Medieval climate optimum

The medieval climate optimum or medieval warm period was an unusually warm periodhistory lasting from about10th centuryabout14th century.

During this time wine grapes were grownEurope up300 miles norththeir present northerly growing limit. Also during this time,Vikings took advantageice-free seascolonize Greenlandother outlying lands offar north. The period was followed byLittle Ice Age,periodcooling that lasted until18th century whencurrent periodglobal warming began.

Initial research onMWP was largely doneEurope, wherephenomenon was most obvious,it was assumed that this period was global. However, more recently this view has been revised, and2001 IPCC report says: "...current evidence does not support globally synchronous periodsanomalous cold or warmth over this timeframe, andconventional terms'Little Ice Age''Medieval Warm Period' appearhave limited utilitydescribing trendshemispheric or global mean temperature changespast centuries." [1]. See also1000 y temperature reconstructionMann et al [1]. The IPCC says ofMWP that temperatures from11th14th centuries [were] about 0.2°C warmer than those from15th19th centuries, but rather below mid-20th century temperatures. A paper by SoonBaliunas disagrees withIPCCMannstates that those warmcold periods were indeed widespread climatic anomalies (amusingly enough,doesn't: becausestates (their table 1) than Mann showswidespread Little Ice Age). However,SoonBaliunas report itself has been extensively criticised [1], [1].

External linksreferences

• Vikings DuringMedieval Warm Period - easy read
• The Little Ice AgeMedieval Warm Period impenetrably scientific
• American Heritage Dictionary The period from about 10001400which global temperaturesthoughthave beenfew degrees above those ofprecedingfollowing periods. The climatic effectsthis period were confined primarilyEuropeNorth America. Also called Medieval Warm Epoch.
• THE "MEDIEVAL WARM PERIOD" Greenpeace article citing journal article: (M.K. HughesH.F. Diaz, "Was there'Medieval Warm Period?", Climatic Change, v.26, p.109-142, March 1994).