Earth’s climate has been warming up sharply, according to recent research from scientists at Oregon State and Harvard universities. After reviewing data from 73 sites around the world that involved looking back more than 11,000 years, the scientists report temperatures are warmer today than they have been in 4,000 years. Also, as one might imagine, there is a pattern of sharp warming from the 20th century onward, according to an article on the study in The New York Times.
Based on this research, the scientists predict that in the coming decades temperatures likely will risk above those recorded since before the last ice age.
For a report on the study, The Times quoted Michael Mann, distinguished professor of meteorology and director of the Earth System Science Center at Pennsylvania State University, who said:
“The key take-home conclusion is that the rate and magnitude of recent global warmth appears unprecedented for at least the past 4,000 years and the rate at least the past 11,000.”
To estimate past temperatures, Shaun Marcott, a postdoctoral researcher at Oregon State University, and colleagues analyzed data from microscopic, temperature-sensitive ocean creatures, according to an article in The Times. The research by Marcott and colleagues was published in Science, ‘A Reconstruction of Regional and Global Temperatures for the Past 11,300 Years.’
The Times also published a detailed analysis of the study in an article on the opinion pages, saying ‘Scientists Find an Abrupt Warm Jog After a Very Long Cooling.’