Ancient documents in Iraq offer climate clues

Baghdad became the most prosperous place at the time, and the center of international trade and agricultural development. Map courtesy Fernando Domínguez-Castro.

Cold weather outbreaks may be linked with volcanic activity

By Summit Voice

SUMMIT COUNTY — Spanish scientists have tracked a series of unusual cold snaps in the Middle East by translating written documents recorded by Arab historians.

Through painstaking work, the research team has constructed a chronology of climatic events between 816 and 1009, when the region apparently experienced regular cold spells and even snowfall.

“We have recovered an interesting chronology of climatic events, such as droughts, floods, rain, frost, heat and cold waves as well as strong winds during the period between 816-1009 in the areas now known as Iraq and Syria,”  said Fernando Domínguez-Castro, lead author and researcher in the Physics department at the University of Extremadura. (more…)

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