BatteriesNotIncluded wrote on Oct 11
th, 2015 at 4:13pm:
This, however, is a much more recent finding...
http://www.theguardian.com/environment/climate-consensus-97-per-cent/2015/oct/09...
The guardian, once again bringing up the rear. This was reported a month ago.
Blue oaks don't grow in the snow pack. Blue oaks don't like getting their feet wet. As shown in the accompanying photo, they grow on the slopes. Snowpack melt would have limited, if any, impact.
from the paper-
'For those particular oaks (Quercus douglasii), the width of their annual rings reflects the winter precipitation they receive.
Because the same storms that water the oaks also dump snow in the Sierra Nevada just to the west, the width of the blue oaks’ rings is a good proxy for snowpack in the Sierras, Trouet said.'
2 things
One: 'the the same storms that water the oaks also dump snow in the
Sierra Nevada just to the west, ' They didn't show any evidence for that, it may just be an assumption. But being scientists they should have included any evidence.
Two: 'Other researchers had already measured the width of tree rings for 1,505 blue oaks in California’s Central Valley from 33 different sites. '
Sierra Nevadas are to the
east of Central Valley. Really poor review, let alone peer-review.