Climate Change Past and Present: a Timeline
Bubbles in glacial ice preserve samples of the ancient atmosphere as far back as 800,000 years ago, and the chemical composition of glacial ice contains information about ancient temperatures. The carbon dioxide and temperature records from glacial ice are shown here as a timeline, together with more recent measurements made at the Earth’s surface and from satellites. Notice the relationship between the two data sets (temperature in red and atmospheric carbon dioxide in blue.) The changes in the last two centuries show how our actions—particularly burning fossil fuels—have disrupted the natural cycle.
Hover over the points to move through the timeline.
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Learn more about evidence for and causes of recent climate change on the Paleontological Research Institution’s Digital Encyclopedia.
Dig deeper into climate change and energy on the Learn More page of this exhibit.
Data sources for graphs
Atmospheric carbon dioxide:
Earth surface temperature:
Image credits: on Learn More page