Dissertations and Theses @ UNI

Availability

Open Access Thesis

Keywords

Dendroclimatology--Wyoming--Wind River Range; Wind River Range (Wyo.)--Climate;

Abstract

This study utilizes tree‐rings from the Wind River Range to determine past climates in this region of Wyoming and how they may have been affected by climate oscillations connected to the Pacific Ocean, such as El Nino-Southern Oscillation (ENSO) and Pacific Decadal Oscillation (PDO). The research considers what type(s) of past climatic cycles can be found in a roughly 500‐year series of tree‐rings collected from the Southeast Wind River Range using dendroclimatology and spectral analysis. It includes the reconstructed past temperature and precipitation data and how these compare with other reconstructions near the study area. The tree‐rings were found to be significantly correlated to average May‐through‐August temperatures from the Lander airport climate station during a 424 year span from 1589 to 2013. Spectral analysis of the detrended ring‐width data, as well as the reconstructed temperatures, suggests climate variations here may be associated with El Nino‐Southern Oscillation (ENSO) and Pacific Decadal Oscillation (PDO). These analyses indicate that a tele‐connection may exist between Pacific basin conditions and the climatic conditions in this region that affects tree growth in this region of Wyoming. Comparing actual El Nino/La Nina dates with precipitation and snow water equivalent values indicate that this area generally receives more moisture during El Nino periods and less moisture during La Nina periods.

Year of Submission

2014

Degree Name

Master of Arts

Department

Department of Geography

First Advisor

Dennis Dahms

Date Original

2014

Object Description

1 PDF file (ix, 94 pages)

Language

en

File Format

application/pdf

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