Big Muddy Speaker Series presents:
“Reading Rings from the River – a 14,000 year history of climate, carbon and change in tree rings”
Original presentation by Rich Guyette, dendrochronologist with Missouri Tree Ring Lab, University of Missouri, Columbia
Tuesday, February 12, 2013
Lower floor of the Les Bourgeois Vineyards Bistro in Rocheport, MO (directions below)
Rich Guyette is all about tree rings. As a founding member of the Missouri Tree Ring Laboratory, he and his colleagues use their expertise in reading, archiving, analyzing and storing tree rings to provide baseline data useful in a wide variety of fields. From fire histories to drought mapping, from carbon sequestration modeling to climate histories, the information found in these tree rings is wide-ranging.
One of their long term projects has been locating and analyzing ancient “sub-fossilized” oak trees embedded in the alluvial sediment along Northern Missouri rivers including the Missouri, the Grand and other Grand tributaries. With the information they’ve collected, they have created a database of midwestern climate going back 14,000 years.
Next time you’re climbing over piles of driftwood along the Missouri, keep in mind that some of these logs are ancient time capsules of climate and history.
Meet Your Presenter
Rich Guyette
, Dendrochronologist
Related Presentations
Resources & Links
Resources and Links
- Missouri Tree Ring Lab Homepage
- The Science of Tree Rings
- “Trees of Wisdom” – a wonderful 5 minute doc on Rich and the Tree Ring Lab’s work.
- “Tree Rings and Ancient Forest Relics” – an interesting article by David Stahle with drawings of ancient trees by Rich Guyette.
- “Buried Treasure Reveals an Active Afterlife for Riparian Trees” – an article in a US Forest Service Newsletter.
- “Trees Tell Their Story” – about the dating of the Hickam House at Rock Bridge State Park.
- “Tree Rings help research of drought” – Missouri Ruralist
The Big Muddy Speakers Series in Rocheport
is hosted by Missouri River Relief, Friends of Big Muddy, the Big Muddy National Fish & Wildlife Refuge and the Columbia Fish & Wildlife Conservation Office (USFWS) with the following list of partners. All speakers are presenting for free. Thank you for sharing your knowledge with all of us!
Click here for a list of upcoming presentations»
The Big Muddy Speaker Series also takes place in Kansas City and St. Charles.
Series Partners
Missouri River Relief
Friends of Big Muddy
Columbia Fish & Wildlife Conservation Office (USFWS)
Les Bourgeois Vineyards
Big Muddy National Fish & Wildlife Refuge
Upcoming Presentations
Introducing the Missouri River Center for Conservation Innovation
October 13, 2026Columbia, MO
Join us for an evening with Zack Miller to learn about the Missouri River Center for Conservation Innovation.
See Event
Leave No Trace Training on the Barge
October 14, 2026St. Louis, MO
Join us for a special Big Muddy Speaker Series on the Living Lands & Waters Barge where Perry Whitaker will lead us in a Leave No Trace Training.
See Event
Missouri River Relief: 25 Years on the Big Muddy
November 10, 2026Columbia, MO
Join us for a journey through time celebrating 25 years of Missouri River Relief's work on the Big Muddy.
See Event
Plastic Pollution, Gulf Hypoxia, and Water Quality
November 11, 2026St Charles, MO
Jennifer Wendt from MidAmerica Clean Future guides us through understanding regional water quality challenges.
See Event