Dr Heather Haines - University of Nevada, Reno
Dendro Down Under: Expanding Tree-Ring Research in Australia
Wed, February 21, 2024, 12:00 PM MST
Dr Heather Haines has been at the forefront of Australian tree-ring research since beginning her PhD at Griffith University (Brisbane, Australia) in 2013. She specializes in analysis of non-traditional tree species for both palaeoclimatological and ecological study with a focus on combining ring-width analysis with isotopic measurements and densitometry. In this seminar Heather will discuss her adventures in undertaking dendrochronology in Australia with a focus on three area of dendrochronological studies.
The first will discuss the potential uses of Australian trees in the development of long-term tree-ring climate reconstructions. Specifically, she will cover at the use of Araucariaceae species which have led to the construction of the longest high-resolution drought record for Subtropical Australia. She will also discuss combining ring-width and isotopic measurements to expand on the environmental data which can be developed at a single site – specifically in proxy poor regions like Queensland, Australia.
The second area of study will present some recent ecological research focusing on both threatened and critically important Australian species to understand their response to changing climate and fire patterns as well as the importance of preserving these species under changing conditions.
Finally, Heather will discuss work she has undertaken in her previous position at the Chronos 14Carbon-Cycle facility at UNSW where she has been leading research to identify Solar Energetic Particle (SEP) events in the Southern Hemisphere based on sub-annual scale radiocarbon analysis.
Everywhere in the natural world, circles, spirals and rings frame integral structures that support, envelop and unveil animate and inanimate entities. These sinuous forms call to mind the slow rhythm of a heartbeat, the concentric waves of a stone dropped in water, or the meditative effect of walking a labyrinth. They also echo how early memory is stored within our own psyches, perhaps buried but never lost beneath subsequent layers of experience.
In the same way, tree rings record much more than seasonal fluctuations in the life of a tree: they are living journals of the unfolding environment. Artist and horticulturalist Lorraine Roy illustrates the many ways that tree rings tell stories of this endurance and commitment. In this presentation she will speak about how tree rings record a forest's history, the relevance of tree ring research for environmental protection, and the personal and cultural lessons they teach us. The talk will be illustrated with entrancing images from her collections, and discussion of her various textile techniques.