• Skip to primary navigation
  • Skip to main content
  • Skip to primary sidebar
  • Skip to footer

RealClimate

Climate science from climate scientists...

  • Start here
  • Model-Observation Comparisons
  • Miscellaneous Climate Graphics
  • Surface temperature graphics
You are here: Home / Extras / Glossary / Climate Proxy

Climate Proxy

28 Nov 2004 by group

Translations: (Français)
Français

Climate ‘proxies’ are sources of climate information from natural archives such as tree rings, ice cores, corals, lake and ocean sediments, tree pollen, or human archives such as historical records or diaries, which can be used to estimate climate conditions prior to the modern period (e.g. mid 19th century to date) during which widespread instrumental measurements are available. Proxy indicators typically must be calibrated against modern instrumental information to yield a quantitative reconstruction of past climate.

Filed Under: Glossary

Primary Sidebar

Search

Search for:

Email Notification

get new posts sent to you automatically (free)
Loading

Recent Posts

  • National Climate Assessment links
  • Ocean circulation going South?
  • Melange à Trois
  • Unforced variations: July 2025
  • Unforced variations: Jun 2025
  • Predicted Arctic sea ice trends over time

Our Books

Book covers
This list of books since 2005 (in reverse chronological order) that we have been involved in, accompanied by the publisher’s official description, and some comments of independent reviewers of the work.
All Books >>

Recent Comments

  • Scott Nudds on Unforced variations: July 2025
  • Susan Anderson on Unforced variations: July 2025
  • zebra on Unforced variations: July 2025
  • Barton Paul Levenson on Unforced variations: July 2025
  • Barton Paul Levenson on Unforced variations: July 2025
  • Barton Paul Levenson on Unforced variations: July 2025
  • Barton Paul Levenson on Unforced variations: July 2025
  • Barton Paul Levenson on Ocean circulation going South?
  • Paul Pukite (@whut) on Unforced variations: July 2025
  • Barry E Finch on Unforced variations: July 2025
  • Barry E Finch on Unforced variations: July 2025
  • Barry E Finch on Unforced variations: July 2025
  • Susan Anderson on Unforced variations: July 2025
  • Barry E Finch on Unforced variations: July 2025
  • Barry E Finch on Unforced variations: July 2025
  • Gondwana on Unforced variations: July 2025
  • Tomáš Kalisz on Unforced variations: July 2025
  • nigelj on Unforced variations: July 2025
  • nigelj on Unforced variations: July 2025
  • Tomáš Kalisz on Unforced variations: July 2025

Footer

ABOUT

  • About
  • Translations
  • Privacy Policy
  • Contact Page
  • Login

DATA AND GRAPHICS

  • Data Sources
  • Model-Observation Comparisons
  • Surface temperature graphics
  • Miscellaneous Climate Graphics

INDEX

  • Acronym index
  • Index
  • Archives
  • Contributors

Realclimate Stats

1,370 posts

11 pages

244,746 comments

Copyright © 2025 · RealClimate is a commentary site on climate science by working climate scientists for the interested public and journalists.