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Holocene climate variability

2004/10/21 by Paul A. Mayewski, Eelco E. Rohling, J. Curt Stager +18 · 27 citations
Earth and Planetary Sciences · Social Sciences · #Geology and Paleoclimatology Research #Archaeology and ancient environmental studies #Pleistocene-Era Hominins and Archaeology

paper · doi:10.1016/j.yqres.2004.07.001

Abstract

Although the dramatic climate disruptions of the last glacial period have received considerable attention, relatively little has been directed toward climate variability in the Holocene (11,500 cal yr B.P. to the present). Examination of ?50 globally distributed paleoclimate records reveals as many as six periods of significant rapid climate change during the time periods 9000"8000, 6000"5000, 4200"3800, 3500"2500, 1200"1000, and 600"150 cal yr B.P. Most of the climate change events in these globally distributed records are characterized by polar cooling, tropical aridity, and major atmospheric circulation changes, although in the most recent interval (600"150 cal yr B.P.), polar cooling was accompanied by increased moisture in some parts of the tropics. Several intervals coincide with major disruptions of civilization, illustrating the human significance of Holocene climate variability.

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