Tree rings aid study of climate change and weather conditions

Scientists are studying tree rings to learn about changes in climate over hundreds of years. BBC News reports on how the width of the rings can give clues to rainfall, temperature and even tsunamis.

[chemsrus]

Tree ring based climate diary. That really stuck out to me. That is an awesome idea. Nature tells it all and there is a lot to learn. Cool video.

[MrJch]

Thats great news. The larger the rings the more carbon is used for growth. Warmer weather increases photosynthesis and thus more carbon is required for the tree from the atmosphere.

[naconaco]

Here come the trolls o bet. The climate does change obviously it's not the same

[RalphEllis]

Dendrochronology and dendroclimatology are pseudo-science.
Tree-rings are also determined by microclimates, pests, rainfall, disease, and canopy cover - they are useless at determining temperature and climate.
In addition, a single tree can have dramatically different ring-thicknesses in one section of trunk. The left side may have thick rings in a certain decade, while the right side has thin rings. So if you core the tree from the left the climate was warm, and if you core it from the right the climate was cold.
Same goes for dendrochronology. If tree-rings are highly variable in one tree, and stands of trees are effected by local conditions, then how can you compare a ship’s timber with a reference bog-oak in Ireland, or a bristlecone in America?
As I say - it is all bogus pseudo-science. It’s a joke.
See my recent paleoclimate paper: Modulation of Ice Ages by Dust and Albedo.
Ralph.