A recent article in the journal Science explores the link between weather patterns in Arabia during the sixth century and the rise of Islam. Analyzing speleothems, the authors show that the peninsula suffered from extreme aridity during the period between around 500 and 530 CE. This drought helped weaken the Himyarite Kingdom, which was invaded and annexed by Aksum in 525. The ensuing social and political upheavals frame the rise of Islam in ways that shaped its later expansion. Read the full article here.
Climate History of the Principality of Transylvania during the Maunder Minimum Years (1645–1715 CE) Reconstructed from German Language Sources
A new article published in the journal Climate delves into the local-level complexities of climate history by examining documentary evidence of the climate during the Maunder Minimum. Comparing the weather over the 70-year span of the study varied between towns in Transylvania and with German-speaking regions further west, the study’s authors demonstrate that regional variation could be considerable. They then compare these findings to isotopic evidence of solar activity from ice cores, finding only a small correlation. The article shows the promise and importance of focusing on the small-scale for understanding the impacts that climate and weather had on human history. Read the full paper here.
Weather, climate, and agriculture: Historical contributions and perspectives from agricultural meteorology
New research published by Giuditta Parolini in WIREs Climate Change outlines the history of agricultural meteorology. Highlighting the development of institutions and practices meant to improve agriculture through understanding its connection to specific weather, the article provides a foundation for researchers to contextualize the production of the agricultural data historical climatologists often rely on. Read the full open-source article here.
Multi-proxy record of Holocene paleoenvironmental conditions from Yellowstone Lake, Wyoming, USA
Research published in Quaternary Science Reviews offers a new reconstruction of climate in Yellowstone Lake, USA. Analyzing oxygen isotopes, charcoal, pollen, and diatoms deposited in the lake over the last 9800 years, the researchers found that the climate was highly sensitive to changes in seasonal insolation, especially as linked to the Northeastern Pacific subtropical high-pressure system. Notable for historians is the distinct local warming during the Medieval Climate Anomaly and cooler, wetter weather during the Little Ice Age (1550-1850 locally). Read the full paper here.
Climate change and early urbanism in Southwest Asia
A new paper in WIREs Climate Change reviews the state of the field for paleoclimate and archaeology in Southwest Asia, 6500-4000 BP. Striking a middle path between models proposing differential access to agricultural resources as the mechanism driving the growth of hierarchical systems and those which stress climate change as the cause of purported urban “collapses,” the study’s authors propose that the development of urbanism be seen as an adaptation to climate and other stressors. Read the full article here.
Early Holocene pollen record of vegetation and climate history in response to the monsoonal activity in East Garo Hills, Meghalaya, India
Recent research in The Paleobotanist offers a reconstruction of pollen assemblages from eastern India over the last 10,000 years. The authors identify rainfall variations and anthropogenic activity as the main drivers of changes to regional vegetation. The last 1,000 years in particular shows anthropogenic influences reflected in decreased forest pollen and increases in cereal grains and brassica. Read the full article here.
Call for Papers: NASA and the Environment
On September 29th and 30th, 2022, Georgetown University will host a symposium on the history of NASA and the environment. Topics include the history of climate science at NASA, as well as the history of NASA’s exploration of climate and climate change on worlds beyond Earth. The call for papers can be accessed here.