Project Examples

Wood Dating – A lodgepole pine (Pinus contorta) newel post in the historic Old Faithful Inn (Yellowstone National Park, Wyoming) was precisely dated by photographing annual tree-ring patterns on top of the post and comparing those patterns to lodgepole pine research chronologies. The outermost ring on the newel post is 1901.

Climate Change – A 2,400 year record of Rocky Mountain juniper (Juniperus scopulorum) growth was developed from juniper deadwood remnants in Yellowstone National Park, Wyoming. The patterns in this tree-ring chronology track changes in summer precipitation.

Property Rights – The cut dates of coast redwood (Sequoia sempervirens) stumps in northern California were used to determine the age of a logging road and establish right-of-way access for a property owner.

Flood History – The recruitment dates of California sycamore (Platanus racemosa) along Alameda Creek, California demonstrate that much of the current forest established in the near aftermath of the great flood event of 1862.

Flood History – Flood scars on plains cottonwood (Populus deltoides), caused by the movement of ice sheets during large floods, were used to examine the timing of past flood events along the Moreau River, South Dakota.

Fire History – Fire scars on lodgepole pine (Pinus contorta) were used to examine the timing of fire events at Tuolumne Meadows, Yosemite National Park, California. Relatively frequent fires occurred along the meadow edge between the early 1700s and the mid-1800s. Since the early 1900s, fire disturbance has been largely absent.

Archeology – The cut dates of Engelmann spruce (Picea engelmannii) and subalpine fir (Abies lasiocarpa) stumps were used to establish the location of an 1877 Nez Perce encampment in Yellowstone National Park, Wyoming. This encampment is associated with Chief Joseph and the Flight of the Nez Perce.

Archeology – Western redcedar (Thuja plicata) wood remnants recovered from a corduroy road site near the former town of Kosmos, Washington were precisely dated to 1889.

Archeology – Charcoal remnants of singleleaf pinyon pine (Pinus monophylla) recovered from a charcoal kiln site near Mineral Peak, Nevada were precisely dated to 1851 and 1856.

Archeology – The blaze mark on a limber pine (Pinus flexilis) in the Ancient Bristlecone Pine Forest, California was precisely dated to 1949.

Hydrothermal – High concentrations of carbon dioxide gas in the soil at Horseshoe Lake, Inyo National Forest, California, are being studied using precisely dated lodgepole pine (Pinus contorta) annual ring wood tissue samples.

Hydrothermal – The timing and characteristics of hydrothermal events at Norris Geyser Basin in Yellowstone National Park, Wyoming are being investigated with tree-ring patterns in lodgepole pine (Pinus contorta) deadwood remnants.

Tree Mortality – During 1985-1989, a large tree mortality event occurred in a stand of old-growth California Sycamore (Platanus racemosa) in Livermore, California. This mortality event was linked to changing stream flow conditions.

Tree Recruitment – Lodgepole pine (Pinus contorta) recruitment episodes at Tuolumne Meadows, Yosemite National Park, California were linked to periods of low interannual variability in PDSI and low precipitation.

Volcanic Eruption – Buried deadwood remnants were used to precisely date the AD 1350 volcanic eruption at Whitewing Mountain, Inyo National Forest, California. The deadwood remnants at this site include Whitebark pine (Pinus albicaulis), western white pine (Pinus monticola), sugar pine (Pinus lambertiana), lodgepole pine (Pinus contorta), Jeffrey pine (Pinus jeffreyi), and mountain hemlock (Tsuga mertensiana).