Human activity has polluted European air for 2000 years, study finds

Photo of the Colle Gnifetti glacier on the Swiss-Italian border where the ice core used in the study

was taken. In the bottom right corner the coring site can be seen (white dome)

[Credit: Nicole Spaulding, Climate Change Institute, University of Maine]

The ice core from the Colle Gnifetti glacier within the drill as it’s being extracted

[Credit: Nicole Spaulding, Climate Change Institute, University of Maine]

This graph shows lead concentrations in the atmosphere taken by measurements from the Colle Gnifetti ice core used in

the study. The graph covers the period of circa 1 – 2007 C.E. The Black Death drop marks the years 1349-1353 CE

[Credit: Alexander More/AGU/GeoHealth]

Some of the historical records the study authors consulted to create a historical database of climate

reports published with the article. They contain legal, tax and commercial evidence documenting

climate changes through eyewitness reports. These records provide evidence of the arrival of the

Black Death in Europe as well as evidence of the decline of mining because of it

[Credit: Alexander More, Harvard University and Climate Change Institute,

University of Maine]

TANN

you might also like