Was there a ‘medieval warm period’, and if so,where and when?

It has frequently been suggested that the period encompassing the ninth to the fourteenth centuries A.D. experienced a climate warmer than that prevailing around the turn of the twentieth century. This epoch has become known as theMedieval Warm Period, since it coincides with the Middle Ages in Europe. In this review a number of lines of evidence are considered, (including climatesensitive tree rings, documentary sources, and montane glaciers) in order to evaluate whether it is reasonable to conclude that climate in medieval times was, indeed, warmer than the climate of more recent times. Our review indicates that for some areas of the globe (for example, Scandinavia, China, the Sierra Nevada in California, the Canadian Rockies and Tasmania), temperatures, particularly in summer, appear to have been higher during some parts of this period than those that were to prevail until the most recent decades of the twentieth century. These warmer regional episodes were not strongly synchronous. Evidence from other regions (for example, the Southeast United States, southern Europe along the Mediterranean, and parts of South America) indicates that the climate during that time was little different to that of later times, or that warming, if it occurred, was recorded at a later time than has been assumed. Taken together, the available evidence does not support aglobal Medieval Warm Period, although more support for such a phenomenon could be drawn from high-elevation records than from low-elevation records.The available data exhibit significant decadal to century scale variability throughout the last millennium. A comparison of 30-year averages for various climate indices places recent decades in a longer term perspective.     

Flow characteristics of a gravity current induced by differential cooling in a small lake

Extensive field data of a density current driven by the differences in the cooling rates between the two lobes of a small lake are presented. These data illustrate the fact that this gravitational motion affects the whole system and dominates its lakewide circulation. Moreover, data are used to evaluate the entrainment into the density current and also to discuss the regime of the flow from a scaling analysis of the horizontal momentum equations. This analysis is specifically applied to the central area of the lake, where the density current flows from one lobe to the other. Results of this study show that in the longitudinal direction there is a balance between the pressure gradient and the turbulent viscous term. Further, it is found that geostrophy correctly describes the transversal pattern of the passage of the gravity current from the northern lobe to the southern, where it flows confined to the western shoreline.     

The ratio between chrysophycean cysts and diatoms in temperate,mountain lakes: some recommendations for its use in paleolimnology

The ratio between chrysophycean cysts and diatom valves (CD ratio) in lake sediments has been suggested as a useful indicator of changing trophic state conditions in oligotrophic lakes. Other environmental factors, however, may influence the CD ratio because chrysophycean cysts usually reflect conditions in the planktonic environment and diatoms reflect benthic conditions. We investigated the CD ratio in 76 mountain lakes in the Pyrenees to determine the environmental drivers that influence the ratio and assess its value for paleoenvironmental inference. The lakes surveyed included a broad range with respect to bedrock type, altitude and surface area, characteristics that cover much of the variability that can be found in cold, oligotrophic mountain lakes. Lake depth and Ca²⁺ concentration explain most of the variation in the CD ratio. Trophic state factors (e.g. total phosphorus, TP) play a secondary role. As a predictor, CD ratio performs primarily as a lake depth indicator. The predictive models can be improved if trophic state (i.e. TP) and chemical conditions (Ca²⁺) are known or can be estimated independently. Use of the CD ratio for inferring Ca²⁺ oscillations only makes sense in lakes with Ca²⁺ <200 µeq/L or in those that oscillate below and above this threshold through time. Other interpretations of the CD ratio (e.g. lake trophic state changes, ice-cover duration) make sense if complementary paleolimnological evidence indicates that neither water depth nor Ca²⁺ concentration changed significantly. Indeed, paleolimnological interpretation of the CD ratio requires considering the particular characteristics of the lake and may vary depending on the temporal scale considered. This study provides some guidelines for evaluating critically the use of the CD ratio.     

Regional modeling of climate change impacts on smallholder agriculture and ecosystems in Central America

Climate change will have serious repercussions for agriculture, ecosystems, and farmer livelihoods in Central America. Smallholder farmers are particularly vulnerable due to their reliance on agriculture and ecosystem services for their livelihoods. There is an urgent need to develop national and local adaptation responses to reduce these impacts, yet evidence from historical climate change is fragmentary. Modeling efforts help bridge this gap. Here, we review the past decade of research on agricultural and ecological climate change impact models for Central America. The results of this review provide insights into the expected impacts of climate change and suggest policy actions that can help minimize these impacts. Modeling indicates future climate-driven changes, often declines, in suitability for Central American crops. Declines in suitability for coffee, a central crop in the regional economy, are noteworthy. Ecosystem models suggest that climate-driven changes are likely at low- and high-elevation montane forest transitions. Modeling of vulnerability suggests that smallholders in many parts of the region have one or more vulnerability factors that put them at risk. Initial adaptation policies can be guided by these existing modeling results. At the same time, improved modeling is being developed that will allow policy action specifically targeted to vulnerable groups, crops, and locations. We suggest that more robust modeling of ecological responses to climate change, improved representation of the region in climate models, and simulation of climate influences on crop yields and diseases (especially coffee leaf rust) are key priorities for future research.     

Influence of chemistry on the flux-gradient relationships for the NO-O3-NO2 system

It is shown that K-theory has to be modified for chemical systems that react with time scales similar to the turbulence time scale. In such systems, the value of the exchange coefficient depends not only on the turbulence parameters, but also on the chemical reaction rates. As an example, the NO-O₃-NO₂ chemical system is studied. Using second-moment equations, new flux-gradient relationships for the neutral atmospheric surface layer are obtained which depend on the time scale ratios of turbulence ( _t ) and chemical reactions ( _ch), i.e., reactive K-theory. Within the framework of this reactive K-theory, the flux of a chemical species is both a function of the concentration gradients of the three chemical species involved and of the ratio of the time scale of turbulence to the time scale of chemistry. In the special case of slow chemistry ( _{t ch}) inert K-theory is applicable.The reactive exchange coefficients are implemented in a surface-layer model that calculates the flux and concentration profiles of the three chemical species. The results of the calculations of the effective exchange coefficients are different for reactive K-theory and inert K-theory; the differences are largest for nitric oxide, but smaller for ozone and nitrogen dioxide.     

Trophic ecology of the Patagonian skate, Bathyraja macloviana, on the Argentine continental shelf

When this article was originally published