When we walked into the Sheraton in Springfield, Massachusetts we were greeted by none other than a wall full of cross sections from trees perfectly sanded to reveal the rings. “No way” I say. “I forgot the camera!” says Neil. We were just walking into the Northeast Natural History Conference, along with Dario and Jackie from the Tree Ring Lab. When I pictured my freshman year of college last summer, I pictured a lot of things. I did not picture getting to go to a conference to present a poster on my own research.
Category> General Earth Institute
Tags> lamont doherty earth observatory, student research, The Broadleaf Papers, Tree Ring Lab, tree rings
“You can do math on excel?” I ask. I immediately imagine a face-palm response, but Dario, one of my advisors, is nice enough to hide it. I’ve collected tree core samples, I’ve prepared them and cross-dated them. Now what? Oh, right. The Science.
Category> Climate, Ecosystems, General Earth Institute
Tags> data, lab science, lamont doherty earth observatory, student research, The Broadleaf Papers, Tree Ring Lab, tree rings
Ever since I’ve started learning to cross-date tree core samples, I’ve learned I have a type. I prefer my tree cores to be black oaks, middle-aged, with some nice big rings to show me. Alright, fine, I can deal with some smaller rings every now and then. As long as they’re some nice marker rings. Unfortunately, the trees don’t seem to be trying to impress me.
Category> General Earth Institute
Tags> Climate, lab science, lamont doherty earth observatory, old trees, student research, The Broadleaf Papers, Tree Ring Lab, tree rings, trees
“Are you using this idea for your thesis research?”
I heard this as I stood in front of a classroom full of old-growth forest ecology students. The question had come from Neil Pederson, who was sitting directly in front of me. He was asking this question because I had just spent the past 12 minutes discussing the intricacies of land snail biology and ecology that would make them great organisms to use for ecological modeling in regards to disturbance.
Category> Ecosystems, General Earth Institute
Tags> ecology, old trees, old-growth forests, terrestrial ecosystems, The Broadleaf Papers
By Ana Camila Gonzalez “But can’t you see the rings already?” I ask, wondering why I’ve been asked to sand a sample- it sounds to me like one would damage a sample by subjecting it to the mechanical screech of a sander. “Yes, but under the microscope they look foggy if you don’t sand [...]
Category> Earth Sciences
Tags> lab science, laboratory science, student research, students, The Broadleaf Papers, Tree Ring Lab, tree rings
My feet are soaking wet and I’m playing a game of Marco Polo, but I’m nowhere near a pool. It’s my second day on the job. It’s my second week of college. I have no idea what to expect.
Category> Ecosystems
Tags> deciduous forest, eastern deciduous forest, field science, old trees, student research, The Broadleaf Papers, Tree Ring Lab, tree rings
2012 is turning out to be an exceptional year in the eastern US. Starting out with what was essentially a #YearWithoutaWinter, followed by a heat wave in March, a hot summer, Macoun and Cortland apples coming in 2-3 weeks early, and the continuation of a severe drought in the Southern US that expanded into the Midwest [...]
Category> Climate, Earth Sciences, Ecosystems, General Earth Institute, Water
Tags> climate history, Climate Science, drought, Lamont-Doherty Earth Observatory, New York City, old trees, The Broadleaf Papers, Tree Ring Lab, tree rings, water matters
I have to call myself out. Earlier I had professed to being a former coniferphile. That was, of course, silly. I like coniferous trees very much. Half of my business is made from this lovely branch of the tree family. This introduction is a lead in to say that this blog will be quieter while [...]
Category> Climate, Ecosystems, Water
Tags> drought, eastern deciduous forest, The Broadleaf Papers, Tree Ring Lab, tree rings, Turkey
After a few days of mild frustration, the sampling of potentially old umbrella pine lifted our spirits and put us in a good frame of mind to conduct our last day of research in the temperate rainforest region of northeastern Turkey. We headed out of Borçka and met with a forest officer in charge of forests [...]
Category> Ecosystems, General Earth Institute
Tags> charismatic megaflora, Lamont-Doherty Earth Observatory, oak, old trees, Quercus petraea, sessile oak, temperate rainforest, The Broadleaf Papers, Tree Ring Lab, tree rings, trees, Turkey
In the northeastern part of Turkey, the highest Pontic Mountains meet the Black Sea. Here altitude drops from more than 3900m to sea level in a less than 30 miles. Both the orographic effect of mountains and the lake effect (well, better sea effect) cause very high precipitation allowing for rich and productive temperate forest to grow.
Category> Climate, Ecosystems, General Earth Institute
Tags> Lamont-Doherty Earth Observatory, Mediterranean vegetation, The Broadleaf Papers, Tree Ring Lab, tree rings, trees, Turkey, Umbrella Pine
