{"id":279221,"date":"2023-09-17T20:34:26","date_gmt":"2023-09-17T18:34:26","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/climatescience.press\/?p=279221"},"modified":"2023-09-17T20:34:30","modified_gmt":"2023-09-17T18:34:30","slug":"2500-years-of-wild-climate-change-in-southern-europe","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/climatescience.press\/?p=279221","title":{"rendered":"2,500 years of wild climate change in southern Europe"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
\"\"<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

<\/p>\n\n\n\n

From CFACT<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

By\u00a0Joanne Nova<\/a>\u00a0|<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

The new study on stalagmites in caves of the Pyrenees<\/a> shows that modern climate change is nothing compared to normal fluctuations in the last 2,500 years, when it was at times  much hotter, colder, and more volatile. Rapid shifts between temperatures were common.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The researchers looked at 8 stalagmites in 4 caves and local lake levels, but they also compared their results with other European temperature proxies and reconstructions and the pattern is consistent across the region. The Roman Warm Period was much hotter than today, and for hundreds of years as well, even though coal plants were rare. Apparently, there was a reason Romans were dressed in togas.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Dark Ages were very cold, especially around 520 \u2013 550AD \u2014 which may be related to what the researchers call a \u201ccataclysmic\u201d volcanic eruption that took place in Iceland in 536AD. It was followed by two other massive volcanic eruptions in 540 and  547AD. This effect is apparently visible in European tree rings which showed \u201can unprecedented, long-lasting and spatially synchronized cooling\u201d.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Indeed, the researchers declare that volcanoes and solar variability appear to be the main drivers of the climate in SouthWestern Europe.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

So finally we see one long continuous proxy record from ancient Greek times right through until 2010. The big question is why these sorts of studies are not done everywhere and all the time. It\u2019s not like we don\u2019t have plenty of caves with stalagmites to analyze. If the climate really was \u201cthe biggest threat to life on Earth\u201d why are these extraordinary datasets not the top item on the wish-list of every institution that claims they care about the climate?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

There will be more to say on this remarkable paper:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Some passages from the paper discuss how these results match other studies from Europe:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The cold event at ca. 540 AD (the coldest of the speleothem record) may be related to a cataclysmic volcanic eruption that took place in Iceland in 536 AD and spewed ash across the Northern Hemisphere, together with the effect of two other massive eruptions in 540 and 547 AD (Sigl et al., 2015). An unprecedented, long-lasting and spatially synchronized cooling was observed in European tree-ring records associated with these large volcanic eruptions, corresponding to the LALIA period (B\u00fcntgen et al., 2016).<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Some passages from the paper discuss how these results compare with many other studies from Europe and with stark moments in history.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

5.2.2. Temperature variability in W Europe and the W Mediterranean during last 2500 years<\/strong>
There are very few high-resolution speleothem records in Europe covering the CE (Comas-Bru et al., 2020). We compare the Central Pyrenean speleothem composite with nine selected speleothems records in Europe  and northern Africa which cover with robust chronology and decadal resolution the last 2500 years (Fig.  5). One of these records is interpreted as NAO variability (Baker et al., 2015), three are paleo-precipitation reconstructions (Ait Brahim et al., 2019; Cisneros et al., 2021; Thatcher et al., 2022) and the other five are  reflecting paleo-temperature variations (Affolter et al., 2019; Fohlmeister et al., 2012; Mangini et al., 2005;  Mart\u00edn-Chivelet et al., 2011; Sundqvist et al., 2010). Considering these differences in the interpretation and the fact these records are from different regions with different climates (from Sweden to Morocco), dissimilar profiles of paleoclimate variability can be expected. Still, some features are comparable and can be discussed to obtain a super-regional picture.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

A. The Roman period in Europe-W Mediterranean.<\/strong> In Europe, and particularly in the Mediterranean region, the RP is well-known as a warm period (e.g., McCormick et al., 2012). The average sea-surface temperature in the western Mediterranean Sea was 2\u00b0C higher than the average temperature of the late centuries (Margaritelli et al., 2020). Our composite, with high values of normalized \uf064 18O values during the whole RP, and particularly from 0-200 AD, agrees with the scenario of warm temperatures (Fig. 5i). Speleothem data from the Balearic Islands (Cisneros et al., 2021) indicate a transition from humid to dry conditions along the Iberian-RP (Fig. 5c). The dry period at the end of the RP in the Balearic record, appears in agreement with a new speleothem record from northern Italy (Hu et al., 2022), suggesting that the observed drying trend was a possible contribution to the collapse of the Roman Empire in 476 AD. Record from Morocco (Ait Brahim et al., 2019), contrarily, marks a humid trend at the end of the RP (Fig. 5d). Similarly, an increase in humidity was observed in southern Iberia during the Iberian-Roman Period (Jim\u00e9nez-Moreno et al., 2013; Mart\u00edn-Puertas et al., 2009) thus reflecting a large spatial heterogeneity in precipitation during the RP when comparing records from the north and south of the Mediterranean basin.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

