23 April 1998
Nature 392, 779 - 787 (1998) © Macmillan Publishers Ltd.

Global-scale temperature patterns and climate forcing over the past six centuries

MICHAEL E. MANN, RAYMOND S. BRADLEY & MALCOLM K. HUGHES

Spatially resolved global reconstructions of annual surface temperature patterns over the past six centuries are based on the multivariate calibration of widely distributed high-resolution proxy climate indicators. Time-dependent correlations of the reconstructions with time-series records representing changes in greenhouse-gas concentrations, solar irradiance, and volcanic aerosols suggest that each of these factors has contributed to the climate variability of the past 400 years, with greenhouse gases emerging as the dominant forcing during the twentieth century. Northern Hemisphere mean annual temperatures for three of the past eight years are warmer than any other year since (at least) AD 1400.



Nature © Macmillan Publishers Ltd 1998 Registered No. 785998 England.