The image below shows a cut end from a European silver fir tree (Abies alba).
Each ring represents one year of growth.
Identify whether this particular tree thrived early in its life or towards the end of it.
Give a reason for your answer.
Dendrochronologists can deduce information about the climate during the life of a cut tree like the tree pictured in part (a).
Explain how dendrochronologists can deduce information about the climate going back beyond the lifespan of trees that are currently alive or that have just been cut down.
Ice cores drilled from the Antarctic can reveal data about the composition of the atmosphere over thousands of years. An ice core is pictured below being stored in a freezer warehouse for later chemical analysis.
Ice deposits at an average rate of 32 mm yr-1 in the centre of the Antarctic land mass.
An ice core was taken that sampled down to a depth of 2500m.
Calculate the age of the ice (in years) at the bottom of this ice core.
Explain how ice cores can give clues about changes in the Earth's atmosphere over a long period of time.
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