Spannagel Cave, Central Alps, Austria
Reference
Mangini, A., Spotl, C. and Verdes, P. 2005. Reconstruction of temperature in the Central Alps during the past 2000 yr from a δ18O stalagmite record. Earth and Planetary Science Letters 235: 741-751.
Reference
Mangini, A., Spotl, C. and Verdes, P. 2005. Reconstruction of temperature in the Central Alps during the past 2000 yr from a δ18O stalagmite record. Earth and Planetary Science Letters 235: 741-751.
Description
Mangini et al. (2005) developed a highly-resolved 2000-year record of temperature with better than decadal resolution from a stalagmite recovered from Spannagel Cave in the Central Alps of Austria (47.09°N, 11.67°E). The highest temperatures of the past two millennia occurred during the Medieval Warm Period (AD 800-1300) and were "slightly higher than those of the top section of the stalagmite (1950) and higher than the present-day temperature." In fact, at three different points during the MWP, their data indicate temperature spikes in excess of 1°C above present (1995-1998) temperatures of 1.8°C.