Page 313 - Earth's Climate Past and Future
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CHAPTER 16
Climate Changes
During the Last
1000 Years
Detailed records of climate change during the last 1000 years come from
proxy indicators stored in archives such as mountain glaciers, tree rings, and
corals. Historical observations systematically recorded by humans over several
centuries are also available from a few regions, but instrumental measurements
began only in recent centuries.
Climate changes over the last thousand years were small and variable in
pattern from region to region until the large warming of the last century. In high
northern latitudes surrounding the North Atlantic Ocean, a small cooling
occurred between 1000 years ago and the time known as the Little Ice Age
(1400–1900 years ago). The scope of this cooling elsewhere on Earth remains
uncertain, as does the cause.
