Arkansas Society of Professional Surveyors
The Arkansas Society of Professional Surveyors (ASPS) is a non-profit association dedicated to serving the public interest and advancing the profession of surveying.
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Total Credits: 2 including 2 Professional Development Hours
Dating trees using tree rings is more complex than the layperson might realize. Contrary to popular belief, the number of tree rings does not necessarily determine the age of a tree. Sometimes, trees do not add a ring, and sometimes they add more than one ring in a single year. They can also add false rings. The data that can be extracted from tree rings is more extensive than simply determining the age of a tree.
The goal of the course is to demonstrate the data that can be extracted from tree rings, how to properly core trees, and the potentially disastrous errors that can be made in the dating of tree rings. Frank Willis will present the proper techniques of collecting tree ring samples and how to mount, process, and preserve them. Actual core samples will be provided and will be displayed on the screen. Willis will describe and provide concepts and live practical examples related to the science and art of extracting tree age, concepts related to correcting for false rings, and the annual disparities of rings. He will present tree ring analyses used to determine embedded fence line age, historic and pre-historic hydrology, sedimentology, erosion, climate changes, global warming, fire history, contamination chronology, and historic and pre-historic water levels from tree rings.
Frank Willis holds Bachelor of Science degrees in civil engineering and zoology from LSU, a Master of Engineering degree from the University of Wisconsin, and a PhD in Engineering and Applied Science from the University of New Orleans. He founded Willis Engineering and Surveying in 1981. Surveying was a large part of the company operations. Willis sold his firm to a national firm in 2004 and returned to college at 54 years of age to engage in extensive studies of the analyses of natural monuments and their misinterpretations as related to surveying. Since 2004, Willis has concentrated in the fields of forensic surveying and forensic engineering. He taught engineering and surveying in the LSU system for four years. He lectures nationally about the subject of forensic engineering and surveying, remote sensing, and photogrammetry. His lectures concentrate on issues relevant to each locale that he lectures.
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