Long Hydroclimate Records from Tree-Rings in Western Canada: Potential, Problems and Prospects

Tree-ring chronologies from moisture-sensitive sites can provide annually resolved proxy records for precipitation, streamflow and other hydrological variables for periods several hundred years longer than available instrumental records. This paper reviews some previous North American work in this field (concentrating on western Canada), examining the limitations and potential of these studies with specific examples from ongoing research in the Canadian Cordillera. Although they cannot be used to predict future flows or precipitation, proxy data can document the long-term natural variability and periodicities of these phenomena—information vital for better approximations of future probabilities. In addition, by establishing relationships between hydrometeorological variables and persistent modes of atmospheric and oceanic circulation, such research may provide some predictive skill in short-term forecasting.