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| National Tree-Ring Laboratory | |
|---|---|
| Name | National Tree-Ring Laboratory |
| Established | 1975 |
| Location | Tucson, Arizona |
| Type | Research laboratory |
| Director | Edward R. Cook |
| Affiliations | University of Arizona |
National Tree-Ring Laboratory is a dendrochronology research center based at the University of Arizona in Tucson, Arizona that specializes in tree-ring dating, paleoclimatology, and ecological reconstruction. The Laboratory supports interdisciplinary work spanning paleoclimatology, archaeology, ecology, geochronology, and conservation biology and collaborates with institutions such as the Smithsonian Institution, United States Geological Survey, National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, NASA, and United States Forest Service. The Laboratory houses extensive ring-width and isotopic collections used by researchers associated with programs at the Laboratory of Tree-Ring Research, Lamont–Doherty Earth Observatory, Scripps Institution of Oceanography, and international partners including ETH Zurich and University of Cambridge.
Founded amid growing interest in environmental reconstruction, the Laboratory traces origins to tree-ring initiatives at the University of Arizona in the 1970s and the expansion of dendrochronology following work by researchers at University of Arizona and contemporaries at Arizona State University. Early collaborations linked the Laboratory with projects at National Science Foundation, National Geographic Society, Smithsonian Institution, and the United States Forest Service to build regional chronologies and to support archaeological dating for sites investigated by teams from the Pueblo Grande Museum and the Peabody Museum of Archaeology and Ethnology. Over subsequent decades the Laboratory exchanged specimens and data with the Laboratory of Tree-Ring Research at the University of Arizona and with international centers such as Dendrochronology Laboratory of the Swiss Federal Institute for Forest, Snow and Landscape Research and researchers involved with the International Tree-Ring Data Bank.
The Laboratory's mission integrates dendrochronological dating, climate reconstruction, and resource management to inform stakeholders including the National Park Service, Bureau of Land Management, United States Fish and Wildlife Service, and academic partners at the University of California, Berkeley and Yale University. Research programs emphasize reconstruction of hydroclimate variability, fire-history analysis, and long-term growth trends using methodologies refined through collaborations with scientists at Columbia University, University of Colorado Boulder, Oregon State University, and Colorado State University. The Laboratory contributes to paleoclimate syntheses alongside groups from PAGES and the International Tree-Ring Data Bank, while engaging with applied projects for agencies such as the Forest Service and the National Park Service.
Collections comprise tens of thousands of increment cores, cross-sections, and slab samples from species including Pinus ponderosa, Pinus edulis, Juniperus monosperma, and Sequoiadendron giganteum, curated with cataloging systems compatible with the International Tree-Ring Data Bank. The archives include historical datasets used in major reconstructions coauthored with researchers at Princeton University, Harvard University, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, and the University of Oregon and exchange agreements with repositories such as the Peabody Museum of Archaeology and Ethnology and the Arizona State Museum. Specimen stewardship follows protocols aligned with the National Archives and Records Administration guidelines for scientific collections and with ethical frameworks endorsed by the Society for American Archaeology and the American Association for the Advancement of Science.
Laboratory facilities include climate-controlled storage, sliding-stage microscopes, high-precision measuring stations, and stable isotope preparation labs equipped for work comparable to instrumentation at Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory and Oak Ridge National Laboratory. Dendrochronology tools include LINTAB measuring tables and high-resolution scanners used in tandem with software packages developed at University of Arizona and shared with collaborators at University of Western Australia and University of Innsbruck. Analytical capacity supports radiocarbon pre-treatment and accelerator mass spectrometry coordination with National Ocean Sciences Accelerator Mass Spectrometry Facility and radiocarbon facilities at Arizona State University and University of California, Irvine.
The Laboratory has contributed to regional megadrought reconstructions and fire-scar chronologies cited alongside work from Bradley, R. S., Cook, E. R., Bradley University-affiliated studies and international syntheses led by teams at PAGES and NOAA. Major projects include the Southwestern hydroclimate reconstructions used in assessments for the Bureau of Reclamation, drought attribution studies informing IPCC-related research, and archaeological dating that supported excavations associated with the Ancestral Puebloans and missions investigated by teams from the Peabody Museum of Archaeology and Ethnology and the Arizona State Museum. Contributions extend to conservation planning with the National Park Service, wildfire risk modeling with the United States Forest Service, and multidisciplinary publications coauthored with scholars at Columbia University, University of California, Los Angeles, and University of Washington.
Educational programs include graduate training for students enrolled in the University of Arizona doctoral programs, workshops for professionals from the United States Forest Service and National Park Service, and public outreach coordinated with institutions such as the Arizona-Sonora Desert Museum and the Tucson Botanical Gardens. The Laboratory hosts short courses and hands-on training attended by participants from NASA, NOAA, USGS, and international researchers from University of Copenhagen and University of British Columbia, and contributes teaching modules for courses taught by faculty at University of Arizona and visiting scholars from ETH Zurich.
Administrative oversight is provided through the University of Arizona with leadership drawn from faculty affiliated with the Department of Geosciences and partnerships with centers like the Institute of the Environment and the Biosphere 2. Funding derives from competitive grants awarded by the National Science Foundation, contracts with the United States Forest Service, cooperative agreements with the National Park Service, philanthropic support from the Gordon and Betty Moore Foundation and the W. M. Keck Foundation, and collaborative projects funded by agencies including NASA and NOAA.