A tree ring based moisture reconstruction of the last 211 years for the mountains of Gaspésie, Québec.

Abstract:

To determine whether anthropogenic climate change is significantly affecting a region, long records of instrumental data are needed. The interior Gaspésie is a mountainous region likely to be sensitive to anthropogenic climate change but continuous instrumental records are brief, starting only in the 1960s. The only practical method to supplement the lack of climate records in this region is to reconstruct annual data through the analysis of tree rings. Here we present a 211 year moisture reconstruction of a major river in the region. The reconstruction is based on six white cedars chronologies (Thuja occidentalis) in a river valley and three sites at the tree line, two black spruce (Picea mariana) and one white spruce (Picea glauca). Collectively, the data spans 456 years. Analysis of the chronologies reveal an energy-limited snowpack system controlling tree growth. This reconstruction is the fourth river reconstruction in eastern North America, filling an important geographical gap in paleoclimatic records. Climatic and hydrological reconstructions could be useful for the management of the flora and fauna of Gaspésie National Park, particularly for the region’s endangered caribou population and for the Atlantic salmon fisheries of the Sainte-Anne River.

Keywords: moisture reconstruction, tree rings, Gaspesie, paleoclimate

Authors: