- A November 10, 2015 news release from the U. S. Geological Survey describes a paper posted in the U. S. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences “Dynamic response of desert wetlands to abrupt climate change”. From examination of fossils in a region North of Las Vegas, NV, researchers determined periods of extreme warmth in which wetlands dried up with extinction of wild life. These warm periods were warmer than today in which wetlands exist. The paper mentioned the timing paralleled ice core data from Greenland.
Below is the graph of Greenland’s temperature in the last 10,000 years. The changes are probably very indicative of temperatures changes across all of the Northern Hemisphere.
Temperatures from Greenland.
About 1,000 years ago average temperatures were about 1 degree higher than today (which makes our concern about a 0.4 degree rise since 1980 rather minor). About 3200 years ago average temperatures were about 2 degrees above current temperatures; all these changes with a relatively constant atmospheric carbon dioxide level of 280 parts per million.
The Las Vegas data is a powerful support for past warming and cooling periods existing during times of constant atmospheric carbon dioxide of 280 ppm. The comparison with Greenland ice core data should be exploited.
James H. Rust, professor of nuclear engineering and policy advisor The Heartland Institute.
Professor of Nuclear Engineering, Georgia Institute of Technology (ret.), Climate Change and Energy
