Tree rings aid study of climate change and weather conditions

Summary

Researchers from the University of Cambridge are using tree rings to uncover crucial data on climate change. By studying preserved trees from Scottish lakes, scientists gain insights into temperature shifts, rainfall patterns, and major environmental events like volcanic eruptions, earthquakes, and avalanches. They are creating the longest continuous tree-ring-based climate diary, revealing periods like the Little Ice Age starting in 536 AD and major cold periods caused by volcanic eruptions. This data helps scientists understand historical climate trends and assess how recent warming compares to past patterns.

Takeaways

• 🌳 Tree rings can reveal much more than a tree's age; they offer insights into how the climate has changed over time.
• 🌊 Researchers in the Scottish Highlands are studying trees preserved underwater for clues about past climate conditions.
• 🔍 These preserved trees can date back hundreds or even thousands of years, allowing scientists to analyze historical climate patterns.
• 📅 The width of tree rings can indicate changes in temperature, rainfall, and even events like avalanches, earthquakes, and tsunamis.
• 🧪 At Cambridge University, researchers are building the longest continuous climate diary using tree ring data from around the world.
• ❄️ A particularly narrow tree ring in 1816 corresponds to the 'Year Without a Summer,' caused by volcanic eruptions and cold weather.
• 🌋 A cluster of volcanic eruptions in 536 AD triggered a period called the Late Antique Little Ice Age, marked by frost-damaged tree rings.
• 🍂 Researchers have found evidence of dramatic climate events, including a Scottish famine in the 1690s caused by plummeting temperatures.
• 🔥 Wide tree rings from 2018 suggest that it was a warm and productive year, providing evidence of recent climate trends.
• 🌍 By reconstructing historical climate changes, scientists can assess whether recent warming trends are unprecedented.

Q & A

What can tree rings reveal besides a tree’s age?

Tree rings can provide information about past climate changes, including temperature, rainfall, and environmental events such as avalanches, earthquakes, and tsunamis.

How are researchers gathering ancient trees to study?

Researchers are extracting preserved trees from lakes in the Scottish Highlands, some of which have been submerged for hundreds or even thousands of years.

What kind of climate data can be obtained from studying tree rings?

Studying tree rings can reveal past temperature variations, rainfall patterns, and even extreme environmental events like snow avalanches, earthquakes, and volcanic eruptions.

What significant climate event is linked to the year 1816, as mentioned in the report?

The year 1816 is known as the 'Year Without a Summer' due to a major tropical volcanic eruption that caused cold and wet conditions, as shown by very narrow tree rings from that time.

What evidence have researchers found about the ‘Late Antique Little Ice Age’?

Researchers discovered that the 'Late Antique Little Ice Age' began in 536 AD after a series of volcanic eruptions, leading to a cold period lasting 100 to 120 years. Frost damage in tree rings from 536 AD provides evidence of this dramatic temperature drop.

What climatic event caused frost damage in tree rings from the year 1258?

A major equatorial volcanic eruption in 1258 caused a significant drop in temperature, leading to frost damage in tree rings from that year.

How far back do the tree ring samples from the Scottish Highlands date?

Tree ring samples from the Scottish Highlands provide climate data going back as far as 8,000 years, though there are still some gaps, such as a missing period from the 11th century.

What happened in the 1690s that is reflected in the tree rings?

The tree rings from the 1690s show evidence of plummeting temperatures in Scotland, which led to a famine during that period.

What does a wide tree ring typically indicate?

A wide tree ring typically indicates a warm and productive year with favorable growing conditions, such as the hot summer of 2018.

Why are scientists interested in reconstructing the climate of the past through tree rings?

Reconstructing the past climate through tree rings helps scientists determine if the warming seen in recent years is truly unusual or part of a natural climate pattern.

Outlines

00:00

🌳 Tree Rings and Climate Change

This paragraph introduces the concept that tree rings, often used to count a tree's age, can reveal much more about historical climate conditions. Researchers from the University of Cambridge have found that these rings provide valuable insights into how the climate has changed over time. A report from BBC News highlights this scientific exploration in the Scottish Highlands.

🏞️ Searching for Climate Clues Underwater

Scientists are conducting hands-on fieldwork by searching under the water in a Scottish loch, using tools like an underwater chainsaw to recover ancient trees that have been preserved for hundreds of years. These trees contain valuable information in their rings about past climates, helping researchers to track historical weather patterns and climate changes.

