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(Ed.)
Abstract. Narrative evidence contained within historical
documents and inscriptions provides an important record of
climate variability for periods prior to the onset of systematic
meteorological data collection. A common approach used by
historical climatologists to convert such qualitative information
into continuous quantitative proxy data is through the
generation of ordinal-scale climate indices. There is, however,
considerable variability in the types of phenomena reconstructed
using an index approach and the practice of index
development in different parts of the world. This review, written
by members of the PAGES (Past Global Changes) CRIAS
working group – a collective of climate historians and historical
climatologists researching Climate Reconstructions
and Impacts from the Archives of Societies – provides the
first global synthesis of the use of the index approach in
climate reconstruction. We begin by summarising the range
of studies that have used indices for climate reconstruction
across six continents (Europe, Asia, Africa, the Americas,
and Australia) as well as the world’s oceans. We then outline
the different methods by which indices are developed in
each of these regions, including a discussion of the processes
adopted to verify and calibrate index series, and the measures
used to express confidence and uncertainty. We conclude
with a series of recommendations to guide the development
of future index-based climate reconstructions to maximise
their effectiveness for use by climate modellers and in
multiproxy climate reconstructions.
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