PROJECT SUMMARY

The objective of this long-term NSERC-funded research program is to develop a better understanding of the nature and forcing of hydroclimatic variability of the past millennium in Canada’s western interior. In our tree-ring lab, we have established a network of close to 200 tree-ring chronologies spanning 20 degrees of latitude and circumscribing the Prairie Ecozone. These records provide a context for interpreting 1) the variability of measured precipitation, temperature and streamflow, 2) projections of future climate change, and 3) the sustainability of current water resource management regimes. We collaborate on studies of the paleohydrology of river basins in Chile and the western US.