Dendrochemistry of White Mountain bristlecone pines: An investigation via Synchrotron Radiation Scanning X‐Ray Fluorescence Microscopy

Abstract

Synchrotron Radiation Scanning X‐Ray Fluorescence Microscopy (SXFM) was used for the first spatially/temporally resolved investigation of the multielemental chemistry of bristlecone pine (Pinus longaeva D.K. Bailey). A new protocol was designed to apply this nondestructive method of analysis to this unique palaeoclimatological resource, extracting previously inaccessible dendrochemical information at subannual resolution from tree rings ranging from 1400 to 40 μm. The potential of Pinus longaeva was assessed for the reconstruction of multicentennial annual resolution sequences of elemental change, with specific focus on the identification of multielemental markers for major, climatically effective volcanic eruptions. Increases in calcium (Ca), strontium (Sr), manganese (Mn), and zinc (Zn) were identified in association with frost rings around AD1601, following the eruption of Huaynaputina, Peru, but these could not be directly attributed to volcanogenic changes in environmental chemistry. Elemental patterns for 500 years from five trees demonstrated little agreement indicating that, for the elements detected, this species may be unsuitable for temporal reconstructions of external chemistry. Further development of SXFM dendrochemical technique, however, offers much potential for future work.