Knowra Medieval Warm Period Medieval Warm Period The Medieval Warm Period was an interval of relatively warm conditions in parts of the world, especially the North Atlantic region, roughly from the 10th to 13th centuries. Its timing and intensity varied by region, so it was not a uniform global warming event.
Paleoclimatology : The study of past climates using natural archives such as sediments, ice, tree rings, and corals. It supplies the methods used to establish where and when medieval warmth occurred.
Little Ice Age : A prolonged interval of cooler conditions in parts of the world, especially around the Northern Hemisphere, from roughly the 14th to 19th centuries. It followed medieval warmth in many regions, though its timing and severity also varied geographically.
North Atlantic : The ocean region bounded by North America, Europe, and northwestern Africa. Many of the clearest records associated with medieval warmth come from this region.
Hubert Lamb : A British climatologist known for influential reconstructions of historical European and North Atlantic climate. Lamb helped popularize the Medieval Warm Period through his climate histories.
Proxy (climate) : A measurable natural record that indirectly preserves information about past climate conditions. Temperature estimates for this period rely on proxies rather than widespread thermometer measurements.
Current global warming : The ongoing rise in Earth's average surface temperature, driven primarily by human greenhouse-gas emissions. Unlike medieval warmth, modern warming is global in extent and unusually rapid in long-term records.
Viking settlement of Greenland : The Norse colonization of Greenland beginning in the late 10th century and ending by the 15th century. The settlements are often discussed alongside North Atlantic warmth, though climate alone did not determine their fate.
Medieval Warm Period (Lamb’s reconstruction) : Hubert Lamb’s reconstruction of relatively mild medieval conditions, especially in Europe and the North Atlantic. Lamb’s influential account shaped early claims about the period’s extent and timing.
Dendroclimatology : The reconstruction of past climate from annual tree-ring patterns and properties. Tree rings provide annually dated evidence of growing-season conditions in some medieval regions.
Climate change denial : The rejection or misrepresentation of the scientific evidence for human-caused climate change. The period is sometimes misused to imply that present-day warming is not primarily human-caused.
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