ClimateAugust 28, 2026

paleoclimatic

PAY-lee-oh-kly-MAT-ik

Definition

Relating to the climate of past geological ages, particularly as reconstructed from scientific data and physical evidence.

Etymology

Derived from the Greek 'palaios' (ancient) and the word 'climatic.' It first appeared in mid-19th century scientific literature to describe the study of Earth's historical climates.

In the news

In the article, the term is used to describe evidence derived from Earth's deep history, which helps scientists validate climate models for future projections.

Bette L. Otto-Bliesner on Understanding Earth’s Climate Past to Inform Its Future

Read the full article ↗

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