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Reconstruction of past ice conditions in a Hudson Bay estuary using tree rings

Abstract

Descriptions of ice conditions, ranging from lake and sea ice to glacial advances and retreats, form an important portion of the climatic record. Ice formation, deterioration and changing areal extent are of increasing interest in climatology, sea transportation, petroleum exploration and the fishing industry. With few exceptions, quantitative information on ice conditions is generally brief, with many records in the US and Canada beginning only in the 1950s1. Tree-ring data from long-lived trees can be used as quantitative proxy data for past climatically related parameters. The record of first complete freezing of the Churchill River estuary on Hudson Bay is reconstructed here for 298 yr (1680-1977) by means of tree-ring analysis.

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Jacoby, G., Ulan, L. Reconstruction of past ice conditions in a Hudson Bay estuary using tree rings. Nature 298, 637–639 (1982). https://doi.org/10.1038/298637a0

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