11th-century polymath was the first to recognise past climate change

After discovering fossilised bamboo successful the 11th century, Shen Kuo deduced that the clime successful bluish China had been antithetic successful the past past

Environment 8 October 2022

By Michael Le Page

A bamboo wood successful Sichuan, China

YAY Media AS/Alamy

An 11th-century polymath called Shen Kuo was the archetypal to recognise that the clime has changed successful the past, subject communicator Simon Clark told New Scientist Live successful London connected 8 October.

The past of the subject of upwind and clime is precise Eurocentric, said Clark. So, portion penning his publication Firmament, published earlier this year, helium looked astatine what was happening elsewhere and came crossed Shen’s work.

In a 1088 enactment called Dream Pool Essays, Shen wrote astir however a landslide exposed a cavity successful a riverbank successful what is present Yan’an successful Shaanxi state successful bluish China, wherever conditions aren’t suitable for bamboo to grow. But successful the cavity, Shen recovered bamboo plants that “had turned to stone”.

Puzzled by this discovery, Shen suggested that, successful past times, the clime successful the portion indispensable person been different. This is arguably the archetypal written relationship of however the clime successful circumstantial places could alteration implicit time, said Clark.

While Shen’s enactment has been translated, his aboriginal statement of palaeoclimatology isn’t wide recognised, Clark told New Scientist aft his talk. “It’s known but obscure,” helium says.

Much later, successful the 17th century, Robert Hooke suggested that that fossils of elephantine turtles recovered successful Dorset, UK, meant that the clime determination indispensable erstwhile person been warmer. Later, successful the 19th century, it was recognised that overmuch of Europe was erstwhile covered successful crystal and the tract of palaeoclimatology began to develop.

In the 1890s, Svante Arrhenius and T. C. Chamberlain independently realised that the burning of ember could change the climate.

Shen, who lived from 1031 to 1095, made galore contributions to galore different fields. In Dream Pool Essays, for instance, helium was besides the archetypal to picture a magnetic compass – a period earlier the archetypal relationship successful Europe.

More connected these topics:

• clime change
• past of science