Curated category
History of climate variability and change
- Climate changeIn 1988, NASA climate scientist James Hansen testified before the U.S. Senate and used the phrase global warming to describe human-caused temperature rises.
- Late Devonian mass extinctionThe Late Devonian mass extinction, also known as the Kellwasser event, struck Earth around 372 million years ago. It marks the boundary between the Frasnian…
- Medieval Warm PeriodThe era spanning from 950 CE to 1250 CE marked a distinct period of warmth in the North Atlantic region. Historians and scientists refer to this interval as…
- Kyoto ProtocolThe year 1992 marked a turning point when the United Nations held its Earth Summit in Rio de Janeiro. Delegates from around the world gathered to sign the…
- Global surface temperatureThe blue line on a graph represents global surface temperature reconstructed over the last 2,000 years using proxy data from tree rings, corals, and ice…
- Little Ice AgeThe term Little Ice Age entered scientific literature in 1939 when geologist François E. Matthes described glaciers in the Sierra Nevada of California that…
- Climate variability and changeThe sun provides nearly all energy to Earth's climate system. This energy radiates back into outer space as heat. The balance between incoming solar…
- Retreat of glaciers since 1850Alaska's McCarty Glacier retreated about 10 kilometers in less than a century, and dense, diverse vegetation has become established on the slopes.