I-3 Tree Rings: The Bristlecone Pine Activity Write-up

DUE Tue Oct 26   (worth 20 pts)

CLICK HERE FOR:   Grading Rubric

Also see :  HOW TO WRITE A GREAT PAPER to learn how to get the grade you want!

There are  2 things  you must submit to complete the assignment:

 

1)  Your completed I-3 Worksheet (pp 135-140 in Class Notes) on which you have taken your notes during the BCP class activity - May be handwritten (if your handwriting is legible.)   [ worth 5 pts ] 
                
  WORKSHEET FOR ASSIGNMENT I-3   [MS Word ]  [PDF]

NOTE:  This is a blank version of  pp 135-140  in CLASS NOTES.  If you don't want to rip out pp 135-140 from Class Notes, you can print out a copy off the Worksheet here to prepare a cleaned up and typed (or carefully hand-printed) version of the notes you took in class
.

red arrow PLEASE BRING YOUR WORKSHEET TO CLASS ALREADY STAPLED
You will turn in  a hard copy of the Worksheet and submit your write-up in the D2L DropBox.

Need to refer back to one of the graphs you used in class (skeleton plots, index plots, etc)? 
Click on this link:   Online versions of the materials you used in class

2)  Your I-3 Write-up of the BCP Class Activity  (About 1.5 - 2  pages, typed 1 and including the four sections listed below).     [ worth  a total of 15 pts ]

The I-3 Write-Up is DUE IN THE D2L DROP BOX by 11:59 pm on Tuesday Oct 26th.

important Parts A, B & C are worth 11 points, Part D (the Top Two)  is worth 2 pts, and 2 pts will be assigned based on expression and format.  Here is the GRADING RUBRIC

1 You may use double-spacing, single spacing or 1.5 spacing -- as long as it is typed and you adequately cover all the things you are asked to address in (A) though (C) below + the Top Two (D) if you choose to go for a top grade!

  CLICK HERE  for examples of how to reference different types of sources, including websites.

REQUIRED SECTIONS FOR THE I-3 WRITE-UP :

(A)  WHY STUDY BCP's?  Write a short paragraph describing the importance and significance of using bristlecone pines for dendrochronology.  (e.g.,  What is unique about this species?)

(B)  YOUR OBSERVATIONS:  Write one or two paragraphs about the key features of the site that YOUR group worked on (including a description of your site and a description of any trends and/or changes over time that you observed at your site (based on observations of skeleton plots, frost rings, and indices). Also compare and contrast the variations at your site with the other sites. (e.g. Did your site match well with one or more other sites?  If so which ones?  If not, why might this be?)

(C)  SUMMARIZE IT:  Write a paragraph that summarizes the most important things YOU learned from the CLASS ACTIVITY. (This will vary from person to person - but will probably include mention of one or more of the following: crossdating,  frost rings, volcanic eruptions, hypothesis testing, etc.) 

(D) THE TOP TWO:  EXPRESS YOURSELF:  Lastly write a 1 page, 400 -500 word essay about one thing related to BCP's that interests you.   Some things you might find interesting are listed below.  You can find out about them by exploring the links below and the webpages listed under Useful BCP Links -- or by browsing links that you discover on your own.  Select an item or topic that interests you the most, investigate it, then write a creative one-paragraph essay sharing what you learned about the item or topic.  You are not limited to the topics listed here -- if you find a new one, go for it.

INTERESTING BCP TOPICS & LINKS
Some BCP-related topics & links to investigate:
THE BCP COLLECTION
Learn about the UA Tree-Ring Lab's unparalleled BCP collection in this article:  Lost and Found: The Bristlecone Pine Collection [pdf]
learn about the
 dedicated BCP field volunteers & how a really old frost ring at the Methuselah Walk site was found!
SIGNIFICANT BCP TREES
Find out what's significant about these specially named BCP trees and look for more info about them in the links below:  Methuselah Tree, Patriarch Tree, and Prometheus Tree
Find out about "The Martyred One" and other unique BCP trees
REFLECTIONS ON PRESERVATION OF BCP
Reflections Around a Mutilated Tree [pdf]
for the unabashed Tree-Hugger!
POETRY ABOUT A BCP TREE
Read British poet Roger McGough's  poem
"The Oldest Tree on Earth . . .
"
Any poets or  creative writers in the class?
THE HUNT TO CLOSE "THE GAP"
Bristlecone work raises chances of bridging gap [pdf]More on "the gap":  Laboratory of Tree-Ring research fills weather record gaps
How far back in time can we go with BCP?
ABOUT ROCKY MTS BCP
The Oldest Known Rocky Mountain Bristlecone Pines (Pinus aristata Engelmm.)
Dendrochronology of Bristlecone Pine (Pinus aristata Engelm.) in Colorado
Learn more about the ecology of
 these neat trees!

FROST RING ,VOLCANOES & ARCHAEOLOGY

Is there a link between BCP's and the ancient
Minoan civilization of the Aegean Sea?   [pdf]
Read the original frost ring paper:  "Frost rings
in trees as records of major volcanic eruptions" [pdf]
Where the frost ring & volcano connection
first came from & Dr H's role in it.
THE ORIGINAL "MR BRISTLECONE"
Find out who Edmund Schulman was, then read Schulman's classic 1954 paper on "Longevity under Adversity in Conifers"
The scientist who first "discovered" the importance of these amazing trees

MORE INTERSTING BCP LINKS - Explore!

West & East --Two kinds of BCP:  Pinus longaeva & Pinus aristata
Learn more about them at these links:

Pinus aristata
http://www.conifers.org/pi/pin/aristata.htm
http://www.fs.fed.us/database/feis/plants/tree/pinari/all.html

Pinus longaeva
http://www.conifers.org/pi/pin/longaeva.htm

The Ancient Bristlecone Pine website: http://www.sonic.net/bristlecone/intro.html  

NOVA Online:  The Methuselah Tree  
Explore the Methuselah Grove
  http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/nova/methuselah/explore.html

"Wisdom of the Ancients" (a narrative about bristlecone pine trees written for the general public (children and adults) by Dr. Hal Fritts, emeritus professor of the UA's Laboratory of Tree Ring Research)  pdf file

OpenRoad.TV: Bristlecone Pine Ancient Forest (with a video)
http://www.openroad.tv/index.php?categoryid=16&p25_id=44

Digital Desert: Bristlecone Pine Forest:  http://digital-desert.com/bristlecone-pine-forest/  (lots of photos)

A General Tree-Ring Site -- LOTS of info about tree rings of all kinds here!
Ultimate Tree-Ring Webpages
http://web.utk.edu/~grissino/


For referral to help your I-3 Write-up on the CLASS ACTIVITY:

Online versions of the materials you used in class:


 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 
cores