Tree-ring evidence of the elusive 1959 summer cold event in northwestern North America
Tree-ring records in northwestern North America suggest that the year 1959 was anomalously cold relative to the last several centuries. Here, we investigate the spatial characteristics, specific timing, and magnitude of the 1959 cold event through analyzing a multiparameter tree-ring network, includ...
Saved in:
| Main Authors: | , , , , , , , , , , , |
|---|---|
| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
| Published: |
Taylor & Francis Group
2025-12-01
|
| Series: | Arctic, Antarctic, and Alpine Research |
| Subjects: | |
| Online Access: | https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/10.1080/15230430.2024.2445945 |
| Tags: |
Add Tag
No Tags, Be the first to tag this record!
|
| _version_ | 1850108455708262400 |
|---|---|
| author | Caroline Leland Nicole Davi Rosanne D’Arrigo Laia Andreu-Hayles Arturo Pacheco-Solana Julie Edwards Kevin J. Anchukaitis Trevor J. Porter Michael F.J. Pisaric Madeleine Mant Tracey Galloway Rose Oelkers |
| author_facet | Caroline Leland Nicole Davi Rosanne D’Arrigo Laia Andreu-Hayles Arturo Pacheco-Solana Julie Edwards Kevin J. Anchukaitis Trevor J. Porter Michael F.J. Pisaric Madeleine Mant Tracey Galloway Rose Oelkers |
| author_sort | Caroline Leland |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Tree-ring records in northwestern North America suggest that the year 1959 was anomalously cold relative to the last several centuries. Here, we investigate the spatial characteristics, specific timing, and magnitude of the 1959 cold event through analyzing a multiparameter tree-ring network, including two wood anatomical records, and climate reanalysis data. By assessing the sensitivity of tree-ring data to a climate extreme during the instrumental era, we can better understand the capacity of these records to capture historical climate extremes. Our results suggest that cool conditions prevailed across the region in the summer of 1959, but the most extreme cold was centered around northwestern Canada, where maximum latewood density and cell wall thickness anomalies were exceedingly low. Though the entire summer of 1959 was cool, a brief episode of record cold temperatures from late July through early August likely contributed greatly to the extreme tree-ring anomalies. Our findings highlight that climate extremes during critical periods of the growing season can leave a significant imprint on maximum latewood density and that high-resolution wood anatomical data can be particularly powerful for identifying and potentially reconstructing the timing, duration, and magnitude of historical and undocumented climate extremes. |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj-art-2a741ec221a243a29033fc7d18e8e6e2 |
| institution | OA Journals |
| issn | 1523-0430 1938-4246 |
| language | English |
| publishDate | 2025-12-01 |
| publisher | Taylor & Francis Group |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Arctic, Antarctic, and Alpine Research |
| spelling | doaj-art-2a741ec221a243a29033fc7d18e8e6e22025-08-20T02:38:21ZengTaylor & Francis GroupArctic, Antarctic, and Alpine Research1523-04301938-42462025-12-0157110.1080/15230430.2024.2445945Tree-ring evidence of the elusive 1959 summer cold event in northwestern North AmericaCaroline Leland0Nicole Davi1Rosanne D’Arrigo2Laia Andreu-Hayles3Arturo Pacheco-Solana4Julie Edwards5Kevin J. Anchukaitis6Trevor J. Porter7Michael F.J. Pisaric8Madeleine Mant9Tracey Galloway10Rose Oelkers11Department of Environmental Science, William Paterson University, Wayne, New Jersey, USADepartment of Environmental Science, William Paterson University, Wayne, New Jersey, USATree-Ring Laboratory, Lamont–Doherty Earth Observatory of Columbia University, Palisades, New York, USATree-Ring Laboratory, Lamont–Doherty Earth Observatory of Columbia University, Palisades, New York, USATree-Ring Laboratory, Lamont–Doherty Earth Observatory of Columbia University, Palisades, New York, USALaboratory of Tree-Ring Research and School of Geography, Development and Environment, University of Arizona, Tucson, Arizona, USATree-Ring Laboratory, Lamont–Doherty Earth Observatory of Columbia University, Palisades, New York, USAGeography, Geomatics & Environment, University