🪵 Ancient Trees and Their Climate Diaries

This segment describes how scientists study tree rings to create an 'annual diary' of climate changes over centuries. By analyzing wider and thinner rings, they can determine periods of faster or slower growth, which correlate with different climate conditions. The data from Scottish trees spans over 8,000 years, but there are still gaps, such as during the 11th century.

🌪️ Rings Reveal Extreme Events

Tree rings can also record extreme weather events, such as avalanches, earthquakes, and tsunamis. When these natural disasters occur, they damage the trees, and the rings from those periods provide clues to date these events and understand the environmental changes that occurred at the time.

🏛️ A Global Climate Diary at Cambridge

In a new lab at Cambridge University, researchers are using tree samples from around the world to create the longest continuous tree-ring-based climate diary. For example, the rings from 1816, known as the 'year without a summer,' are very narrow due to the cold and wet conditions following a major volcanic eruption. The research reveals how such events affect climate.

🌋 Volcanic Eruptions and the Little Ice Age

Researchers have discovered evidence of a 'Little Ice Age,' beginning in 536 AD, caused by volcanic eruptions. The frost-damaged rings from this period demonstrate the dramatic drop in temperature. Similar damage is seen from another volcanic eruption in 1258, which froze Europe, and in the 1690s when Scottish temperatures dropped sharply, leading to famine.

🔥 Boiling Hot Years in Recent Times

The wide rings of 2018, a year of productive warmth, show that it was a hot year, in contrast to the thin rings from cold periods. By reconstructing past climates, scientists can better determine if the warming in recent years is part of a natural pattern or something more unusual. These studies help scientists predict future climate changes.

Keywords

💡Tree Rings

Tree rings are growth layers found in the trunk of a tree, visible as concentric circles. In the video, scientists use tree rings to analyze historical climate data, as each ring represents one year of growth. Thicker rings suggest favorable conditions like warm temperatures and ample rainfall, while thinner rings indicate harsher conditions. The analysis of these rings provides a 'diary' of climate changes, stretching back thousands of years.

💡Climate Change

Climate change refers to significant and lasting changes in the Earth's climate. In the video, the study of ancient tree rings helps scientists understand how climate has shifted over centuries, revealing periods of extreme cold, warmth, and natural disasters like volcanic eruptions. This research helps scientists compare past climate events with present warming trends.

💡Volcanic Eruptions

Volcanic eruptions are major geological events where magma, gas, and ash are expelled from a volcano. In the video, they are linked to significant climate shifts. For example, the year 536 AD marks the beginning of a 'Little Ice Age' caused by volcanic eruptions, and another major eruption in 1258 AD led to frost damage that can be seen in tree rings.

💡Little Ice Age

The Little Ice Age refers to a period of prolonged cooling that affected the climate. According to the video, it began around 536 AD following volcanic eruptions. This period is evidenced by frost-damaged tree rings and a notable drop in temperatures, offering a glimpse into how volcanic activity can drastically alter the climate.

💡Frost Damage

Frost damage is the injury trees sustain when temperatures suddenly drop, causing freezing. In the video, frost damage is visible in the tree rings from 536 AD and 1258 AD, linked to cold spells following volcanic eruptions. These frost-damaged cells are used by scientists to identify periods of extreme cold in the historical climate record.

💡Cambridge University

Cambridge University is a prestigious institution involved in climate research. In the video, researchers at Cambridge are building a comprehensive tree-ring-based climate diary. Their lab collects samples from trees worldwide, allowing them to map out climate patterns stretching back thousands of years. This work is key to understanding historical climate changes and their causes.

💡Scottish Highlands

The Scottish Highlands is a region in northern Scotland where ancient submerged trees are being studied. In the video, scientists retrieve trees from Lochs in the Highlands that have been preserved underwater for hundreds or thousands of years. These trees provide crucial data about past climate conditions in the region, going back as far as 8,000 years.

💡Year Without a Summer

The Year Without a Summer refers to 1816, when a volcanic eruption led to abnormally cold and wet conditions across much of Europe. In the video, tree rings from that year show extremely narrow growth due to the adverse climate, with only two cells forming throughout the growing season. This serves as a clear example of how environmental events can impact tree growth and the climate.

💡Tsunamis

Tsunamis are large ocean waves typically caused by undersea earthquakes. In the video, tree rings also show signs of environmental events like tsunamis, which can wipe out large areas of forest. By dating trees damaged by such events, scientists can track and study the impact of these natural disasters over time.

