Abrupt climate change more common than believed

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Dramatic as this single event was, University of Wisconsin-Madison researchers have now uncovered 29 other regions worldwide that endured similarly precipitous climatic changes during the 20th century – far more than scientists previously thought. Their study publishes today (March 30) in the online edition of Geophysical Research Letters.

The work represents the first systematic survey of abrupt climate changes that have occurred in recent history, says postdoctoral researcher Gemma Narisma, who led the study with professor Jonathan Foley, director of the UW-Madison Center for Sustainability and the Global Environment in the Nelson Institute for Environmental Studies. The National Academies’ National Research Council has called for more research on abrupt climate change, warning that it’s more likely to happen as global temperatures rise and humans continue to alter the environment.

physorg