Ancient Records Help Test Climate Change

By BRADLEY S. KLAPPER | Associated Press Writer
10:50 AM EDT, September 15, 2007

EINSIEDELN, Switzerland - A librarian at this 10th century monastery leads a visitor beneath the vaulted ceilings of the archive past the skulls of two former abbots. He pushes aside medieval ledgers of indulgences and absolutions, pulls out one of 13 bound diaries inscribed from 1671 to 1704 and starts to read about the weather.

"Jan. 11 was so frightfully cold that all of the communion wine froze," says an entry from 1684 by Brother Josef Dietrich, governor and "weatherman" of the once-powerful Einsiedeln Monastery. "Since I've been an ordained priest, the sacrament has never frozen in the chalice."

"But on Jan. 13 it got even worse and one could say it has never been so cold in human memory," he adds.

Diaries of day-to-day weather details from the age before 19th-century standardized thermometers are proving of great value to scientists who study today's climate. Historical accounts were once largely ignored, as they were thought to be fraught with inaccuracy or were simply inaccessible or illegible. But the booming interest in climate change has transformed the study of ancient weather records from what was once a "wallflower science," says Christian Pfister, a climate historian at the University of Bern.

The accounts dispel any lingering doubts that the Earth is heating up more dramatically than ever before, he says. Last winter -- when spring blossoms popped up all over the Austrian Alps, Geneva's official chestnut tree sprouted leaves and flowers, and Swedes were still picking mushrooms well into December -- was Europe's warmest in 500 years, Pfister says. It came after the hottest autumn in a millennium and was followed by one of the balmiest Aprils on record.

"In the last year there was a series of extremely exceptional weather," he says. "The probability of this is very low."

Full story, Source: Newsday

Hi Q,

You cant take any notice of ancient records to help test climate change, i was doing training on the moors for 3 days, on one of the nights i could have swore it was the coldest night i've ever known, i would have guessed it was -12c, now if i was Brother Josef Dietrich and i wrote that down the details would have been inaccurate because i was later told it was only -4,

but has you might know, i dont believe humans are the cause of climate change, but i do agree in reducing pollution for the benefit of better health,

Steve,

Well, the Abbot certainly WOULD be freezing. These events occured during the Little Ice Age. Naturaly, any comparisons between THAT period and 'today' would show very dramatic warming.

However, wander with the librarian a little further down the dusty aisle untill you reach the books for 1000-1400. Therin you will find tales of the Abbott delighting in his succession of bumper wine harvests as the Monastery wilts under increasingly warmer summers, breaking all records, and with no end in sight. Mind you... all the communion wine appears to have evaporated. (but that might be down to the Solstice Party, rather than the climate). Welcome to the Mediaval Climate Optimum, when temperatures where similar to those today. NOW compare the temperatures and... gosh... no global warming.

Sometimes, your view can depend on where you stand.

Meow Purr.

Well as long as i can have a warm cozy place with a nice soft banky on cold days, and a great way of keeping cool on hot days i,ll be happy to leave it up to the experts to figure out the rest!

The article is not making reference to Global Warming, just Northern Hemisphere effects. And suppose lots of Arctic ice does melt changing the Salinity of the ocean, it would be sufficient to divert the Gulf Stream (North Atlantic Drift), and produce extremely cold weather for this part of the world, temporarily. Global Warming is a fact, the only contention is down to the causes.

And suppose it doesn't?