Old trees and the curse of Prometheus
Posted on | January 25, 2013 | 1 Comment
There’s a romance about the tree ring lab, and the culture flowing therefrom, that seems to draw writers like me. It’s probably the same reason the sliced and polished slab of a tree’s trunk, marked with little flag markers pointing to moments in history (“Columbus lands”, “Declaration of Independence”) is such a museum of natural history staple. Tangible chronology. Built for us by nature. That one can do important science, too, seems sometimes like icing.
It’s why I chose tree rings when I wanted to write a book for kids about climate
Shelley Littin, writing for the University of Arizona, delightfully captures that romance in a piece about the oldest tree:
Past the door you will find the cause of the fire marshall’s concern: Boxes full of wood, circular cross sections of tree trunks, whole logs and branches, boards and remnants of dead wood fill up rows of shelves – and oftentimes the aisles – from the sawdust-strewn floor to the dusty ceiling.
On one wall, a 7-foot slab of wood is mounted with care: A cross section of the radius of the tree known as Prometheus.
Related posts:
- Beavers in the Bosque
- Tree rings and fire history in the Appalachians
- Stradivari and the Maunder Minimum
- Leonardo and the Tree Rings
- Let’s Get On With Things
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One Response to “Old trees and the curse of Prometheus”
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January 25th, 2013 @ 6:22 pm
That’s a cool story, John, thank you. A plus, she’s all over the old Greek gods so extra special!
Best,
D