Cambridge University Scientist Create Ancient Tree Ring Diary

      The "longest continuous tree ring-based diary" is being created by scientist at the University of Cambridge to help map climate change.

      The diary documents climatic conditions going back centuries, using trees from across the world. Trees are weather-sensitive and their rings can give clues to rainfall, temperature and even tsunamis.

      Scientists said technique recently uncovered evidence of an ice age that started in precisely 536 AD. It followed a cluster of volcanic eruptions that triggered a very cold period of 100 to 120 years.

      By reconstructing historical climates, scientists can analyze if the recent warming is unusual. Tree rings are as distinctive as fingerprints and the team is working  with volcanologists, historians and archeologists.

      They want to discover how communities have been affected as changes in climate have coincided with plagues and mass migration. "The biggest advantage of tree ring chronologies is their annual precise dating, so this allows us to make cross-comparisons to human history," said Prof Buntgen, head of the University's tree ring unit. " Tress are unique in the way they form each year annual distinct ring...so this allows us to make this continuous chronologies. By being able to map past climate changes over 1,000 or 2,0000 years, we can ultimately improve modern predictions."

      Living trees and samples from building sites, medieval churches, lakes and peat bogs are being used. Trees-preserved for hundreds of years-have also been winched out of Scottish lochs.

      "We have materials from Scotland going back 8,000 years," said Dr Rob Wilson, of the University of St Andrews. 

      "[Rings can reveal] earthquakes, rock avalanches, snow avalanches, tsunamis...so one can be quite creative in the different aspects of environmental change you can study with tree rings,"

Posted by Bening Salsa Biela

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class : 1D-English Literature

 

adapted from http:/www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-cambridgeshire-45525785