Scientists generally regard the later part of the 19th century as the point at which human activity started influencing the climate. But the new study brings that date forward to the 1830s.
The study, published in the journal Nature, draws on a new record of tropical sea surface temperature dating back to 1500, captured in fossilised corals and tiny marine organisms.
The findings suggest the climate system responds to greenhouse gases quicker than thought with consequences for understanding future climate change.
When human society began to industrialise, we started to change the chemistry of the atmosphere by adding CO2 to the air.
But knowing how much warming we’ve seen means comparing temperatures now to a time before the world started to feel the effects of industrialising. Scientists refer to that baseline period as “pre-industrial” and the period since then as the “industrial era”. Just a thought.
No comments:
Post a Comment