating certain environmental characteristics of remote, high-mountain regions. Direct comparison of tree-ring chronologies from "drought-sensitive" conifers at the lower forest border with those from "cold-sensitive" trees at the nearby upper treeline might also lead to the separation of precipitation and temperature effects in paleoclimatic reconstruction.

The basic approach involves the empirical comparison of tree-ring chronologies with concurrent meteorological time series in a few areas in the western United States, selected for the proximity of a bristlecone pine treeline to one or more high altitude weather stations. A number of replicated tree-ring samples will be dated, measured, standardized, and evaluated to form the basic tree-ring chronologies. testing the association between the ring-widths and meteorological factors will proceed through the development of progressively refined empirical models. Consistency with available biological data will serve as a general guide in the development of a meaningful model.

%I Laboratory of Tree-Ring Research %C Tucson %G English %9 Research Proposal