Quantitative Wood Anatomy

Quantitative wood anatomy (QWA) measures the size, shape, and density of individual cells within tree rings, providing climate information at finer temporal resolution and with a more direct physiological basis than traditional ring-width or density measurements. Because cell formation responds to specific environmental conditions during the growing season, these proxies offer a mechanistic link between tree physiology and climate. QWA data enhance the accuracy of multi-centennial climate variability by reducing biological noise and improving calibration against instrumental records, and better capture long-term temperature trends than conventional tree-ring proxies. Beyond improving low-frequency reconstructions, I use QWA to detect discrete, transient, and synoptic-scale climate events that conventional measurements miss, linking tree-ring records to atmospheric circulation patterns at seasonal and sub-seasonal timescales.