Paleoclimate
Paleoclimatologists study environmental evidence to understand what the Earth’s past climate was like and why. They use proxy climate records to estimate past conditions and extend our understanding of climate that existed long ago.
What Is a Paleoclimate?
Paleoclimate
According to the AMS Glossary of Meteorology, a paleoclimate is the “climate for periods prior to the development of measuring instruments, including historic and geologic time, for which only proxy climate records are available.” Examples of proxy climate records include historical documents and data preserved within corals, pollen grains, ice cores, tree rings, and ocean and lake sediments.
This map shows the number of summers from 1400 to 2017 with moderate to extreme drought, based on the Living Blended Drought Product (LBDP). While the dataset extends to year 0 in some locations, full coverage of the lower 48 U.S. states is not available until 1400. The LBDP is a recalibrated data series of June-July-August Palmer Modified Drought Index (PMDI) values in the lower 48 U.S. states, blending tree-ring reconstructions and instrumental data to estimate the average summer PMDI values. Learn more.
Number of Summers Area Was in Drought
Data and Map Gallery
One of the limits of climatology is that we only have about a hundred years of instrumentally gathered weather data, and we know that they don’t give us the full story. The natural world has recorded its own stories in tree rings, lake sediments, ice, cave deposits, and fossils, and paleoclimatologists put that information together to assemble thousands of years of climate history. Paleoclimatology helps us understand the full range of natural variability.
Use these resources to find information about paleoclimatology and access geophysical and biological paleoclimatology datasets and historical drought information.
The Living Blended Drought Product (LBDP) is a recalibrated data series of June-July-August Palmer Modified Drought Index (PMDI) values by United States climate division, compiled by blending tree-
The OWDA provides new data to determine the causes of Old World drought and wetness and attribute past climate variability to forced and/or internal variability.
NCEI provides the paleoclimatology data and information scientists need to understand natural climate variability and future climate change.
CLIMAS provides information on how scientists use “climate proxies” to reconstruct past events, and a tool that allows users to visualize the climate variability during the past 1,000 years or so i
Selected research papers, reports, and other resources which show the current state-of-knowledge and the progress in our understanding of the variability of climate and hydrology in the Colorado Ri
Paleoclimatology Research and Resources
NASA | Earth Observatory | Paleoclimatology Introduction
An examination of how scientists reconstruct the history of Earth’s climate over hundreds of thousands—in some cases millions—of years.
NOAA | National Centers for Environmental Information | Paleoclimatology Education & Outreach
Educational resources about paleoclimatology from NOAA's National Centers for Environmental Information (NCEI).
U.S. Geological Survey | Paleoclimate
Learn more about paleoclimate science and explore paleoclimate research from USGS's Land Change Science Program.