Climate Change Training arranged by the Governmental Administration of Lapland 16-Dec-2007 Sodankylä Geophysical Observatory, Tähteläntie 62, Sodankylä

• Main Authors: English Updated Edition, Mauri Timonen
• Other Authors: The Pennsylvania State University CiteSeerX Archives
• Format: Text
• Language: English
• Subjects: Measurements; Dating and; Sodankylä; Rovaniemi; Timonen; Luosujärvi; Lapland
• Online Access: http://citeseerx.ist.psu.edu/viewdoc/summary?doi=10.1.1.482.4505; http://lustiag.pp.fi/treerings_and_climate-part2.pdf

have there two types of tree-ring measurement equipment: Finnish KS-KINSYS and German Rinntech (Lintab + Tsap) systems. A Finnish one in the picture. © Mauri Timonen Tree-ring samples (cores, cross-sections) can be measured directly through a stereomicroscope or observing the ring-widths from a video screen. Each annual ring (white + brown section or early wood + late wood) is measured separately. Sometimes it is difficult to distinquish the point where old growth ends and new growth begins. This happens especially when ring-widths are very narrow, just some hundreds of millemeters, or less! Tauno Luosujärvi measuring a cross-section (2000) © Mauri Timonen This almost 500 years long measurement series was measured from a sample cored from an old living pine growing in Iso-Syöte, a small mountain 200 km south-east of Rovaniemi. Note the almost zero-value widths (vertical axis in millimeter scale). The basic idea in dendrochronological tree-ring dating (cross-dating) is to study the corresponding tree-rings of specific years. June-July temperature is the well-known minimum factor of pine growth in Finnish Lapland. This rule and the fact that summers are not ”brothers”, makes it possible to create a barcode like graphics for marking the exceptional years of growth. This method, called Skeleton Plotting, is a tool that only needs a pencil, magnifying glass and millimeter scale paper. No measurements are needed!