As a yearly growth phenomenon, a dendrochronologist measures the creation of ever-widening circles of tree rings in the trunks of trees. Though it only occurs in a few tree species and varies with the climate, it is regarded as a reliable method of dating past events. It’s a branch of science that botanists and foresters use in climatology studies, as well as in human archeology.
Dendrochronologists’ responsibilities include collecting numerous samples of tree ring data from various climate zones and tree species. These rings represent the amount of growth that a tree experiences over the course of a typical growing season. This makes tree rings stand out more in trees that go dormant in the winter, but it’s not a good method of dating tropical species that don’t have distinct seasons.
To get accurate dating results, scientists take samples of tree ring growth from a region and graph them on a computer to create an accurate reference data set for determining climate change. This includes gathering tree ring data from old timbers used in buildings and petrified wood or logs preserved from decay in peat bogs, as well as collecting tree ring data from old timbers used in buildings and petrified wood or logs preserved from decay in peat bogs. The International Tree-Ring Data Bank, which is run by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) in the United States, uses large databases of tree ring data based on stored physical samples to reconstruct past climate changes in various regions.
However, as a dendrochronologist, you can only go so far in your research. Bristlecone pines are the oldest living trees, with the ability to live for 5,000 years and some as long as 9,000 years within a narrow habitat range across western North America. Although preserved timbers from other tree species that were used in human construction can be traced back 4,000 to 5,000 years or more around the world, extremely old specimens are rare and are not used for tree-ring analysis. The Sheffield Dendrochronology Lab in the United Kingdom has created over 200 tree ring reference chronologies in a master sequence that dates back to 5,000 BC and includes the European medieval period.
Because tree ring data is often taken from wooden artifacts, the research field of dendrochronology has applications in the tracing of social and cultural patterns as well as those of the natural sciences. As a byproduct of industrial processes, the rings can preserve the effects of air pollution on growth cycles. As a result, a dendrochronologist’s job description can cover a wide range of historical research in a variety of fields.
Tree growth is influenced by natural patterns of change in botany, biology, or climatology, such as those caused by glacier movement, ice ages, volcanic activity, or changes in the availability of surface water and rainfall patterns for a specific region. Entomologists who study insect populations may also be dendrochronologists, as some insect species, such as the western spruce budworm, can stunt tree growth. A dendrochronologist is concerned with the long-term view of changes recorded in tree rings, so that the past can also be a key indicator of trends that may occur in the future.