Related Experiment Video
Updated: Jun 12, 2025

Using Generative Art to Convey Past and Future Climate Transitions
Published on: March 31, 2023
A 485-million-year history of Earth's surface temperature
Emily J Judd1,2, Jessica E Tierney2, Daniel J Lunt3
1Department of Paleobiology, Smithsonian National Museum of Natural History, Washington, DC 20560, USA.
Abstract:
A long-term record of global mean surface temperature (GMST) provides critical insight into the dynamical limits of Earth's climate and the complex feedbacks between temperature and the broader Earth system. Here, we present PhanDA, a reconstruction of GMST over the past 485 million years, generated by statistically integrating proxy data with climate model simulations. PhanDA exhibits a large range of GMST, spanning 11° to 36°C. Partitioning the reconstruction into climate states indicates that more time was spent in warmer rather than colder climates and reveals consistent latitudinal temperature gradients within each state. There is a strong correlation between atmospheric carbon dioxide (CO2) concentrations and GMST, identifying CO2 as the dominant control on variations in Phanerozoic global climate and suggesting an apparent Earth system sensitivity of ~8°C.
Related Concept Videos
Global Climate Change
Radiation: Applications
The average...
Temperature Measurement Sites
Oral: When assessing oral temperature, the thermometer tip should be placed under the tongue in the posterior sublingual pocket. It offers accurate readings and can be...
What is Evolutionary History?
What is Climate?
Thermometers and Temperature Scales
As many physical properties depend on temperature, the variety of thermometers is...

