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Alps, The

Posted by Frank Lansner (frank) on 9th February, 2010
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The melt water channels of glaciers carry pieces of ancient wood with the water from beneath the ice. This phenomenon takes place where the temperatures of today is no warm enough to enable forest growth. The pieces of ancient wood normally dates back from 1000 to 10.000 b.p.

http://alpen.sac-cas.ch/html_d/archiv/2004/200406/ad_2004_06_12.pdf

 

 

Schlüchter and Jörin 2004.  left: An Alp pas today – right: Same Alp pas illustrated for Roman ages.

 

In recent years a long variety of items from the medieval period and the Roman age appears where the ice is retreating. Some archaeologists are experiencing an adventure uncovering these treasures.

 

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/science/nature/7580294.stm

In short we see evidence of numerous periods as warm o reven warmer than today, perhaps around half the time the last 10.000 was warmer than today.

UPDATE 2010.05.07:

More evidence of wood benieth Swiss Glassies suggests treeline 200 m higher in the Alps during the MWP:

http://www.co2science.org/data/mwp/studies/l1_piancabella.php

Last changed: 7th May, 2010 at 08:48:44

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Comments

Alpine warming By Unknown on 22nd February, 2011 at 22:03:28
I can't easily find the references, but I have read of footwear being exposed from under the ice recently from both the MWP and Roman Optimum in high saddles that are still not open today. There is a hotel in a small town called Gletsch in the upper Rhone valley that has a photograph on the wall of the glacier face just outside of town. The photograph is from about 1860. The Rhone glacier face is now several kilometers from town and several hundred meters higher. Global warming has been under way for a long time.

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