2024/05/16 by Masaki Sano, Zhen Li, Akane Tsushima +6 · 1 citation
Earth and Planetary Sciences · #Geology and Paleoclimatology Research #Tree-ring climate responses #Archaeology and ancient environmental studies
paper · pdf · doi:10.1017/rdc.2024.55
Abstract We present an annual-resolution, millennium-long tree-ring chronology for northern Japan. The chronology is based on 5309 measurements of tree-ring δ 18 O from 37 samples of Hiba arbor-vitae ( Thujopsis dolabrata var. hondae ). Although the exact geographical origin of 27 of the samples is unknown because they were extracted from excavated archaeological material, pattern matching of the tree-ring δ 18 O variations was robust among all 37 samples. The floating chronology constructed using all samples was cross-dated against a previously published δ 18 O chronology from central Japan, yielding a correlation coefficient of 0.26 ( t = 9.0; p < 0.01), resulting in a temporal coverage of 417–1595 CE (i.e., 1179 yrs). The global 14 C spike event at 774–775 CE was clearly recorded in the annual 14 C data, which provides independent support for the dating of tree rings using oxygen isotopes. Furthermore, this δ 18 O chronology from northern Japan was used to successfully cross-date a wood sample buried during the “Millennium Eruption” of Baitoushan, which is located on the border between China and North Korea.