Extending annual-resolution paleoclimatic records for Atlantic Canada using dendrochronology

树木年轮分析(树轮年代学)可以解决关于过去环境条件的许多科学问题，并以年度分辨率进行。加拿大的大部分地区都在某种程度上使用了树状年代学方法进行了调查，但迄今为止研究最少的是大西洋海岸。这项研究的主要目标是继续填补加拿大树状年代学数据库中目前存在的空白。由于该地区剩余的老树林有限，将从该地区几个世纪的历史建筑和为数不多的残留古树种群中收集样本。这种方法已经被证明是唯一一种扩展年轮记录以产生长期的、每年分解的古环境模型的方法，长寿命的树木使我们能够在加拿大其他地方开发这种类型的古环境模型。该项目的数据将被用于探索大西洋加拿大过去的温度和降水模式，包括北大西洋涛动，并开发和绘制古气候重建图。具体目标是：(1)继续定位和采样该地区剩余的古老森林种群，以建立它们的年度生长记录；(2)使用历史木结构来扩展该地区个别物种的生长记录；(3)使用多个物种的扩展年轮年表以及历史气候记录来建立陆地和海洋现象的稳健的古气候近似；以及(4)绘制微观和宏观尺度的大西洋加拿大的古气候历史。随着对人类大气影响的更好了解，对可靠的区域和全球气候模型的需求从未像现在这样强烈。建立过去气候条件的稳健近似是校准和验证这些模型的基础，这些模型有助于我们了解过去的气候并预测加拿大和世界各地未来的气候波动。

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.