REFERENCES<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Bartolom\u00e9, M., Moreno, A., Sancho, C., Cacho, I., Stoll, H., Haghipour, N., Belmonte, \u00c1., Sp\u00f6tl, C., Hellstrom, J., Edwards, R. L., and Cheng, H.:\u00a0Reconstructing land temperature changes of the past 2,500 years using speleothems from Pyrenean caves<\/a>\u00a0(NE Spain), Clim. Past Discuss. [preprint], https:\/\/doi.org\/10.5194\/cp-2023-54<\/a>, in review, 2023.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Author<\/h2>\n\n\n
\n
\"\"<\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n


Joanne Nova<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

A prize-winning science graduate in molecular biology. She has given keynotes about the medical revolution, gene technology and aging at conferences. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

She hosted a children\u2019s TV series on Channel Nine, and has done over 200 radio interviews, many on the Australian ABC. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

She was formerly an associate lecturer in Science Communication at the ANU. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

She\u2019s author of The Skeptics Handbook which has been translated into 15 languages. Each day 5,000 people read joannenova.com.au<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

The new study on\u00a0stalagmites in caves of the Pyrenees\u00a0shows that modern climate change is nothing compared to normal fluctuations in the last 2,500 years, when it was at times\u00a0 much hotter, colder, and more volatile. Rapid shifts between temperatures were common.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":121246920,"featured_media":279228,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_coblocks_attr":"","_coblocks_dimensions":"","_coblocks_responsive_height":"","_coblocks_accordion_ie_support":"","_crdt_document":"","advanced_seo_description":"","jetpack_seo_html_title":"","jetpack_seo_noindex":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":true,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2},"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false},"categories":[1],"tags":[691818056,691818583,691822691,691822692],"class_list":{"0":"post-279221","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","6":"hentry","7":"category-uncategorized","8":"tag-climate-change","9":"tag-europe","10":"tag-the-dark-ages","11":"tag-the-roman-period","13":"fallback-thumbnail"},"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/climatescience.press\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/09\/00romiimpmoim.webp?fit=1920%2C1080&ssl=1","jetpack_likes_enabled":true,"jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/paxLW1-1aDz","jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":278477,"url":"https:\/\/climatescience.press\/?p=278477","url_meta":{"origin":279221,"position":0},"title":"Pyrenean caves reveal a warmer past","author":"uwe.roland.gross","date":"12\/09\/2023","format":false,"excerpt":"\u00a0New research\u00a0published in the journal \u2018Climate of the Past,\u2019 investigating climate proxy data based on stalagmites is revealing that past climates were warmer than our own.","rel":"","context":"In \"Climate change\"","block_context":{"text":"Climate change","link":"https:\/\/climatescience.press\/?tag=climate-change"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/climatescience.press\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/09\/0estalactitas-cueva.jpg?fit=1200%2C630&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/climatescience.press\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/09\/0estalactitas-cueva.jpg?fit=1200%2C630&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/climatescience.press\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/09\/0estalactitas-cueva.jpg?fit=1200%2C630&ssl=1&resize=525%2C300 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/climatescience.press\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/09\/0estalactitas-cueva.jpg?fit=1200%2C630&ssl=1&resize=700%2C400 2x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/climatescience.press\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/09\/0estalactitas-cueva.jpg?fit=1200%2C630&ssl=1&resize=1050%2C600 3x"},"classes":[]},{"id":396486,"url":"https:\/\/climatescience.press\/?p=396486","url_meta":{"origin":279221,"position":1},"title":"The Mayan climate extremes and megadroughts of the Medieval era","author":"uwe.roland.gross","date":"20\/08\/2025","format":false,"excerpt":"A slightly spooky new paper\u00a0shows annual rainfall patterns from a thousand years ago on the Yucat\u00e1n Peninsula, Mexico. It\u2019s so detailed, they list every drought by year, including 13 unbroken years of drought from 929 to 942AD.