TREES ARE nature’s secret keepers. Over their long lifetime—some trees can live hundreds, even thousands, of years—they experience a variety of weather conditions, right from floods, droughts, storms and extreme rainfall to forest fires, snowfall, frost, and volcanic eruptions. The information gets stored in the tree trunk as rings—two for each year. Deconstruct these rings and they will narrate how old the tree is and what the weather conditions were like during each year of its life. They are now sought-after repositories of information among climate scientists who are trying to see the big picture.
Meteorologists have been keeping a tab on climate data since the 1850s, but climate scientists want to know about long-term changes in weather conditions and alterations in the frequency or strength of natural events. That would help them ascertain whether the shifting patterns of such events in the recent decades are random, cyclical or part of a trend triggered by global warming. A group of tree ring scientists, or dendrochronologists, are now aggressively scanning dead and living trees for such information that has remained unknown till now.
Denne historien er fra February 01, 2020-utgaven av Down To Earth.
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Denne historien er fra February 01, 2020-utgaven av Down To Earth.
Start din 7-dagers gratis prøveperiode på Magzter GOLD for å få tilgang til tusenvis av utvalgte premiumhistorier og 9000+ magasiner og aviser.
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A SPRIG TO CARE FOR
Punarnava, a perennial herb, is easy to grow and has huge health benefits
DIGGING A DISASTER
Soapstone mining near Dabti Vijaypur village has caused many residents to migrate.
REVIEW THE TREATMENT
Several faecal sludge treatment plants in Uttar Pradesh suffer from design flaws that make the treatment process both expensive and inefficient
MAKE STEEL SUSTAINABLE
As India works to double its GDP by 2030, its steel industry must balance growth with sustainability. By embracing policies like the Steel Scrap Recycling Policy 2019 and adopting green technologies, India is paving the way for a more sustainable future in steel production
Can ANRF pull off the impossible for India?
Anusandhan National Research Foundation is expected to reorient India's innovation goals but funding issues, old mindsets remain a drag
TROUBLED WOODS
Forests are a great bulwark against climate change. But this is fast changing. AKSHIT SANGOMLA travels through some of the pristine patches of the Western Ghats to explore how natural disturbances triggered by global warming now threaten the forest health
BLINDING GLOW
The science is clear: increased illumination has damaging consequences for the health of humans, animals and plants. It’s time governments introduced policies to protect the natural darkness and improved the quality of outdoor lighting.
GROUND REALITY
What happens when the soil loses the ability to grow healthy, high-yield crops on its own?
GM POLICY MUST BE FARMER CENTRIC
On July 23, the Supreme Court of India directed the Union government to develop a national policy on genetically modified (GM) crops for research, cultivation, trade and commerce through public consultation.
Vinchurni's Gandhi
A 96-year-old farmer transforms barren land into a thriving forest in drought-prone region of Satara
