Abstract
Available meteorological, dendrochronological and glacier area change data are reviewed for the central Canadian Rockies. Limited glacier inventory studies indicate a loss of ca 25% of glacier area (greater for smaller glaciers) since the Little Ice Age maximum 130–150 years ago. The few available long climacte records are from widely spaced, valley floor sites, well below treeline. Available gridded or regional climate data sets similarly contain no high elevation sites. The five long (75 yr) station records contain a strong common signal but show differences in the relative amplitude and timing of temperature variations indicating links to either prairie or pacific stations. However the station network is too sparse to define the spatial extent of these patterns. Tree-ring chronologies from a network of Picea engelmannii (21), Larix lyallii (17) and Pinus albicaulis (2) treeline sites are presented and reviewed. Residual chronologies show stronger intercorrelation than standard chronologies and the larix chronologies are more highly correlated than picea, probably because of the narrower range of sites sampled. Many standard chronologies show a strong common regional signal of above average growth in the late 17th, late 18th and mid-20th centuries and reduced growth in the early 17th, early 18th and for most of the 19th centuries. However, examination of individual chronologies shows strong local or sub-regional divergence from this pattern that reflects smaller scale climate or non-climatic influences. Differences in the density and location of sites between the climate and tree-ring networks will create problems in resolving climate variation at the sub-regional scale.
This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.
Similar content being viewed by others
References
Bridgeland, M. P.: 1917, Topographical Surveys of Jasper National Park — Season 1915, Department of the Interior, Canada, unpub. manuscript.
Briffa, K. R., Jones, P. D., and Schweingruber, F. H.: 1992, ‘Tree-Ring Reconstructions of Summer Temperature Patterns across Western North America since 1600’, J. Clim. 5, 735–754.
Brugman, M. M.: 1991, ‘Using Hydrometric Data to Detect and Monitor Climatic Change’, in Proceedings of NHRI Symposium 8, National Hydrological Research Institute, Saskatoon, Canada, pp. 233–244.
Cautley, R. W. and Wheeler, A. O.: 1924, Report of the Commission Appointed to Delimit the Boundary between the Provinces of Alberta and British Columbia. Part II 1917–1921 From Kicking Horse Pass to Yellowhead Pass, Office of the Surveyor General, Ottawa, Canada, p. 157.
Charles, D. F. and Smol, J. P.: 1994, ‘Long Term Chemical Changes in Lakes: Quantitative Inferences Using Biotic Remains in the Sediment Record’, in Baker, L. (ed.), Environmental Chemistry of Lakes and Reservoirs: Advances in Chemistry, Series 237, American Chemical Society, Washington D.C., pp. 3–31.
Clague, J. J. and Evans, S. G.: 1994, ‘Historic Retreat of Grand Pacific and Melburn Glaciers, St. Elias Mountains, Canada: An Analogue for Decay of the Cordilleran Ice Sheet at the End of the Pleistocene?’, J. Glaciol. 40, 619–624.
Colenutt, M. E.: 1992, An Investigation into the Dendrochronological Potential of Alpine Larch, unpub. M.S. Thesis, Univ. Western Ontario.
Colenutt, M. E. and Luckman, B. H.: 1991, ‘Dendrochronological Studies of Larix lyallii at Larch Valley, Alberta’, Can. J. Forest Res. 21, 1222–1233.
Colenutt, M. E. and Luckman, B. H.: 1995, ‘The Dendrochronological Characteristics of Alpine Larch’, Can. J. Forest Res. 27, 777–789.
Colenutt, M. E. and Luckman, B. H.: 1996, ‘Dendroclimatic Characteristics of Alpine Larch (Larix lyallii, Parl) at Treeline Sites in Western Canada’, in Dean, J. S., Meko, D. M., and Swetnam, T. W. (eds.), Tree Rings, Environment and Humanity, Radiocarbon, Tucson, pp. 143–154.
Cook, E. R. and Holmes, R. J.: 1996, ‘Chapter 8. Arstan Chronology Development’, in Grissino-Mayer, H. D., Holmes, R. J., and Fritts H. C. (eds.), The International Tree-Ring Data Bank Program Library, Version 2, Users Manual, Tucson, Arizona, pp. 75–87.
Fritts, H. L.: 1976, Tree Rings and Climate, Academic Press, New York, p. 567.
Gullett, D. W. and Skinner, W. R.: 1992, ‘The State of Canada's Climate: Temperature Change in Canada, 1895–1991’, State of the Environment Report 92-2, Atmospheric Environment Service, Environment Canada, p. 36.
Haeberli, W. and Hoelzle, M.: 1995, ‘Application of Inventory Data for Estimating Characteristics of and Regional Climate-Change Effects on Mountain Glaciers: A Pilot Study with the European Alps’, Annals Glaciol. 21, 206–212.
Harding, K. A.: 1985, Glacier Inventory of the Premier Range, British Columbia, unpub. B.A. Thesis, Univ. Western Ontario.
Heusser, C. J.: 1956, ‘Postglacial Environments of the Canadian Rocky Mountains’, Ecol. Monogr. 26, 253–302.
Hoelzle, M. and Haeberli, W.: 1995, ‘Simulating the Effects of Mean Annual Air-Temperature Changes on Permafrost Distribution and Glacier Size: An Example from Upper Engadin, Swiss Alps’, Annals Glaciol. 21, 399–405.