💡Famine

Famine refers to extreme scarcity of food, often caused by environmental factors. In the video, tree rings from the 1690s reflect a severe famine in Scotland, caused by plummeting temperatures. The video connects these climate shifts, visible in tree rings, with the broader social consequences like food shortages.

Highlights

Tree rings not only reveal a tree's age but also offer insights into climate change over centuries.

Researchers from the University of Cambridge are using tree rings to study past climate patterns and their effects.

In the Scottish Highlands, scientists are retrieving preserved trees from underwater to analyze their rings.

Some of the retrieved trees have been submerged for 600-700 years, preserved by the water.

The width of tree rings can indicate temperature changes, rainfall, and even natural disasters like avalanches, earthquakes, and tsunamis.

The study of tree rings can help reconstruct summer climate conditions going back 8,000 years in Scotland.

There are gaps in the continuous tree ring record, particularly in the 11th century, which researchers are working to fill.

Tree ring data from 1816, the 'year without a summer,' shows very narrow rings due to a cold, wet growing season following a volcanic eruption.

New discoveries from tree rings include evidence of the Late Antique Little Ice Age, starting in 536 AD, triggered by volcanic eruptions.

A tree ring from 536 AD shows frost damage, indicating a dramatic temperature drop following volcanic activity.

Further frost damage in 1258 AD shows another cold period, also caused by a major volcanic eruption.

In 1690, tree rings show a severe drop in temperature in Scotland, leading to a famine.

Scientists predict that the tree rings from 2018, a notably warm year, will be relatively wide due to the productive, warm climate.

The goal of reconstructing past climates using tree rings is to understand whether recent warming is part of a natural cycle or truly unusual.

Samples for this research come from various sources, including living trees, medieval churches, peat bogs, and lakes.

Transcripts

of effort

[Music]

in climate watch we've been taught that

the rings on a tree trunk can be used to

count a trees a researchers at the

University of Cambridge say that the

Rings can reveal much more than that

not just about the tree but about how

the climate has changed

Richard Westcott from our partners at

BBC news reports this lock in the

scottish highlands is hiding clues that

could help us better predict the impact

of climate change scientists are

searching for them under the water

swimming around for hours

it's tough hands-on fieldwork this is

right underwater chainsaw okay so at the

beginning they're winching out trees

that lived and died hundreds even

thousands of years ago but the water has

preserved them so Rob this could have

been in the lot for six seven hundred

years

oh yes hopefully this was here died six

hundred years ago and then we don't know

how many rings he's got yet but if it's

had tuna rings that will take it back to

hundreds by studying their rings you get

a written annual diary of the summer

climate going way back in time so here

you've got wider rings you've got a

thinner and then it gets wider again

then it's thinner and wider

these represent that this tree was

growing quicker and slower we have

material for Scotland for the northern

cables within ten kilometers of here

going back 8,000 years now we've got

lots of gaps at the moment were

continuous back nine hundred years we

have an 11th century gap which is very

annoying and then we've got quite a lot

of material for the first millennium ad

the width of tree rings can give clues

to temperature rainfall and some

surprising things like avalanches snow

avalanches earthquakes tsunamis you know

if they just come in in this wipe out

the whole trees you can date them and so

forth so one could be quite creative and

the different aspects of environmental

change one could study by looking at

tree wings in a new lab at Cambridge

University of bunt guns using trees from

around the world to create the longest

continuous tree ring based climate diary

this is a year

18:16 it's also called the year without

a summer in large parts of Europe it's

following a major tropical volcanic

eruptions it is resulting in a very very

never ring just two cells from

throughout the entire growing season

that was most likely very cold and also

very wet using samples from living trees

medieval churches peat bogs building

sites and lakes

they're already unearthing new dramatic

events so we just recently discovered

the so called late and keep Little Ice

Age that's a period starting precisely

in the year 536 following a cluster of

volcanic eruptions that triggered a very

cold period of roughly 100 120 years and

here's the evidence a tree ring from 536

ad the larger cells are frost damage

from a dramatic drop in temperature the

line down the middle here is more frost

damage but this time from 1258 when

another equatorial volcanic eruption

froze Europe and these thinner rings

show plummeting Scottish temperatures

that caused a famine in the 1690s but

what about boiling hot 20:18 well we can

bet a beer that I would say that the

ring should be relatively wide it was a

good productive warm year by

reconstructing the climate at the past

scientists can work out if the warming

seen in recent years is truly unusual

Richard Westcott BBC news