Article ID | Journal | Published Year | Pages | File Type |
---|---|---|---|---|
10501277 | Quaternary Research | 2011 | 7 Pages |
Abstract
Charcoal peaks in lake-sediment records are commonly used to reconstruct fire histories spanning thousands of years, but quantitative methods for evaluating the suitability of records for peak detection are largely lacking. We present a signal-to-noise index (SNI) that quantifies the separation of charcoal peaks (signal) from other variability in a record (noise). We validate the SNI with simulated and empirical charcoal records and show that an SNI >Â 3 consistently identifies records appropriate for peak detection. The SNI thus offers a means to evaluate the suitability of sediment-charcoal records for reconstructing local fires. MATLAB and R functions for calculating SNI are provided.
Related Topics
Physical Sciences and Engineering
Earth and Planetary Sciences
Geology
Authors
Ryan F. Kelly, Philip E. Higuera, Carolyn M. Barrett, Feng Sheng Hu,