Paleoclimatology is the study of climate records from hundreds to millions of years ago. Paleoclimate data come from climate records found in nature. They are known as proxy records or indirect records of climatic conditions. Most of our ‘base’ records go back a hundred or so years ago, not that great of an example to justify global warming in my mind. As I have said before we have many thousands of years to figure in climate cycles.
How Do Scientists Interpret Natural Records?
While we don’t often think about it, weather is constantly shaping our environment. Everything in nature, from river sediments to plant growth and distribution, is influenced by weather and climate. The most easily recognized type of paleoclimate record is tree ring data. Other common sources of proxy data for climate include lake and ocean sediments, layers of ice (cored from ice sheets), corals, fossils, and historical records from ship logs and early weather observers.
Paleoclimate records come from all around the world – from the tops of mountains, to the bottom of the ocean, from the tropics to the poles. [insert map of data record locations from NOAA maps and data integrated map app]
Scientists use a variety of methods to access and analyze climate proxies. The most familiar methods involve taking a core sample of tree rings, corals, sediments, and ice. By measuring the width, chemical composition, and physical structure of each layer, scientists can deduce the conditions present when each layer formed.
Another way to learn about past climate is to take the temperature of rocks at different depths via boreholes drilled directly into the Earth’s crust. Rocks respond very slowly to different temperature conditions, and deeper rocks change temperatures more slowly than shallower rocks. Precise measurements of the rate of temperature change of rocks at various depths can be correlated to past temperatures at the surface.
Because trees are sensitive to local climate conditions, such as rain and temperature, they give scientists some information about that area’s local climate in the past. For example, tree rings usually grow wider in warm, wet years and they are thinner in years when it is cold and dry.
Where’s INDY???? Probably unloading that Sprite truck for the 500 festivities at The Yard Of Bricks this weekend!!
Looks like we won’t be seeing Rocky for a while now. He’ll be in his summer hibernation!
It is 80 degrees here. We had a high of 81 today so far.
Wow the next 8 days+ are all more than 10 degrees above average. That sure is some consistent heat. Hotter than the warmest average highs in July!
Interesting post MV. I never knew the rings in a tree meant anything more than how old the tree was. We had to have 2 trees cut down years ago and they were hollow inside with lots of mushrooms.
Hey Deb –
We were in your neck of the woods last weekend. A cousin’s wedding reception was at Bay Pointe Inn. They’ve done a nice job on that place, with plans to do even more.
Some fun facts. May 2018 will be a very warm at this time the mean temperature at Grand Rapids is 61.0° that is good for a departure of +3.6° The coldest it has gotten this month is just 40° and this will be the first May that has not seen a temperature of below 40 since 1998 Of course that June it did get down to 38° on June 8th There may be talk of how warm this next week looks to be but if fact you would have to go back to May of 2008 to find a May that did not have temperatures in the mid to upper 80’s and May of 2012 it reached 91 and in May of 2010 it reached 90 with several others have had 89 and 88 for the highest readings.
Slim
Very nice post Michael
Slim
thanks