Columbia U. Researcher Links Climate to the Quality of the World'sMost Cherished Violins (Forwarded)

Lamont-Doherty Earth Observatory
Columbia University
New York, New York

Contact:
Mary Tobin, 845-365-8607

12/03/03

Columbia University Researcher Links Climate to the Quality of the World's Most
Cherished Violins

There has been considerable debate surrounding the reasons why instruments
crafted in the late 17th and early 18th centuries are tonally superior to modern
instruments. Theories range from the skill of the craftsman to secret techniques
such as a special varnish, the drying of the wood, the storage time, or even the
use of old wood from historic structures. Lloyd Burckle of the Lamont-Doherty
Earth Observatory, Columbia University, and Henri Grissino-Mayer of the
Laboratory of Tree Ring Science, University of Tennessee, have proposed an
alternate hypothesis -- climate. Their research was published in the journal
Dendrochronologia.

Burckle and Grissino-Mayer propose that the superior sound quality of
instruments from this era may be explained by the climatic regime that gripped
Europe and perhaps much of the world from AD 1645 to 1715. Known as the Maunder
Minimum, it was a period characterized by a scarcity of sunspots and a reduction
in the Sun's overall activity. The less intense solar radiation and activity
coincided with a sharp decline in temperature during the Little Ice Age and a
period of very cold weather in western Europe. The Maunder Minimum is clearly
seen in tree-ring records from high-elevation forest stands in the European
Alps. The long winters and cool summers of this 70-year period produced wood
that has slow, even growth -- desirable properties for producing quality
sounding boards.

Antonio Stradivari of Cremona, Italy, perhaps the most famous of violin makers,
was born one year before the beginning of the Maunder Minimum. He and other
violinmakers of the area used the only wood available to them -- from the trees
that grew during the Maunder Minimum. Burckle and Grissino suggest that the
narrow tree rings that identify the Maunder Minimum in Europe played a role in
the enhanced sound quality of instruments produced by the violinmakers of this
time. Narrow tree rings would not only strengthen the violin but would increase
the wood's density.

The onset of the Maunder Minimum at a time when the skills of the Cremonese
violinmakers reached their zenith perhaps made the difference in the violin's
tone and brilliance. Climate conditions with temperatures such as those that
occurred during this time simply can not and do not occur today in areas where
the Cremonese makers likely obtained their wood.

Lamont-Doherty Earth Observatory

The Lamont-Doherty Earth Observatory, a member of The Earth Institute at
Columbia University, is one of the world's leading research centers examining
the planet from its core to its atmosphere, across every continent and every
ocean. From global climate change to earthquakes, volcanoes, environmental
hazards and beyond, Observatory scientists provide the basic knowledge of Earth
systems needed to inform the future health and habitability of our planet.

The Earth Institute

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sciences -- and stresses cross-disciplinary approaches to complex problems.
Through its research training and global partnerships, it mobilizes science and
technology to advance sustainable development, while placing special emphasis on
the needs of the world's poor.