Medieval Warming, the Little Ice Age and the Sun

S. 324-363

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200202195

Earth's Climate Evolution (2015) , S. 324-363

This chapter focuses on the end of the Holocene-the past 2000 years, up to the present, reviewing cyclical changes in solar output. It explores the development and extent of the Medieval Warm Period centred on 1100AD and the subsequent Little Ice Age, and includes a review of the ‘Hockey Stick’ controversy. Multiple sources of palaeoclimatic data now make it abundantly clear that the years since 1970 were the warmest of the past 2000. Yet astronomical calculations show that despite variations in the sun's output, our climate should still be like that of the Little Ice Age. Only by adding our emissions of greenhouse gases like CO2 to palaeoclimate models can we recreate the climate that we see today. Taking into account tectonic changes and glacial isostatic adjustments, sea level has been rising throughout the past 200 years alongside the rise in temperature typical of the modern era.
cosmic rays; greenhouse gases; hockey stick controversy; holocene; ice age; medieval warm period; palaeoclimate models; solar activity