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4500 BP- An Interesting Time of Climate Transition

Flyer containing image of Ray Bradley on left in a circle with beard, glasses and pink long sleeve collar shirt Paleoclimatology 6750 Special Guest Lecture presenting via Zoom Prof. Ray Bradley Distinguished Professor, Univ. of Massachusetts, Amherst 4500 BP- an interesting time of climate transition
February 7, 2023
9:00 am - 10:00 am
The Byrd Polar and Climate Research Center, 177 Scott Hall, 1090 Carmack Rd.

Paleoclimatology 6750, Special Guest Lecture 

Prof. Ray Bradley, Distinguished Professor at the University of Massachusetts, Amherst will join via Zoom to present 4500 BP- an interesting time of climate transition.

  • The period centered on ~4500 B.P. (+/- a few centuries) is an interesting time of transition as the climate shifted from a relatively warm (and in some areas, wet) early/mid-Holocene state to a cooler Neoglacial regime. 
  • It was also a time of great significance for many societies, with the construction of large megalithic structures in many places (e.g. Stonehenge, the Pyramids at Giza) as well as major urban centers (e.g. Mohenjo-daro). 
  • In the Arctic, people migrated across the Canadian around 4500 B.P., becoming the first to occupy northern and western Greenland. 
  • Within a few centuries, changes in climate led to the demise of formerly well-established regimes (in Egypt, Mesopotamia, the Indus valley). In many mountain regions, glaciers advanced for the first time since the Younger Dryas. 
  • I will explore this period of time, using paleo records of former climatic conditions across this transition, as well as records that might shed light on the forcing mechanisms that were involved. 
  • The topic of the “Meghalayan Stage” will also be addressed

Prof.  Lonnie Thompson, Distinguished University Professor in the School of Earth Sciences and Senior Research Scientist at the Byrd Center is the instructor for Paleoclimatology 6750 and has arranged for this special online presentation at the Byrd Center.

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