Baldcypress Tree Ring Elemental Concentrations at Reelfoot Lake, Tennessee, from AD 1795 to AD 1820

摘要

Many two hundred year old baldcypress trees in Reelfoot Lake, Tennessee, lived through the great New Madrid earthquakes of 1811-1812. This study was undertaken to determine if the elemental composition if baldcypress tree rings showed any systematic variation through the earthquake period of AD 1795 through AD 1820. Multiple cores were collected from two Reelfoot Lake baldcypress trees and analyzed using Inductively Coupled Plasma Mass Spectrometry (ICP-MS). Individual yearly rings and five-year ring segments were analyzed to determine their elemental compositions. The cores were analyzed for Li through U but only Ba, Ce, Cs, Cu, I, La, Mg, Mn, Nd, Rb, Sm, Sr, and Zn were found to be in appropriate concentrations for this study. We conclude that the elemental concentrations in the tree rings of the two baldcypress trees analyzed in this study show no systematic change through the earthquake period of AD 1795 through 1820.