\u00a0 It\u2019s a bit like someone unearthed the Maya Bureau of Meteorology records from\u2026","rel":"","context":"In \"929 to 942AD drought\"","block_context":{"text":"929 to 942AD drought","link":"https:\/\/climatescience.press\/?tag=929-to-942ad-drought"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/climatescience.press\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/08\/0AQOYr4RN-O7rgRyqnOdz5t618h45tpX77JCA_n-eIdCV22ExgvFUVP2JmBSVwJI0S4mRjXXlgwjWCDI7YXPvyFX7fEJg6HRYAiB_1BootHj71-zIlIABf1UJBp-Hku8rbxDxQgsh0eMxXneh3lgv1NjX0vRz-1.jpeg?fit=1200%2C1200&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/climatescience.press\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/08\/0AQOYr4RN-O7rgRyqnOdz5t618h45tpX77JCA_n-eIdCV22ExgvFUVP2JmBSVwJI0S4mRjXXlgwjWCDI7YXPvyFX7fEJg6HRYAiB_1BootHj71-zIlIABf1UJBp-Hku8rbxDxQgsh0eMxXneh3lgv1NjX0vRz-1.jpeg?fit=1200%2C1200&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/climatescience.press\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/08\/0AQOYr4RN-O7rgRyqnOdz5t618h45tpX77JCA_n-eIdCV22ExgvFUVP2JmBSVwJI0S4mRjXXlgwjWCDI7YXPvyFX7fEJg6HRYAiB_1BootHj71-zIlIABf1UJBp-Hku8rbxDxQgsh0eMxXneh3lgv1NjX0vRz-1.jpeg?fit=1200%2C1200&ssl=1&resize=525%2C300 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/climatescience.press\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/08\/0AQOYr4RN-O7rgRyqnOdz5t618h45tpX77JCA_n-eIdCV22ExgvFUVP2JmBSVwJI0S4mRjXXlgwjWCDI7YXPvyFX7fEJg6HRYAiB_1BootHj71-zIlIABf1UJBp-Hku8rbxDxQgsh0eMxXneh3lgv1NjX0vRz-1.jpeg?fit=1200%2C1200&ssl=1&resize=700%2C400 2x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/climatescience.press\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/08\/0AQOYr4RN-O7rgRyqnOdz5t618h45tpX77JCA_n-eIdCV22ExgvFUVP2JmBSVwJI0S4mRjXXlgwjWCDI7YXPvyFX7fEJg6HRYAiB_1BootHj71-zIlIABf1UJBp-Hku8rbxDxQgsh0eMxXneh3lgv1NjX0vRz-1.jpeg?fit=1200%2C1200&ssl=1&resize=1050%2C600 3x"},"classes":[]},{"id":363287,"url":"https:\/\/climatescience.press\/?p=363287","url_meta":{"origin":279221,"position":2},"title":"Central Japan Was 3\u00b0C (And Up To 7\u00b0C) Warmer Than Today Throughout the Early to Mid-Holocene","author":"uwe.roland.gross","date":"25\/01\/2025","format":false,"excerpt":"\u201cBased on the records of the\u00a0\u03b4\u00b9\u2078O\u00a0stalagmite, the [Holocene Thermal Maximum] occurred between 10.9 and 6.7 ka [Honshu, Japan], reaching its peak temperature (15.0\u00b0C) around 7.0 ka. At this time, temperatures were approximately 3\u00b0C warmer than present.\u201d \u2013 Murata et al., 2025","rel":"","context":"In \"central Japan\"","block_context":{"text":"central Japan","link":"https:\/\/climatescience.press\/?tag=central-japan"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/climatescience.press\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/01\/0GettyImages-556421003-57a517d55f9b58974a959f14.jpg?fit=1200%2C748&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/climatescience.press\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/01\/0GettyImages-556421003-57a517d55f9b58974a959f14.jpg?fit=1200%2C748&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/climatescience.press\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/01\/0GettyImages-556421003-57a517d55f9b58974a959f14.jpg?fit=1200%2C748&ssl=1&resize=525%2C300 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/climatescience.press\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/01\/0GettyImages-556421003-57a517d55f9b58974a959f14.jpg?fit=1200%2C748&ssl=1&resize=700%2C400 2x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/climatescience.press\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/01\/0GettyImages-556421003-57a517d55f9b58974a959f14.jpg?fit=1200%2C748&ssl=1&resize=1050%2C600 3x"},"classes":[]},{"id":207425,"url":"https:\/\/climatescience.press\/?p=207425","url_meta":{"origin":279221,"position":3},"title":"Spain, Portugal dryness \u201aunprecedented ‘in 1,200 years \u2013 or maybe not, say critics","author":"uwe.roland.gross","date":"06\/07\/2022","format":false,"excerpt":"Credit: NOAA Some scientists contacted by\u00a0Carbon Brief\u00a0have their doubts about the reasons given for the reported expansion of the Azores high. An assistant professor at the University of North Carolina, Charlotte, warns that \u201cthe title statement is not justified by the study\u201d. Another assistant professor, at the University of Dartmouth,\u2026","rel":"","context":"Similar post","block_context":{"text":"Similar post","link":""},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/climatescience.press\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/07\/0azores_high.jpg?fit=640%2C254&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/climatescience.press\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/07\/0azores_high.jpg?fit=640%2C254&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/climatescience.press\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/07\/0azores_high.jpg?fit=640%2C254&ssl=1&resize=525%2C300 