Medieval History
From: http://www.nottingham.ac.uk/history/news/2015/conor-kostick-climate-science.aspx
History?s Conor Kostick has helped to solve a climate science mystery.
In a paper published in the world-leading scientific journal Nature, Dr Kostick?s research into medieval evidence for climate events has allowed scientists to pinpoint the exact relationship between historical volcanic activity and severe winters.
Dr Kostick said: ?When Michael Sigl from the Desert Research Institute in Reno, Nevada and his team learned of my work on extreme medieval climate events, they asked could I find ?tie-points? ? years in which the historical sources suggest volcanic activity. Thanks to my Nottingham Advanced Research Fellowship and my subsequent Marie Curie Fellowship I have been able to assemble a great deal of relevant evidence for unusual climate events in the medieval period.
?I looked through my data and gave them a list of events, based not just upon obvious reports, such as eyewitness accounts of the eruption of Vesuvius in 472 CE, but also on more subtle evidence such as reports of the sun being dim, or discoloured. And the beauty of what happened next is that these examples formed a perfect match with the new ice-core data, even though I hadn?t seen their data and had no idea which years they were interested in.?
Dr Kostick?s findings tie up with the findings of a team of ice-core experts who have dug a new Arctic core and used new techniques to establish with great precision the dating of each ice layer. The results of their work show that our previous ice-core dates for the period before about 1000 CE (and therefore for volcanic activity) are wrong by about seven years. With the new data it becomes evident that for certain years, such as 79, 536, 626 and 939 CE, volcanoes did indeed cause severe cold to develop over Europe.
University of Nottingham press release here.
- Cataclysmic Volcano Wreaked Havoc On Medieval Britain
The results of the largest archaeological investigation ever to have taken place in London are to be published by the Museum of London Archaeology. Some 10,500 human skeletons dating from the 12th century to the 1500s were discovered by archaeologists...
- Arabic Sources Show Extreme Weather Hit Medieval Baghdad
Medieval manuscripts written by Arabic scholars can provide valuable meteorological information to help modern scientists reconstruct the climate of the past, a new study has revealed. The research, published in Weather, analyses the writings of scholars,...
- Volcanic Activity Behind Little Ice Age
Melting icefields on Baffin Island, one of the clearest signs of climate change on Earth, have yielded the strongest evidence yet for the timing and cause of another major climate event from the planet's past: the so-called Little Ice Age, a sudden...
- Monks' Diaries To Help Weather Forecast
Medieval weather records, including details from monks' diaries are helping experts work out how and why climates have changed over the past 500 years. Edinburgh University scientists found the historic data, such as harvest records, matched modern...
- Coolness In The Pacific Changed Medieval Europe's Climate, Study Says
A cooler central Pacific Ocean has been connected with drought conditions in medieval Europe and North America, and may also have been responsible for famines and the disappearance of cliff dwelling people in the American West. A new study from the University...
Medieval History
Conor Kostick helps solve climate science mystery
From: http://www.nottingham.ac.uk/history/news/2015/conor-kostick-climate-science.aspx
History?s Conor Kostick has helped to solve a climate science mystery.
In a paper published in the world-leading scientific journal Nature, Dr Kostick?s research into medieval evidence for climate events has allowed scientists to pinpoint the exact relationship between historical volcanic activity and severe winters.
Dr Kostick said: ?When Michael Sigl from the Desert Research Institute in Reno, Nevada and his team learned of my work on extreme medieval climate events, they asked could I find ?tie-points? ? years in which the historical sources suggest volcanic activity. Thanks to my Nottingham Advanced Research Fellowship and my subsequent Marie Curie Fellowship I have been able to assemble a great deal of relevant evidence for unusual climate events in the medieval period.
?I looked through my data and gave them a list of events, based not just upon obvious reports, such as eyewitness accounts of the eruption of Vesuvius in 472 CE, but also on more subtle evidence such as reports of the sun being dim, or discoloured. And the beauty of what happened next is that these examples formed a perfect match with the new ice-core data, even though I hadn?t seen their data and had no idea which years they were interested in.?
Dr Kostick?s findings tie up with the findings of a team of ice-core experts who have dug a new Arctic core and used new techniques to establish with great precision the dating of each ice layer. The results of their work show that our previous ice-core dates for the period before about 1000 CE (and therefore for volcanic activity) are wrong by about seven years. With the new data it becomes evident that for certain years, such as 79, 536, 626 and 939 CE, volcanoes did indeed cause severe cold to develop over Europe.
University of Nottingham press release here.
Posted on Thursday 9th July 2015
- Cataclysmic Volcano Wreaked Havoc On Medieval Britain
The results of the largest archaeological investigation ever to have taken place in London are to be published by the Museum of London Archaeology. Some 10,500 human skeletons dating from the 12th century to the 1500s were discovered by archaeologists...
- Arabic Sources Show Extreme Weather Hit Medieval Baghdad
Medieval manuscripts written by Arabic scholars can provide valuable meteorological information to help modern scientists reconstruct the climate of the past, a new study has revealed. The research, published in Weather, analyses the writings of scholars,...
- Volcanic Activity Behind Little Ice Age
Melting icefields on Baffin Island, one of the clearest signs of climate change on Earth, have yielded the strongest evidence yet for the timing and cause of another major climate event from the planet's past: the so-called Little Ice Age, a sudden...
- Monks' Diaries To Help Weather Forecast
Medieval weather records, including details from monks' diaries are helping experts work out how and why climates have changed over the past 500 years. Edinburgh University scientists found the historic data, such as harvest records, matched modern...
- Coolness In The Pacific Changed Medieval Europe's Climate, Study Says
A cooler central Pacific Ocean has been connected with drought conditions in medieval Europe and North America, and may also have been responsible for famines and the disappearance of cliff dwelling people in the American West. A new study from the University...