In this course, students will learn the scientific basis, techniques, and applications of dendrochronology. We will explore the biological basis for dendrochronology, the principles upon which dendrochronology rests, and in which disciplines it has been applied. Examples will be drawn from several stages of the history of dendrochronology. At the end of the course, students will be able to collect tree-ring samples, prepare and date the samples, and build a local chronology. Finally, students will be able to evaluate dendrochronological analyses, and interpret their own data for specific research issues.
Lectures
Attendance is very important in the course, but is not included in grade calculation. Excessive absences may be grounds for dropping a student from the course. It is, however, the student’s responsibility to drop the course officially; failure to do so will result in a grade of E or I, at the instructor’s discretion. Special circumstances and/or disabilities will be accommodated on a case-by-case basis in accordance with the 1990 Americans with Disabilities Act. Please let me know about any such needs as early as possible.
There is no required text for the course. Interested students are encouraged to buy the classic:
An Introduction to Tree-Ring Dating, Stokes, M.A., and T. L. Smiley, 1968. University of Arizona Press, Tucson. (Reprinted 1995).
Laboratory meeting times will be arranged on the first day of class. Lab is required for the course and will meet once a week for approximately 3 hours. The lab will constitute a very important part of the course and of your grade. Topics covered in the lab include the practical aspects of crossdating, sample preparation and mounting, chronology building and interpretation, and the interpretation of different types of dendrochronological samples.
There will be a mandatory weekend field trip, on a date to be arranged, to conduct dendrochronological sampling and observe sites. Additional information will be available in September. Topics demonstrated on the trip will be site and tree selection criteria, increment coring techniques, and other field procedures in a problem-oriented context.
