date: Tue Sep 26 10:10:07 2006 from: Keith Briffa subject: Re: Fwd: Review of Briffa proposal to: edwardcook thanks Ed the pertinent questions will be explored in collaboration with you if this ever gets support . Appreciated Keith At 15:00 25/09/2006, you wrote: Hi Keith and Tom, Here is my review of your Leverhulme proposal just emailed in to them. While there was plenty of room to ask a few probing questions about your proposed research (e.g. issues of generality to species with growth strategies quite unlike Scots Pine, issues of changing radial growth architecture from full to stripbark; applicability to deciduous tree species; I did therefore almost give "Success" a "B" rating), I didn't want to add any element of doubt to the determination. This work truly should be funded. Cheers, Ed Begin forwarded message: From: edwardcook Date: September 25, 2006 9:36:35 AM EDT To: nthorp@leverhulme.ac.uk Cc: edwardcook Subject: Review of Briffa proposal To Whom It May Concern: Below is my review of a proposal submitted to the Leverhulme Trust by Professor Keith R. Briffa, Climatic Research Unit, University of East Anglia, Norwich. I have also attached it as a Word document. Please let me know if you have received it in proper order. Sincerely Edward R. Cook ===== Review of âProcess-based methods in the interpretation of tree- growth/climate relationshipsâ, submitted by Professor Keith R. Briffa Reviewer: Dr. Edward R. Cook, Lamont-Doherty Earth Observatory, 61 Route 9W, Palisades, New York 10964 USA (Referee No: 103766) Originality of Method & Approach: A -- Very Novel Significance: A -- Important to others A -- Lasting value Success: A -- Strong likelihood Overall Rating: A -- Exceptional Comments (please pass on to applicants): This proposal is one of the most original research ideas to come out of the science of dendrochronology in many, many years. Dendrochronology is being used increasingly to answer questions about environmental change, especially that related to global climatic change and tree growth in a rapidly changing world. Yet, there is great controversy over its results caused, in part if not mostly, by a fundamental step in the analysis of tree rings: the removal of long-term growth trends thought to be strictly due to biological processes and aging. This step is based on the fitting of empirical growth models or equations to the original tree-ring measurements to remove the biological effects without any regard for the underlying processes that contributed to the observed trends in growth. This is a fundamental weakness in the science that this proposal seeks to resolve and largely eliminate through the development of a process-based approach based on sound tree physiological and structural principles. Prof. Briffa and his post- doc Tom Melvin will conduct this research in a way that will also provide the greater dendrochronological community with a cross- platform computer program and tool for the analysis and interpretation of tree growth. Therefore, it has the potential for fundamentally changing in the way that changing patterns of tree growth will be evaluated in the future and also provide the tools for doing so to the greater research community. I cannot stress too highly how important this proposed research is to the science of dendrochronology. It is for this reason that I give it the highest ratings of âAâ in all categories. I am familiar enough with the work conducted by Prof. Briffa and Tom Melvin to know that the proposed research will be conducted at the highest level and I look forward to the development and testing of their process-based model. =====  ================================== Dr. Edward R. Cook Doherty Senior Scholar and Director, Tree-Ring Laboratory Lamont-Doherty Earth Observatory Palisades, New York 10964 USA Email: drdendro@ldeo.columbia.edu Phone: 845-365-8618 Fax: 845-365-8152 ================================== Hi Keith and Tom, Here is my review of your Leverhulme proposal just emailed in to them. While there was plenty of room to ask a few probing questions about your proposed research (e.g. issues of generality to species with growth strategies quite unlike Scots Pine, issues of changing radial growth architecture from full to stripbark; applicability to deciduous tree species; I did therefore almost give "Success" a "B" rating), I didn't want to add any element of doubt to the determination. This work truly should be funded. Cheers, Ed Begin forwarded message: From: edwardcook <[1]drdendro@ldeo.columbia.edu> Date: September 25, 2006 9:36:35 AM EDT To: [2]nthorp@leverhulme.ac.uk Cc: edwardcook <[3]drdendro@ldeo.columbia.edu> Subject: Review of Briffa proposal To Whom It May Concern: Below is my review of a proposal submitted to the Leverhulme Trust by Professor Keith R. Briffa, Climatic Research Unit, University of East Anglia, Norwich. I have also attached it as a Word document. Please let me know if you have received it in proper order. Sincerely Edward R. Cook ===== Review of Process-based methods in the interpretation of tree-growth/climate relationships, submitted by Professor Keith R. Briffa Reviewer: Dr. Edward R. Cook, Lamont-Doherty Earth Observatory, 61 Route 9W, Palisades, New York 10964 USA (Referee No: 103766) Originality of Method & Approach: A -- Very Novel Significance: A -- Important to others A -- Lasting value Success: A -- Strong likelihood Overall Rating: A -- Exceptional Comments (please pass on to applicants): This proposal is one of the most original research ideas to come out of the science of dendrochronology in many, many years. Dendrochronology is being used increasingly to answer questions about environmental change, especially that related to global climatic change and tree growth in a rapidly changing world. Yet, there is great controversy over its results caused, in part if not mostly, by a fundamental step in the analysis of tree rings: the removal of long-term growth trends thought to be strictly due to biological processes and aging. This step is based on the fitting of empirical growth models or equations to the original tree-ring measurements to remove the biological effects without any regard for the underlying processes that contributed to the observed trends in growth. This is a fundamental weakness in the science that this proposal seeks to resolve and largely eliminate through the development of a process-based approach based on sound tree physiological and structural principles. Prof. Briffa and his post-doc Tom Melvin will conduct this research in a way that will also provide the greater dendrochronological community with a cross-platform computer program and tool for the analysis and interpretation of tree growth. Therefore, it has the potential for fundamentally changing in the way that changing patterns of tree growth will be evaluated in the future and also provide the tools for doing so to the greater research community. I cannot stress too highly how important this proposed research is to the science of dendrochronology. It is for this reason that I give it the highest ratings of A in all categories. I am familiar enough with the work conducted by Prof. Briffa and Tom Melvin to know that the proposed research will be conducted at the highest level and I look forward to the development and testing of their process-based model. ===== Content-Type: application/octet-stream; x-mac-type=5738424E; x-unix-mode=0644; x-mac-creator=4D535744; name=Leverhulme Trust Review.doc Content-Disposition: attachment; filename="Leverhulme Trust Review.doc" ================================== Dr. Edward R. Cook Doherty Senior Scholar and Director, Tree-Ring Laboratory Lamont-Doherty Earth Observatory Palisades, New York 10964 USA Email: [4]drdendro@ldeo.columbia.edu Phone: 845-365-8618 Fax: 845-365-8152 ================================== -- Professor Keith Briffa, Climatic Research Unit University of East Anglia Norwich, NR4 7TJ, U.K. Phone: +44-1603-593909 Fax: +44-1603-507784 [5]http://www.cru.uea.ac.uk/cru/people/briffa/