In the White Mountains of California, the world's oldest-known living organism, a bristlecone pine, celebrates its 4,644th birthday as Nova explores the life and times of this remarkable survivor in relation to some of the world's most significant historical events. "Methuselah Tree" airs Tuesday, Dec. 11 at 8/7 p.m. CT on KET and Saturday, Dec. 15 at 7/6 p.m. CT on KET2.
This tree, recognized by Edmund Schulman in 1957 for its great antiquity, clings to rocky ground at 11,000 feet in one of the driest places on Earth. "Methuselah" took root when the Great Pyramids were going up in Egypt and has lasted through the Bronze Age, Iron Age, Machine Age and now into the Nuclear Age.
The harsh conditions bristlecones endure, such as alkaline soil, scant moisture, desiccating winds, constant freezing and six-week growing seasons, allow little chance for insects, fungus and rot to survive. Bristlecone pines have also survived gold rushes, silver strikes, nuclear testing and the surreal transformation of the desert.
Schulman's goal was to use the annual growth rings of bristlecones as precise dating instruments and recorders of climate. By overlapping rings from living trees and older, dead trees, scientists have established an unbroken chronology of nearly nine thousand years, providing an important tool for investigating long-term climate change and the effects of the recent rise in greenhouse gases.
Nova is produced by WGBH/Boston. This program is closed-captioned for the deaf and hard-of-hearing.
