Historical Climatology

People such as farmers and teachers have long studied the weather hoping to find cycles which would allow climate analysts to predict future weather. By bringing their own tools to this work, historians, geologists and geographers have provided an extension of knowledge back in time. For instance, research in land deeds and probate documents often provide rather precise records of when salt marshes were dyked and when other human artifacts were created.

Since the time of C.P. Snow, scientists and historians have worked hard to bridge the "Two Cultures."

This effort has resulted in many inter-disciplinary projects. Work on observations of sea level, the growth of salt marshes, the history of earthquakes and the extent of floods and fires are all studies without the use of instrumental data. It is possible to analyze in a minute fashion the course of climate change since the Little Ice Age. Putting minds together in a cross disciplinary purpose is one of the main objectives of the Climate Change Institute.

Faculty

Kirk Maasch, David Smith.

This aerial shot shows Crocker Point
dyke in Machias.This dyke
was begun in c. 1812 and it remained
active until after World War One.

Using coring devices researchers can
drive a hole into the ground,
using the resulting cores to analyze
the detritus of the past in terms of modern day science.