The Evolution of Climate Over the Last Millennium: readme file
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               World Data Center for Paleoclimatology, Boulder
                                  and
                     NOAA Paleoclimatology Program
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NOTE: PLEASE CITE ORIGINAL REFERENCES WHEN USING THIS DATA!!!!!

NAME OF DATA SET: The Evolution of Climate Over the Last Millennium 

LAST UPDATE: 3/2002 (Original Receipt by WDC Paleo)

CONTRIBUTORS: P. D. Jones, T. J. Osborn, K. R. Briffa,
Climatic Research Unit, University of East Anglia


IGBP PAGES/WDCA CONTRIBUTION SERIES NUMBER: 2002-017

SUGGESTED DATA CITATION: Jones, P.D., et al., 2002, 
The Evolution of Climate Over the Last Millennium.  
IGBP PAGES/World Data Center-A for Paleoclimatology 
Data Contribution Series #2002-017
NOAA/NGDC Paleoclimatology Program, Boulder CO, USA.

ORIGINAL REFERENCE: Jones, P.D, T. J. Osborn, and K. R. Briffa, 2001,
The Evolution of Climate Over the Last Millennium,
Science, v.292(5517), pp.662, April 27, 2001 


GEOGRAPHIC REGION: Global
PERIOD OF RECORD: 1000-2000 A.D. 

LIST OF FILES: readme_jones2001.txt (this file), 
cru_nao.txt, cru_soi.txt, tavenh.txt, tavesh.txt,
jones2001_fig2.txt, jones2001_fig3.txt, jones2001_fig4.txt,
jones2001_fig5.txt (Tab-delimited text format).


ABSTRACT:
Knowledge of past climate variability is crucial for understanding and modeling 
current and future climate trends. This article reviews present knowledge of 
changes in temperatures and two major circulation features--El Niņo-Southern Oscillation 
(ENSO) and the North Atlantic Oscillation (NAO)--over much of the last 1000 years, 
mainly on the basis of high-resolution paleoclimate records. Average temperatures 
during the last three decades were likely the warmest of the last millennium, 
about 0.2°C warmer than during warm periods in the 11th and 12th centuries. 
The 20th century experienced the strongest warming trend of the millennium 
(about 0.6°C per century). Some recent changes in ENSO may have been unique 
since 1800, whereas the recent trend to more positive NAO values may have 
occurred several times since 1500. Uncertainties will only be reduced through 
more extensive spatial sampling of diverse proxy climatic records. 

DESCRIPTION: 
Review of temperature, North Atlantic Oscillation, and Southern Oscillation 
Index Reconstructions.