Pre-conference workshops
NEW: April 1, 2018. Registration is now closed.
Please note: all payments, for both the Conference and Fieldweek, must be completed by April 5th, 2018.
To attend either of the workshops on Saturday June 9th you must already have registered and paid for your conference participation. Once we you have successfully made your payment send an e-mail to Paul Krusic with “Conference Worshop” in the subject line. In the message field of your email provide the name of the workshop you want to attend. Places will be awarded on a first come first served basis so do not delay.
2018 WorldDendro – Blue Intensity Workshop
Saturday June 9th, 9:00-17:00, Royal University of Bhutan, Thimphu
Dr. Rob Wilson, University of St. Andrews, Scotland
Dr. Ryszard Kaczka, University of Silesia, Poland
Max. 40 persons
Requirements: A PC running Windows
Wood density, especially maximum wood density, is a widely used proxy for reconstructing past summer temperatures. However, only a few tree-ring labs have access to densitometric facilities. Recently, Blue Intensity (BI) has been shown to be a comparable tree-ring variable to density. The method utilises the spectral properties of lignin in the cell walls which preferentially absorbs blue light. Therefore, for dense latewood cells (i.e. with thick cell walls), the intensity of reflectance of blue light is reduced. BI and MXD are therefore inversely correlated. BI can be measured easily and quickly from scanned images of conifer samples at a fraction of the cost of standard densitometric methods. It is therefore an analytical approach theoretically available to all tree-ring laboratories for a modest investment. The workshop will focus on practical aspects of measuring and using BI for dendrochronology. The workshop will start with introductory lectures on BI and its use in dendroclimatology and dendroarchaeology as well as the practical aspects of sampling procedures, wood sample preparation, scanning and measuring techniques. The latter half of the workshop will focus on basic training of the CooRecorder and CDendro software for measuring and analysing BI data. Scanned images will be provided and participants will be trained to crossdate and measure them for standard ring-width measurements as well as BI generation. If time permits, participants will be introduced to detrending approaches relevant to BI and simple climate analyses.
Download the BI Workshop program and schedule here.
2018 WorldDendro – DPLr Workshop
Saturday June 9th, 13:00-17:00, Royal University of Bhutan, Thimphu
Dr. Andy Bunn, Western Washington University
Max. 40 persons
Requirements: A laptop computer with R installed
“R” is both a programing language and a software environment for statistical computing (R Development Core Team,2007). It is free and open-source, licensed under the GNU General Public License. The Dendrochronology Program Library in R (dplR) reads standard, decadal-format tree-ring files and performs standard analyses with the ability to plot results (Bunn, 2007). There are functions to detrend and convert the raw series to ring-width indices (RWIs) and build either standard or residual chronologies. In this workshop we will use examples ring-width files from the ITRDB to demonstrate the functionality of dplR. The R environment is powerful and flexible and its use allows great transparency in presenting data results. An advantage of dplR’s open-source licencing is that one has the option to modify or add to the library’s functionality for performing specific experiments or producing custom figures.
To get the most of out of this workshop we suggest you already have the R software installed, and have read through the dplR manual available on the web.
- Bunn AG (2008). “A dendrochronology program library in R (dplR).” Dendrochronologia,26 (2)
- Bunn AG (2010). “Statistical and visual crossdating in R using the dplR library.”Dendrochronologia, 28 (4)
2018 WorldDendro – SilviScan Workshop
Thursday June 14th, 16:00-17:30 Royal University of Bhutan, Thimphu
Max. 40 persons
Silviscan as a tool for revealing the climate signals hidden in wood properties.
Recent advances in wood imaging technologies have facilitated the development of wood properties chronologies based on very high-resolution (25um) measurements. In this workshop we will discuss the potential for wood properties to improve upon existing climate-sensitive reconstructions and to develop verified proxy climate records that cannot be produced from ring-width data alone. We discuss the Silviscan system that has enabled these advances, provide examples from our work in southeastern Australia, and discuss opportunities and limitations of this approach.
Presenters:
Dr. Prof Patrick Baker ARC Future Fellow & Professor of Silviculture and Forest Ecology, School of Ecosystem and Forest Sciences, University of Melbourne
Dr. Kathy Allen; University of Melbourne, Melbourne, Australia