Imbrie, J. and Kipp, N. G.: 1971, ‘A New Micropaleontological Method for Quantitative Paleoclimatology: Application to Late Pleistocene Caribbean Core V28-238’, in Turekin, K. (ed.), The Late Cenozoic Ice Ages, Yale University Press, New Haven, pp. 77–181.
Janz, B. and Storr, D.: 1977, ‘Appendix “B”: N. B. Sanson-Pioneer Weather Observer at Banff’, in Janz, B. and Storr, D. (eds.), The Climate of the Contiguous National Parks: Banff, Jasper, Kootenay, Yoho, Project Report No. 20, Applications and Consultation Division, Meteorological Applications Branch, Environment Canada, Toronto, pp. 259–265.
Jones, P. D.: 1995, Selection of a GCOS Network of 800 Stations, unpub. manuscript.
Jones, P. D., Wigley, T. M. L., Raper, S. C. B., Santer B., Cherry, B. S. G, Kelly, P. M., Goodness, C. M., Bradley, R. S., and Diaz, H. F.: 1991, ‘An Updated Global Grid Point Surface Air Temperature Anomaly Data Set: 1851–1990, Environmental Sciences Division Publication 3520, Oak Ridge National Laboratory, Tennessee.
Luckman, B. H.: 1988, ‘Dating the Moraines and Recession of Athabasca and Dome Glaciers, Alberta, Canada’, Arc. Alp. Res. 20, 40–54.
Luckman, B. H.: 1990, ‘Mountain Areas and Global Change: A View from the Canadian Rockies’, Mountain Res. Develop. 10, 183–195.
Luckman, B. H.: 1992, ‘Glacier and Dendrochronological Records of the Little Ice Age in the Canadian Rocky Mountains’, in Mikami, T. (ed.), Proceedings of the International Symposium on the Little Ice Age Climate, Tokyo Metropolitan Univ., pp. 75–80.
Luckman, B. H.: 1993, ‘Glacier Fluctuations and Tree-Ring Records for the Last Millennium in the Canadian Rockies’, Quatern. Sci. Rev. 16, 141–150.
Luckman, B. H.: 1994, ‘Using Multiple High-Resolution Proxy Climate Records to Examine Natural Climate Variation: An Example from the Canadian Rockies’, in Beniston, M. (ed.), Mountain Environments in Changing Climates, Routledge, London, pp. 42–59.
Luckman, B. H.: 1995, ‘Calendar-Dated, Early Little Ice Age Glacier Advance at Robson Glacier, British Columbia, Canada’, Holocene 5, 149–159.
Luckman, B. H.: 1996, ‘Reconciling the Glacial and Dendrochronological Records of the Last Millennium in the Canadian Rockies’, in Bradley, R. S., Jones, P. D., and Jouzel, J. (eds.), Climatic Variations and Forcing Mechanisms of the Last 2000 Years, Springer-Verlag, Berlin, pp. 85–108.
Luckman, B. H. and Colenutt, M. E.: 1992, ‘Developing Tree-Ring Series for the Last Millennium in the Canadian Rocky Mountains’, in Tree Rings and Environment, Lundqua Report No. 34, Dept. of Quaternary Geology, Lund Univ., pp. 207–211.
Luckman, B. H., Colenutt, M. E., Kavanagh, T., Seaquist, J., and McLennan, J.: 1993, Field Investigations in the Canadian Rockies in 1992, Report to Parks Canada, May 1993, p. 97.
Luckman, B. H., Harding, K. A., and Hamilton, J. P.: 1987, ‘Recent Glacier Advances in the Premier Range, British Columbia’, Can. J. Earth Sci. 24, 1149–1161.
Luckman, B. H., Holdsworth, G., and Osborn, G. D.: 1993, ‘Neoglacial Glacier Fluctuations in the Canadian Rockies’, Quatern. Res. 39, 144–153.
Mount, C. R.: 1995, Using Remote Sensing and a Geographic Information System to Study Glacier Characteristics near the Columbia Icefield, Alberta, unpub. M.Sc. Thesis, Univ. of Western Ontario.
McCarthy, D. P. and Smith, D. J.: 1994, ‘Historical Glacier Activity in the Vicinity of Peter Lougheed Provincial Park, Canadian Rocky Mountains’, Western Geogr. 4, 94–109.
Pole, G.: 1991, The Canadian Rockies, A History in Photographs, Altitude Press, Banff, p. 112.
Stupart, R. F.: 1910, ‘The Chinook in Southern Alberta and Temperature Inversions at Sulphur Mountain, Banff’, Proc. Royal Society of Canada, Toronto. Series 3 4(3), 51–52.
Tranquillini, W.: 1979, Physiological Ecology of the Alpine Timberline, Springer-Verlag, Berlin, p. 137.
Young, G. J. and Ommanney, C. S. L.: 1984, ‘Canadian Glacier Hydrology and Mass Balance Studies; A History of Accomplishments and Recommendations for Future Work’, Geografiska Annaler 66A, 169–182.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
LUCKMAN, B.H. DEVELOPING A PROXY CLIMATE RECORD FOR THE LAST 300 YEARS IN THE CANADIAN ROCKIES – SOME PROBLEMS AND OPPORTUNITIES. Climatic Change 36, 455–476 (1997). https://doi.org/10.1023/A:1005376713554
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1023/A:1005376713554