Dendrogeomorphology

April 16, 2013

• Geomorphology – study of landforms and the earth surface processes that form and modify them

• the science that uses dendrochronology to study changes to the Earth's surface over time

• a dating technique based on the study of variations in tree-ring widths caused by variations in climate and environment at the time of ring formation.

• Sherzer (1905) first used spruce trees to estimte the ages of glacial moraines in the Canadian Rockies

• In 1923, dendrogeomorphology resolved a border dispute between Texas and Oklahoma.

Geomorphic events and how they can be reconstructed using tree rings

Process Event Possible Response

Volcanic Loss of photosynthesis suppression

Floodplain dynamics Debris impact during floods Scarring

Glacial Denudation of surface Tree establishment

Mass movement Inclination Reaction wood

Earthquake Change in water table Suppression, release

Dendrovolcanology

• Eruptions documented with tree rings through direct effect on tree stems from shock waves, ash fall, or debris from the eruption; mortality of trees on a site; or a global cooling event

Dendroglaciology

• Tree ring dates obtained from Nothofagus nitida around the rim of the North Patagonian Icefield suggest that warming following the 'Little Ice Age' began in the 1860s.