Forest surrounding Girdwood, Alaska. Living mountain hemlock trees were cored from this site (Wiles, 2014).
Kaitlin Starr coring a living Western Hemlock found in the forests surrounding the town of Girdwood (Starr, 2014).
Girdwood core sample illustrating both tight and normal growth patterns. Growth patterns may vary due to shifting climates. Tight growth often occurs during periods of distress, such as drought or storms.
Standardized Girdwood chronology note the upward trend in the series . The red line indicates the sample size.
The chronology was compared with meteorological data from the nearest station, Anchorage (International Airport) and correlations are plotted below. We found an unexpected high negative correlation between our chronology and the minimum temperature data, specifically throughout the summer months (June, July and August). The possible cause of this correlation is unknown at the moment.
This graph illustrates the overall correlation between tree ring width and mean temperature and precipitation in Girdwood, Alaska for the dendroclimatic year.
The above graph displays the overall minimum temperature compared to the tree ring widths for Girdwood, Alaska. A clear significant negative correlation exists for the months of May, June, July, and August.
Nice story, Maddie and Kaitlin!