Global Signatures and Dynamical Originals of the Little Ice Age and Medieval Climate Anomaly
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Material Information

Title:
Global Signatures and Dynamical Originals of the Little Ice Age and Medieval Climate Anomaly
Series Title:
Science Magazine Volume 326
Creator:
Michael E. Mann
Zhihua Zhang
Scott Rutherford
Raymond S. Bradley
Malcolm K. Hughes
Drew Shindell
Caspar Ammann
Greg Faluvegi
Fenbiao Ni
Publisher:
American Association for the Advancement of Science
Publication Date:
Language:
English

Subjects

Subjects / Keywords:
climate change
Ice Age
Northern Hemisphere
Medieval

Notes

Abstract:
Global temperatures are known to have varied over the past 1500 years, but the spatial patterns have remained poorly defined. We used a global climate proxy network to reconstruct surface temperature patterns over this interval. The Medieval period is found to display warmth that matches or exceeds that of the past decade in some regions, but which falls well below recent levels globally. This period is marked by a tendency for La Niña–like conditions in the tropical Pacific. The coldest temperatures of the Little Ice Age are observed over the interval 1400 to 1700 C.E., with greatest cooling over the extratropical Northern Hemisphere continents. The patterns of temperature change imply dynamical responses of climate to natural radiative forcing changes involving El Niño and the North Atlantic Oscillation–Arctic Oscillation.

Record Information

Source Institution:
Florida International University
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