Description
Analyzing distributions of dinoflagellate cyst assemblages obtained from sediment cores retrieved from Malangen Fjord in northern Norway (69°27.67'N, 18°23.64'E), the authors were able to identify a cyclical progression of thermal and hydrologic characteristics that they describe as follows: "zone 1 from c. AD 500 to 790, representing the Dark Ages Cold Period, represents the coldest time interval during the last 1500 years ... zone 2, from c. AD 790 to 1500, including the Medieval optimum, reflects strong advection of warm saline water ... zone 3, from c. AD 1500 to 1940, representing the Little Ice Age, reflects cool and low saline surface water conditions ... zone 4, from c. AD 1940 to the present (AD 1999)" is described by them as "the Modern Climate Optimum."