of Toronto Mississauga, Toronto, Ontario, CanadaDepartment of Geography and Tourism Studies, Brock University, St. Catharines, Ontario, CanadaDepartment of Anthropology, University of Toronto Mississauga, Mississauga, Ontario, CanadaDepartment of Anthropology, University of Toronto Mississauga, Mississauga, Ontario, CanadaTree-Ring Laboratory, Lamont–Doherty Earth Observatory of Columbia University, Palisades, New York, USATree-ring records in northwestern North America suggest that the year 1959 was anomalously cold relative to the last several centuries. Here, we investigate the spatial characteristics, specific timing, and magnitude of the 1959 cold event through analyzing a multiparameter tree-ring network, including two wood anatomical records, and climate reanalysis data. By assessing the sensitivity of tree-ring data to a climate extreme during the instrumental era, we can better understand the capacity of these records to capture historical climate extremes. Our results suggest that cool conditions prevailed across the region in the summer of 1959, but the most extreme cold was centered around northwestern Canada, where maximum latewood density and cell wall thickness anomalies were exceedingly low. Though the entire summer of 1959 was cool, a brief episode of record cold temperatures from late July through early August likely contributed greatly to the extreme tree-ring anomalies. Our findings highlight that climate extremes during critical periods of the growing season can leave a significant imprint on maximum latewood density and that high-resolution wood anatomical data can be particularly powerful for identifying and potentially reconstructing the timing, duration, and magnitude of historical and undocumented climate extremes.https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/10.1080/15230430.2024.2445945Climate extremeswood anatomytree-ringsnorthwestern North America |
| spellingShingle | Caroline Leland Nicole Davi Rosanne D’Arrigo Laia Andreu-Hayles Arturo Pacheco-Solana Julie Edwards Kevin J. Anchukaitis Trevor J. Porter Michael F.J. Pisaric Madeleine Mant Tracey Galloway Rose Oelkers Tree-ring evidence of the elusive 1959 summer cold event in northwestern North America Arctic, Antarctic, and Alpine Research Climate extremes wood anatomy tree-rings northwestern North America |
| title | Tree-ring evidence of the elusive 1959 summer cold event in northwestern North America |
| title_full | Tree-ring evidence of the elusive 1959 summer cold event in northwestern North America |
| title_fullStr | Tree-ring evidence of the elusive 1959 summer cold event in northwestern North America |
| title_full_unstemmed | Tree-ring evidence of the elusive 1959 summer cold event in northwestern North America |
| title_short | Tree-ring evidence of the elusive 1959 summer cold event in northwestern North America |
| title_sort | tree ring evidence of the elusive 1959 summer cold event in northwestern north america |
| topic | Climate extremes wood anatomy tree-rings northwestern North America |
| url | https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/10.1080/15230430.2024.2445945 |
| work_keys_str_mv | AT carolineleland treeringevidenceoftheelusive1959summercoldeventinnorthwesternnorthamerica AT nicoledavi treeringevidenceoftheelusive1959summercoldeventinnorthwesternnorthamerica AT rosannedarrigo treeringevidenceoftheelusive1959summercoldeventinnorthwesternnorthamerica AT laiaandreuhayles treeringevidenceoftheelusive1959summercoldeventinnorthwesternnorthamerica AT arturopachecosolana treeringevidenceoftheelusive1959summercoldeventinnorthwesternnorthamerica AT julieedwards treeringevidenceoftheelusive1959summercoldeventinnorthwesternnorthamerica AT kevinjanchukaitis treeringevidenceoftheelusive1959summercoldeventinnorthwesternnorthamerica AT trevorjporter treeringevidenceoftheelusive1959summercoldeventinnorthwesternnorthamerica AT michaelfjpisaric treeringevidenceoftheelusive1959summercoldeventinnorthwesternnorthamerica AT madeleinemant treeringevidenceoftheelusive1959summercoldeventinnorthwesternnorthamerica AT traceygalloway treeringevidenceoftheelusive1959summercoldeventinnorthwesternnorthamerica AT roseoelkers treeringevidenceoftheelusive1959summercoldeventinnorthwesternnorthamerica |