Tom Fisk
The Quail Creek Science Club took a field trip on April 20 to the University of Arizona Tree-Ring Lab. The Lab is one of a few global facilities which studies tree rings (dendrochronology) from all over the planet. Tree ring information can be obtained from non-destructive core sampling (living tree rings), old building logs and lumber, charred remnants (volcanic activity), petrified wood, and shell mollusks. These can all be dated and correlated to historical annual weather conditions (precipitation, air/water temperatures), forest fire outbreaks, insect infestation, and solar activity. Carbon-14 radio-dating of rings provides an excellent understanding of volcanic activity, dating back before 2000 BC.
The QC Science Club meets weekly on Mondays at 4 p.m. in the Madera-Gold Room; we feature reviews on a wide range of scientific subjects, currently reviewing lectures on Everyday Engineering and New Dinosaur Discoveries. There is no cost for membership and a technical degree is not required, only an interest in learning more about the world and sky around us.
Contacts are Tom Fisk, tfiskaz@gmail.com, and Jerry Pinson, jjpinson@verizon.net.