Tools for X-ray densitometry at the UVTRL

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This proposal requests funds for three tools crucial for initiating X-ray densitometric research and training at the University of Victoria Tree-Ring Laboratory (UVTRL). A high precision twinblade saw is required to cut wood slats to a uniform 1.0 ± 0.02 mm thickness for analysis in a direct scanning X-ray densitometer. A dedicated Workstation PC with enhanced memory and video components, equipped with an ITRAX-dedicated version of the proprietary WinDendro imaging analysis software, is required for analysis of the digital output of the densitometer. The long-term research goal of the UVTRL is to reconstruct the Holocene climate history of the British Columbia Coast Mountains using tree-ring data. Quantifying these annually-resolved records of climate provides information essential for understanding and predicting modes of climate variability at the ocean-atmosphere scale in Pacific Canada. Variations in wood density within annual tree rings have been shown to provide substantive climatic information. The recent acquisition of a CFI/BCKDF-funded state-of-the-art direct scanning ITRAX X-ray densitometer now permits researchers in western Canada to begin wood density based tree-ring studies. Our objective is to develop complimentary networks of density-derived living and subfossil tree-ring chronologies from climatically-sensitive sites. By understanding any inherent temporal and spatial modes of climate variability, we will be able to reveal insights critical for understanding the underlying mechanisms of ocean-atmosphere coupling.