Table of Historic and Prehistoric Climate Indicators

This table is a reference tool for rapidly locating Wikipedia articles on Historic and Prehistoric climate indicators of all types.

Method	Type	Basis	Interpret	Instruments	Back To
Varve Varve A varve is an annual layer of sediment or sedimentary rock.The word 'varve' is derived from the Swedish word varv whose meanings and connotations include 'revolution', 'in layers', and 'circle'. The term first appeared as Hvarfig lera on the first map produced by the Geological Survey of Sweden in... Analysis	Geological	Annual bands of seasonally differing particle size in glacial lake deposits	Samples carry Proxies Proxy (climate) In the study of past climates is known as paleoclimatology, climate proxies are preserved physical characteristics of the past that stand in for direct measurements , to enable scientists to reconstruct the climatic conditions that prevailed during much of the Earth's history... . Thicker bands = warmer, wetter weather	Visual and Microscope Microscope A microscope is an instrument used to see objects that are too small for the naked eye. The science of investigating small objects using such an instrument is called microscopy...	ca 13,000 yrs BP
Dendrochronology Dendrochronology Dendrochronology or tree-ring dating is the scientific method of dating based on the analysis of patterns of tree-rings. Dendrochronology can date the time at which tree rings were formed, in many types of wood, to the exact calendar year...	Biological	Annual bands of seasonally differing woody growth tissue in trees	Thicker bands = warmer, wetter weather	Visual and Microscope Microscope A microscope is an instrument used to see objects that are too small for the naked eye. The science of investigating small objects using such an instrument is called microscopy...	ca 10,000 yrs BP
Ice cores	Geological	Annual (or periodic) layers of differing ice crystals Ice crystals Ice crystals are a small crystalline form of ice including hexagonal columns, hexagonal plates, dendritic crystals, and diamond dust. The highly symmetric shapes are due to depositional growth, namely, direct deposition of water vapour onto the ice crystal... in glaciers and ice caps	Samples carry Proxies Proxy (climate) In the study of past climates is known as paleoclimatology, climate proxies are preserved physical characteristics of the past that stand in for direct measurements , to enable scientists to reconstruct the climatic conditions that prevailed during much of the Earth's history... . Thicker bands = colder, snowier weather	Chemical and Mass Spectrometer	ca 800,000 yrs BP
Speleothems	Geological	Layers of seasonally differing stalagmite Stalagmite A stalagmite is a type of speleothem that rises from the floor of a limestone cave due to the dripping of mineralized solutions and the deposition of calcium carbonate. This stalagmite formation occurs only under certain pH conditions within the underground cavern. The corresponding formation on... /stalactite Stalactite A stalactite , "to drip", and meaning "that which drips") is a type of speleothem that hangs from the ceiling of limestone caves. It is a type of dripstone... deposits in limestone Limestone Limestone is a sedimentary rock composed largely of the minerals calcite and aragonite, which are different crystal forms of calcium carbonate . Many limestones are composed from skeletal fragments of marine organisms such as coral or foraminifera.... caves	Samples carry Proxies Proxy (climate) In the study of past climates is known as paleoclimatology, climate proxies are preserved physical characteristics of the past that stand in for direct measurements , to enable scientists to reconstruct the climatic conditions that prevailed during much of the Earth's history... . Thicker bands = warmer, wetter surface weather	Visual and Microscope Microscope A microscope is an instrument used to see objects that are too small for the naked eye. The science of investigating small objects using such an instrument is called microscopy...	ca 500,000 yrs BP
Sun Spots	Astronomical	Number of spots visible on the surface of the Sun Sun The Sun is the star at the center of the Solar System. It is almost perfectly spherical and consists of hot plasma interwoven with magnetic fields... over various periods	More spots = warmer weather cycles	Visual and Telescope Telescope A telescope is an instrument that aids in the observation of remote objects by collecting electromagnetic radiation . The first known practical telescopes were invented in the Netherlands at the beginning of the 1600s , using glass lenses...	1700 AD
Oxygen Isotope Analysis, see marine isotope stage Marine isotope stage Marine isotope stages , marine oxygen-isotope stages, or oxygen isotope stages , are alternating warm and cool periods in the Earth's paleoclimate, deduced from oxygen isotope data reflecting changes in temperature derived from data from deep sea core samples...	Geochemical Climate Proxy Proxy (climate) In the study of past climates is known as paleoclimatology, climate proxies are preserved physical characteristics of the past that stand in for direct measurements , to enable scientists to reconstruct the climatic conditions that prevailed during much of the Earth's history...	Ratio of Oxygen-18 to Oxygen-16 in calcite Calcite Calcite is a carbonate mineral and the most stable polymorph of calcium carbonate . The other polymorphs are the minerals aragonite and vaterite. Aragonite will change to calcite at 380-470°C, and vaterite is even less stable.-Properties:... from deep sea Deep sea The deep sea, or deep layer, is the lowest layer in the ocean, existing below the thermocline and above the seabed, at a depth of 1000 fathoms or more. Little or no light penetrates this part of the ocean and most of the organisms that live there rely for subsistence on falling organic matter... sediment Sediment Sediment is naturally occurring material that is broken down by processes of weathering and erosion, and is subsequently transported by the action of fluids such as wind, water, or ice, and/or by the force of gravity acting on the particle itself.... , and coral Coral Corals are marine animals in class Anthozoa of phylum Cnidaria typically living in compact colonies of many identical individual "polyps". The group includes the important reef builders that inhabit tropical oceans and secrete calcium carbonate to form a hard skeleton.A coral "head" is a colony of... cores	More Oxygen-18 = colder climatic periods	Mass Spectrometer	ca 542,000,000 yrs BP
Beryllium-10 Analysis	Geochemical Climate Proxy Proxy (climate) In the study of past climates is known as paleoclimatology, climate proxies are preserved physical characteristics of the past that stand in for direct measurements , to enable scientists to reconstruct the climatic conditions that prevailed during much of the Earth's history...	Ratio of Beryllium-10 to daughter isotopes in dust Dust Dust consists of particles in the atmosphere that arise from various sources such as soil dust lifted up by wind , volcanic eruptions, and pollution... from ice cores	Produced in atmosphere by cosmic rays and absorbed into the hydrologic cycle. Level of Beryllium-10 has been shown to closely match recent solar activity measured by sun spots	Mass Spectrometer	ca 80,000 yrs BP

To Add:

Alkenone
Alkenone
Alkenones are highly resistant organic compounds produced by phytoplankton of the class Prymnesiophyceae.The exact function of the alkenones remains under debate....

analysis
TEX-86
TEX-86
TEX86 is a paleothermometer based on the composition of membrane lipids of the marine picoplankton Crenarchaeota.Wuchter et al. found that the number of cyclopentane rings in Crenarchaeota membrane lipids changes linearly with temperature in order to regulate membrane fluidity...

analysis
Nile river flood levels
Trace mineral ratios in deltaic sediment
Wildlife distribution
Pollen analysis
Pollen zone
Pollen zones are a system of subdividing the last glacial period and Holocene paleoclimate using the data from pollen cores. The sequence provides a global chronological structure to a wide variety of scientists, such as geologists, climatologisists, geographists and archaeologists, who study the...
Historic storm-related sinkings
Sea temperature and atmospheric pressure (ENSO)
Scientific meteorological measurements (since 1800's)
- air temperature
- air pressure
- wind speed and direction
Ocean currents and marine productivity
Flooding and drought observations on land
Volcanic activity
elevated charcoal in lake sediments
sand dune activation records
eolian (wind-borne) sediment deposition

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