Extending annual-resolution paleoclimatic records for Atlantic Canada using dendrochronology

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Tree-ring analysis (dendrochronology) can address many scientific questions regarding past environmental conditions, and at an annual resolution. Most regions of Canada have been investigated to some degree using dendrochronological methods, but by far the least studied is the Atlantic Coast.The primary goal of this research is to continue to fill the gap that currently exists in the Canadian dendrochronological databank. Owing to the limited old-growth forest that remains in the region, samples will be collected both from centuries-old historical structures and from the few remnant populations of old trees that remain in the region. This approach has proven to be the only means of extending tree-ring records to produce the type of long-term, annually resolved paleoenvironmental models that long-lived trees have allowed us to develop elsewhere in Canada.Data from this project will be used to explore past temperature and precipitation patterns in Atlantic Canada, including the North Atlantic Oscillation, and to develop and map paleoclimatic reconstructions.Specific objectives are to (1) continue to locate and sample any remaining remnant populations of old-growth forest in the region to establish their annual growth records; (2) use historical wooden structures to extend the growth records of individual species in the region; (3) use the extended tree-ring chronologies from multiple species along with historical climate records to develop robust paleoclimatic approximations for both terrestrial and oceanic phenomena; and (4) map the paleoclimatic history of Atlantic Canada at micro and macro scales.As human atmospheric impacts become better understood, the need for reliable regional and global climate models has never been as great. Creating robust approximations of past climatic conditions is fundamental in calibrating and verifying these models, which help us to understand past climates and to forecast future climate fluctuations in Canada and around the world.