THE CLIMATE RECORD Paleoclimates, historical climates PROXY DATA Historical Documents Biological evidence coral, forams, pollen, tree rings Geological evidence glacial deposits, ice cores, sediments Antarctica Ice Cores Palynology is the branch of science dealing with microscopic, decay-resistant remains of certain plants and animals. It has many applications including archaeological palynology, Quarternary palynology, and stratigraphic palynology. Marine sediment samples collected with a multicorer Foraminifera (forams for short). Forams provide two main types of information : ocean temperature of species, O18/O16 ratio (glacial ice volume) Ocean Floor Cores Biological Evidence: Tree Rings Bristlecone pine of the Great Basin region of western North America are the oldest known living trees, up to 5,000 years old. DENDROCHRONOLOGY Pleistocene Ice Age Glacial Deposit: Erratic Alpine Glacier and Mass Balance Alpine Erosional Features Alpine Glacier Depositional Features Continental Glacier Depositional Features Milankovitch Hypothesis Vostok Ice Core Record MIDIEVAL WARM PERIOD AND LITTLE ICE AGE Viking Voyages During Medieval Warm Period MAYAN CIVILIZATION COLLAPSE Hunters in the Snow by the Flemish painter Pieter Bruegel the Elder (15251569). Completed in February 1565, during the first of the many bitter winters of the Little Ice Age. Climate and Art Historic Instrument Record