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Undertoad · 01-13-2010, 01:25 PM

I would think global tree data would be immensely useful. Not to figure out, say, the low temperature in November in 1831, but to show the long-term trends. The trees can see back a few centuries, so they have a unique undeniable perspective on things.

For example, as you go up the mountain, there are trees which start to fail from not surviving the conditions. You could work out long-term averages really well there: the tree at 6000' had no winters above 10 degrees until the 1940s. You could compare the trees of 100 years ago to the trees today, and say, half a century ago this ridge could not support trees, now it does. An overall increase of one degree in temperature in this location could cause this.

Imagine a forest succeeding or failing. It's massive, long term change on the order of the appearance or disappearance of deserts. You could figure out which trees get flooded in coastal flood zones, to figure out ocean depth changes. You could say whether el nino/la nina effects were routine over large areas of the continent and how long the cycles are. You could determine to the year when an ocean current appeared, based on the areas that were affected and not affected.

01-13-2010, 01:25 PM	#584
Undertoad Radical Centrist Join Date: Jan 2001 Location: Cottage of Prussia Posts: 31,423	I would think global tree data would be immensely useful. Not to figure out, say, the low temperature in November in 1831, but to show the long-term trends. The trees can see back a few centuries, so they have a unique undeniable perspective on things. For example, as you go up the mountain, there are trees which start to fail from not surviving the conditions. You could work out long-term averages really well there: the tree at 6000' had no winters above 10 degrees until the 1940s. You could compare the trees of 100 years ago to the trees today, and say, half a century ago this ridge could not support trees, now it does. An overall increase of one degree in temperature in this location could cause this. Imagine a forest succeeding or failing. It's massive, long term change on the order of the appearance or disappearance of deserts. You could figure out which trees get flooded in coastal flood zones, to figure out ocean depth changes. You could say whether el nino/la nina effects were routine over large areas of the continent and how long the cycles are. You could determine to the year when an ocean current appeared, based on the areas that were affected and not affected.