Thursday July 11, Day 6 
University of Arizona
C-14 Lab and Dendrochronology

A tour of the dendrochronology lab
By Ellen Hu


Trees have always been a large part of my life.  When I was ten years old, my family visited forests filled with towering sequoias. 
When I was thirteen years old, I was
heartbroken when a tree in my backyard was
cut down.  Even after all of these years, I didn’t
truly understand the importance of these
plants until today.  

While visiting the University of Arizona, our group toured their world-renowned dendrochronology lab.  Dendrochronology is the study of trees to create a chronology of the past that is used by a variety of different sciences.  We started our tour by looking at several different tree ring samples and making observations. Scientists study the tree rings to determine its age as well as other important events that occurred in the area.  Wildfires are perhaps the most common events, and scientists are now working to develop a way to determine the temperature range of the fire during that time. It’s crazy to think that it’s even possible to do that!  Dendrochonologists use each individual tree count as a part of a larger timeline that spans over thousands of years ago. This larger timeline can help determine where wood originated, when lightning strikes occurred, and other environmental aspects of each year.  
Cross-section of a tree

Today has given me the chance to reflect back on how important trees are for the environment, for society, and for me.  Not only do they give us oxygen, they also provide us with a sense of our history. If we stop thinking about trees as unlimited resources and truly value them for what they are, we can take great strides towards a greater future.
Our group at the rain garden on the AU campus

By Jonah Bennett

Today we visited the University of Arizona campus and toured two labs- the carbon-14 dating lab and the dendrochronology lab. Dendrochronology is the study of using tree rings to reconstruct the history of the area around the tree. I’d heard of the technique before, but my knowledge was extremely limited. I only knew that tree rings could be counted to determine age, and that narrow tree rings can indicate drought; I was definitely wondering why the university would allocate such a large amount of resources towards this study. 
Studying samples in the dendrochronology lab

Once we began the tour of the dendrochronology lab, I continually became more amazed at all the possibilities of this science. The rings can not only provide information about when a wildfire occurs, but how much and how long it burned. I didn’t even consider how wood used as lumber in ancient structures can be used for climate information. As we continued to learn about the possibilities for research, I began to realize the interconnectivity of the information. It’s amazing how every aspect of history, both natural and human, begins to fall into place like puzzle pieces. The more time I spend here at Biosphere 2, the more I consider this. I think about the individual atoms cycling through the atmosphere, water, soil, and life of Biosphere 2. I can now visualize the same thing occurring in the Biosphere 1- Earth. It’s interesting how much more aware of the flow of Earth’s perpetually changing systems I am after spending some time and thought here. Even if you are not lucky enough to visit this place, I encourage you to spend some time considering the complex, evolving components of this dynamic web that is the planet we live on.



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