Paul Mayewski Prof. Paul Andrew Mayewski Climate Change Institute University of Maine USA If you would like to interview this scientist, please contact Leah Christen. > biographical information > abstract > paper

Biographical Information:

Prof. Mayewski has lead more than 40 expeditions to the Himalayas, Tibetan Plateau, Arctic and Antarctica. He is the organizer and chief scientist of major multi-disciplinary research programs such as GISP2 (Greenland Ice Sheet Project 2 – 25 American institutions) and ITASE (International Trans Antarctic Scientific Expedition – 20 countries). He is the author of over 250 peer-reviewed scientific publications documenting natural and anthropogenic changes in the chemistry of the atmosphere, abrupt climate change events, multiple controls on climate, and the association between climate change and disruptions to civilization. He has also authored a popular climate change book entitled: “The Ice Chronicles”. Prof. Mayewski has received several honors including Fellow and Citation Winner - Explorers Club, Fellow - American Geophysical Union, and Honorary Doctorate - Stockholm University. He has been an invited speaker at over 250 university, state, public and private events, and more than 300 prominent media venues.

Abstract:

Reconstructing the Last 2000 Years of Climate Through ICARA (Ice-core Climate Archive Recovery Activity)

Holocene-age abrupt climate change events, although less dramatic than their Glacial age counterparts are, nevertheless, revealed in a variety of globally-distributed paleoclimate proxies. These events are closely correlated with significant changes in both the course of human civilization and ecosystems. Further because Holocene-age abrupt climate change events occurred under geographic boundary conditions similar to those in existence today, these events and the Holocene paleoclimate record in general offer insights into the underpinning of modern climate.

The most recent, and arguably the most prominent, Holocene-age abrupt climate change event is the Little Ice Age. Examination of a globally distributed array of well-dated, continuous, calibrated paleoclimate series covering the last 2,000 years offers significant insight into the timing, magnitude, and variability that characterize the Little Ice Age. Paleoclimate records documenting changes in temperature, hydrology, and atmospheric circulation demonstrate complexity that is instructive with regard to understanding the causes and importance of this event relative to the advent and future of modern, anthropogenically impacted climate of the last few decades.

Warming over the last few decades threatens to destroy some of the most robust paleoclimate archives—ice cores recovered from mid-to-low latitude sites. The combination of these mid-to-low latitude ice-core records and those collected from polar latitudes is needed in order to further the understanding of global-to-regional scale climate change. To undertake such a massive global collection and interpretation requires an international effort—ICARA (Ice-core Climate Archive Recovery Activity).

Paper:

Reconstructing the Last 2000 Years of Climate Through ICARA (Ice-core Climate Archive Recovery Activity)

Holocene age abrupt climate change events although less dramatic than their Glacial age counterparts are, nevertheless, revealed in a variety of globally-distributed paleoclimate proxies. The events are the consequence of multiple forcing and are closely correlated with significant changes in both the course of human civilization and ecosystems. Further, because Holocene age abrupt climate change events occurred under geographic boundary conditions similar to those in existence today, these events and the Holocene paleoclimate record in general offer insights into the underpinning of modern climate.

The most recent and arguably the most prominent Holocene age abrupt climate change event is the Little Ice Age. Examination of a globally distributed array of well-dated, continuous, calibrated paleoclimate series covering the last 2000 years offers significant insight into the timing, magnitude, and variability that characterize the Little Ice Age. Paleoclimate records documenting changes in temperature, hydrology, and atmospheric circulation demonstrate complexity that is instructive with regard to understanding the causes and importance of this event relative to the advent and future of modern, anthropogenically impacted climate of the last few decades.

Calibrated proxies are now available for several major atmospheric circulation features (e.g., Amundsen Sea Low, Icelandic Low, East Antarctic High, El Niño). Examination of climate variability within the Little Ice Age reveals a period of major transition from AD 1700-1850 throughout at least the Southern Hemisphere that ushers in the modern climate era. Polar ice cores also record evidence of a link between solar variability and changes in atmospheric circulation that could be affected by human activity thus perturbing natural climate.

Warming over the last few decades threatens to destroy some of the most robust paleoclimate archives—ice cores recovered from mid-low latitude sites. The combination of these mid-to-low latitude ice-core records and those collected from polar latitudes is needed in order to further understanding of global to regional scale climate change. To undertake such a massive global collection and interpretation requires an international effort—the ICARA (Ice-core Climate Archive Recovery Activity).



Figure 1