Education and Outreach

Divers extracting coral cores with a hydraulic drill on a Porites lobata colony, Clipperton Atoll. Learn more about what corals can tell us about past climate.

These resources explain how scientists study past climate, demonstrate the value of paleoclimatology in climate change science, and provide images and illustrations of paleoclimatology research.

Paleoclimatology Resources

• Paleoclimate Discussion List
  Join the forum for discussions and announcements, including employment opportunities, among paleoclimatologists throughout the world at the Paleoclimate Discussion List.
• Introduction to Paleoclimatology
  Paleoclimatology is the study of climate prior to the widespread availability of records of temperature, precipitation, and other instrumental data, using proxy data to study ancient climates. Paleoclimatologists have used proxy data to learn about Earth's climate history, including evidence of ancient droughts.

• Paleo Perspectives
  NCDC’s Paleoclimatology Program created a series of Paleo Perspectives to show how paleoclimatology data provide a long baseline of past changes.
• View Paleoclimatology Images
  Images and documentation provide historical information on a variety of paleoclimatology subjects, including ice ages, tree rings, ice cores, coral reefs, and much more.