Summary
of 1000 Years
In
the past 1000 revolutions around the sun,
the Earth has experienced a wide variety of human activity against
a background of climate change and variability. In Climate
History the focus is on how drought-- some lasting several decades--
impacted cultures such as the Ancient Pueblo peoples who inhabited
parts of the American Southwest a millennium ago.
In Climate Science, we look into how
paleoclimatologists are using clues from proxy records such as tree
rings and layers of sediment and ice to piece together past climate
patterns and events over the course of a millennium, far beyond the
limited records from modern instruments such as rain gauges and thermometers.
And Resources offers numerous links
to paleoclimate resources relating to the past millennium and millennial
scale climate variability.
The Millennium
Timeline
|
Years
A.D.
and
Human Population (est. in millions)
|
Human Exploration and Activities
|
|
1900
(1.6 Billion)
|
 Severe
weather and climate events have increasing impact on society
and environment as population
grows from ~254 million to six billion people between
the years 1000 and 2000.
|
|
1800
(813m)
|
Between
1849 and 1905, the most prolonged period of drought conditions
in 300 years occurred in Arizona.
|
|
1700
(600m)
|
 "Little
Ice Age" chills much of Europe, with glaciers
growing in the Alps threatening some mountain communities and
shortening growing seasons throughout Europe. (Folland,
2001)
|
|
1600
(545m)
|
Slave
trade, plantations and global commerce contribute to changes
in land cover, influencing regional climate. Atmospheric CO2
levels are 6% below average Holocene level according to Crowley,
2000 .
|
|
1500
(425m)
|
 Severe
multi-decadal "mega-drought" hits American southwest,
severely impacting native peoples who had only recently been
invaded by Spanish conquistadors. "Lost
Colony" Drought also effects settlement of Jamestown,
VA, 1587-89.
|
|
1400
(350m)
|
Sailors
from Europe and the Middle East learn to
navigate the world's oceans
using seasonal wind patterns later called "trade winds".
The "Little Ice Age" begins to chill much of Europe.
|
|
1300
(360m)
|
Possibily
linked to wetter, colder climates, Bubonic
plague kills up to 20,000 people a day in Cairo.
(See Stothers.
1999). Europe also hard hit. Empires thrive
in Mali, Java and Uzbekistan. Minimum of solar activity during
14th Century.
|
|
1200
(360m)
|
 1259-
Evidence of major volcanic event-- likely the largest during
entire Holocene-- found in ice cores on both poles, (Crowley,
2000 ).
Great Drought (1276-1299) in American Southwest found in tree
ring data impacted Ancient Pueblo and other native cultures.
See Climate
History.
|
|
1100
(301m)
|
Called
"The Century of the Axe" by some historians because
of the ambitious building efforts and clearing of woods for
agriculture in Europe and elsewhere. Changes in land cover eventually
contribute to changes in regional climate.
|
|
1000
(254m)
|
~1000-
Leif Eriksson, returning to
Viking settlements in Greenland from Europe, is blown off course
and lands on the North American continent. Medieval
Warm Period in Europe begins around 1000 and lasts
until approximately 1350 AD.
|
