Laboratory
of
Tree-Ring Research2002: Teaching Dendrochronology at the College Level Dr. Paul Sheppard, Assistant Professor
Dr. Thomas Swetnam, Professor and Director
Tentative Schedule, Subject to Change as Requested by Participants
Thursday, May 16
8:30-9:15 Coffee, welcome, introductions, Tom and Paul 9:15-10:00 Tour of Laboratory of Tree-Ring Research, Paul 10:00-10:15 Break 10:15-11:15 Crossdating using web-based applet, Paul 11:15-11:30 Evaluation of web-based applet, Paul
Click here for the survey (word doc)11:30-12:00 Other web resources for teaching dendrochronology, Paul 12:00-1:00 Lunch 1:00-2:00 Crossdating using bigcone Douglas-fir paper exercise, Tom and Paul 2:00-3:00 Crossdating with real wood, Zuni Mountain Douglas-fir, Tom and Paul 3:00-3:15 Break 3:15-4:00 Classic principles of dendrochronology, Paul 4:00-4:45 Gather vans for trip to Tom's house 4:45-5:30 Drive out to Tom's house in Rincon Valley 5:30-8:30 BBQ, swimming (bring swim suits if you want), and planet gazing
Historical background of dendrochronology, Tom and Paul8:30-9:15 Drive back to Tucson Friday, May 17
8:00-5:00 Field trip on Catalina Highway to Mt. Lemmon: forest ecology, dendrogeomorphology, core sampling, equipment, Tom, Paul, Chris, and Christine evening Entertainment options on campus:
- UA Baseball will definitely play against Washington State, 7:00 PM
Click here for latest schedule, tickets will be easy
- Student Harp Recital in School of Music, 7:00 PM
Click here for latest schedule, Holsclaw Recital Hall (free)Saturday, May 18
8:30-9:00 Coffee, etc. 9:00-9:30 Cleanup and care of equipment, Paul and Tom 9:30-10:00 Mounting cores, sample preparation techniques, publications, Tom and Paul 10:00-10:15 Break 10:15-11:30 Dendroecology: insect outbreaks and fire history, Tom 11:30-12:00 Forest fire management web presentation, Paul
Click here for a pretest-postest survey on wildland fire (word doc)12:00-1:00 Lunch and evaluations 1:00-2:15 Dendroclimatology: principles and Excel case studies, Tom and Paul
Click here for examples of tree-ring and climate data sets2:15-3:00 Dendroarcheology: principles and case studies, Paul evening ??? A night out for Mexican cuisine ??? Parking
- Weekday parking on campus is strictly regulated. Don't park just anywhere.
- Click here for a map of where to park conveniently and reasonably priced.
Notes about Friday field trip
- We will drive in two vans to the top of Mt. Lemmon along the Catalina Highway. The total driving distance will be 60-80 miles, half of which will be on a windy paved road.
- We will make several stops on the way up of to see and measure changes in the forest ecosystems and to talk about various dendrochronology projects on the mountain.
- We will also spend plenty of time collecting increment core samples, where everyone will get a chance to sample.
- For lunch that day, we will order sandwiches from an Eegees in Tucson and then pick them up on the way out.
- It is not likely to rain on our trip (May is a very dry month here), but you might wish to bring a light sweater or jacket. We will reach an elevation of about 9000 feet, where it will be 25 to 30°F cooler than in Tucson.
- It will be useful to have a day pack with your own personal water bottle and sunscreen.
- We will bring extra water and first aid kits plus all of the dendrochronology equipment that we'll use.
Tucson weather
- We're in the 90s (°F) for daytime highs, but 100°F is not out of the question for mid May.
- Overnight lows are in the low 70s.
- Casual and cool wear is best, but remember sunscreen plus sunglasses and a hat.
Dendrochronology books and t-shirts to buy while here
- Tree Rings and Climate, by H.C. Fritts. The classic "textbook" of dendrochronology, this is now out of press from Academic Press, but has been republished by Blackburn Press. At this point it's easiest to obtain this book from the current publisher.
- An Introduction to Tree-Ring Dating, by Stokes and Smiley. Another classic on basics of dendro, newly republished by the University of Arizona Press. UA bookstore has 2 copies on the shelf, $14 each.
- 60th Anniversary special issue of the Tree-Ring Bulletin. A collection of 17 classic dendro papers spanning the entire 20th century, all collected into one volume. $15, checks to Tree-Ring Society.
- Tree Rings, Environment, and Humanity. The proceedings of the international tree-ring conference of 1994, this contains 82 articles on techniques and applications of dendrochronology across all fields. $20, checks to ICTREH.
- LTRR T-shirts: At $8.00 for short sleeve, $9.00 for XXL, and $11.00 for long-sleeve, these are cheap at twice the price. Large and X-large are the only sizes available. Checks to UofA.
Laboratory of Tree-Ring Research, The University of Arizona
Tucson, Arizona 85721 USA
Main Office: (520) 621-1608, Fax: (520) 621-8229
Comments to Paul Sheppard: sheppard@ltrr.arizona.edu
Copyright © 2000-2002, Laboratory of Tree-Ring Research, The University of Arizona
Revised -- May, 2002
URL: http://www.ltrr.arizona.edu/~sheppard/chautauqua/index.html
