Holocene climatic optimum

E87433

Holocene warm period climatic period paleoclimatic event

The Holocene climatic optimum was a warm period roughly 9,000–5,000 years ago when global temperatures, especially in the Northern Hemisphere, were higher than today, influencing the spread of forests and early human civilizations.

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Observed surface forms (4)

Surface form	Occurrences
Holocene Thermal Maximum	1
Holocene climate variability	1
Holocene climatic optimum warm period	1
Middle Holocene	1

Statements (58)

Predicate	Object
instanceOf	Holocene warm period ⓘ climatic period ⓘ paleoclimatic event ⓘ
alsoKnownAs	Holocene climatic optimum ⓘ surface form: Holocene Thermal Maximum Holocene climatic optimum ⓘ surface form: Holocene climatic optimum warm period
climateCharacteristic	enhanced seasonality in some regions ⓘ expansion of lakes in North Africa ⓘ greener Sahara compared to today ⓘ higher summer temperatures in high northern latitudes ⓘ reduced Arctic sea ice in summer compared to early Holocene ⓘ stronger African monsoon in parts of the Sahara and Sahel ⓘ warmer North Atlantic sea-surface temperatures in summer ⓘ warmer conditions in many continental interiors ⓘ
duration	several thousand years ⓘ
endTime	circa 5000 years before present ⓘ mid-Holocene ⓘ
evidenceFrom	glacial geomorphology ⓘ ice cores ⓘ lake sediment cores ⓘ marine sediment cores ⓘ pollen records ⓘ speleothems ⓘ tree rings ⓘ
fieldOfStudy	Earth system science ⓘ surface form: Earth science Cenozoic glaciations ⓘ surface form: Quaternary science climate science ⓘ
follows	Last Glacial Maximum ⓘ surface form: Last Glacial Period Younger Dryas cold event ⓘ surface form: Younger Dryas
geographicScope	especially strong in Northern Hemisphere high latitudes ⓘ global ⓘ pronounced in Arctic regions ⓘ pronounced in mid- to high-latitude continents ⓘ
hasCause	Milankovitch cycles ⓘ high axial tilt of Earth ⓘ increased summer insolation in the Northern Hemisphere ⓘ orbital forcing ⓘ
hasEffect	changes in precipitation patterns ⓘ development of extensive wetlands in some mid-latitude regions ⓘ expansion of boreal forests into Arctic regions ⓘ higher sea levels than early Holocene ⓘ increased monsoon intensity in some regions ⓘ northward shift of tree line ⓘ poleward expansion of forests ⓘ reduced extent of some ice sheets and glaciers ⓘ warmer Northern Hemisphere summers ⓘ warmer global temperatures than late 20th century in many regions ⓘ
influenced	Neolithic human civilizations ⓘ early agricultural societies ⓘ expansion of human populations in mid-latitudes ⓘ spread of farming in Eurasia ⓘ
partOf	Holocene ⓘ surface form: Holocene epoch
precedes	Cenozoic glaciations ⓘ surface form: Neoglaciation
startTime	circa 9000 years before present ⓘ early Holocene ⓘ
studiedBy	paleoclimatology ⓘ
temperatureRelativeTo	comparable to or lower than early 21st century global mean temperature ⓘ higher than preindustrial in many high-latitude regions ⓘ
temporalLocation	Holocene ⓘ surface form: Holocene epoch

Referenced by (7)

Full triples — surface form annotated when it differs from this entity's canonical label.

Holocene climatic optimum → alsoKnownAs → Holocene climatic optimum ⓘ

this entity surface form: Holocene Thermal Maximum

Holocene climatic optimum → alsoKnownAs → Holocene climatic optimum ⓘ

this entity surface form: Holocene climatic optimum warm period

Quaternary period → contains → Holocene climatic optimum ⓘ

Holocene → containsEvent → Holocene climatic optimum ⓘ

Littorina Sea → hasClimateContext → Holocene climatic optimum ⓘ

8.2 kiloyear event → partOf → Holocene climatic optimum ⓘ

this entity surface form: Holocene climate variability

Quaternary period → subdividedInto → Holocene climatic optimum ⓘ

this entity surface form: Middle Holocene