1.5x"},"classes":[]},{"id":331981,"url":"https:\/\/climatescience.press\/?p=331981","url_meta":{"origin":279221,"position":4},"title":"Guardian: \u201cThe Day After Tomorrow\u201d at 20 is a \u201cPrescient Ecological Warning\u201d","author":"uwe.roland.gross","date":"07\/06\/2024","format":false,"excerpt":"A compelling work of fiction which a lot of people took way too seriously is \u201cprescient\u201d \u2013 has the Guardian finally said something we can agree with?","rel":"","context":"In \"global climate catastrophe\"","block_context":{"text":"global climate catastrophe","link":"https:\/\/climatescience.press\/?tag=global-climate-catastrophe"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/climatescience.press\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/06\/0-The-Day-After-Tomorrow.jpeg?fit=1200%2C675&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/climatescience.press\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/06\/0-The-Day-After-Tomorrow.jpeg?fit=1200%2C675&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/climatescience.press\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/06\/0-The-Day-After-Tomorrow.jpeg?fit=1200%2C675&ssl=1&resize=525%2C300 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/climatescience.press\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/06\/0-The-Day-After-Tomorrow.jpeg?fit=1200%2C675&ssl=1&resize=700%2C400 2x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/climatescience.press\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/06\/0-The-Day-After-Tomorrow.jpeg?fit=1200%2C675&ssl=1&resize=1050%2C600 3x"},"classes":[]},{"id":290521,"url":"https:\/\/climatescience.press\/?p=290521","url_meta":{"origin":279221,"position":5},"title":"COP28 Climate Claims – Fantasy vs. Reality","author":"uwe.roland.gross","date":"08\/12\/2023","format":false,"excerpt":"Our panel delves into the claim by the COP28 President, who said there is \u2018no science\u2019 behind demands for the phase-out of fossil fuels and that doing so would take the world \u201cback into caves.\u201d","rel":"","context":"In \"Climate change\"","block_context":{"text":"Climate change","link":"https:\/\/climatescience.press\/?tag=climate-change"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/climatescience.press\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/12\/0Screenshot-2023-12-08-191455.png?fit=1112%2C556&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/climatescience.press\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/12\/0Screenshot-2023-12-08-191455.png?fit=1112%2C556&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/climatescience.press\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/12\/0Screenshot-2023-12-08-191455.png?fit=1112%2C556&ssl=1&resize=525%2C300 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/climatescience.press\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/12\/0Screenshot-2023-12-08-191455.png?fit=1112%2C556&ssl=1&resize=700%2C400 2x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/climatescience.press\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/12\/0Screenshot-2023-12-08-191455.png?fit=1112%2C556&ssl=1&resize=1050%2C600 3x"},"classes":[]}],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/climatescience.press\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/279221","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/climatescience.press\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/climatescience.press\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/climatescience.press\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/121246920"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/climatescience.press\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=279221"}],"version-history":[{"count":4,"href":"https:\/\/climatescience.press\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/279221\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":279229,"href":"https:\/\/climatescience.press\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/279221\/revisions\/279229"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/climatescience.press\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/279228"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/climatescience.press\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=279221"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/climatescience.press\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=279221"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/climatescience.press\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=279221"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}