Historical Climate Variability and Impacts in North America

Editor Dr. Lesley-Ann Dupigny-Giroux received her Ph.D. in Climatology and Geographic Information Systems from McGill University in 1996 and has since held a variety of professorships and research positions. Dr. Dupigny-Giroux currently serves as the Vermont State Climatologist and teaches at the University of Vermont. She has also authored and co-authored numerous scholarly publications and delivered many presentations. Dr. Dupigny-Giroux is additionally the member of such scientific affiliations as the American Associated of State Climatologists and the American Geophysical Union. Editor Dr. Cary J. Mock received a Ph.D. in Geography from the University of Oregon in 1994; Dr. Mock has since served as a professor of various courses and has pursued his research interests of synoptic climatology and paleoclimatology among others. Dr. Mock has also written numerous scholarly articles, papers, and other publications. Dr. Mock currently serves as the Principle Investigator for both the National Science Foundation's Earth System History and Paleoclimate Program and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration and the National Climate Data Center.

Regional Case Studies.- The Great Flood of 1771: An Explanation of Natural Causes and Social Effects.- Historical Changes to the Tennessee Precipitation Regime.- “Don’t Want to See No More… Like That!”: Climate Change As a Factor in the Collapse of Lowcountry Rice Culture, 1893–1920.- Climate in the Historical Record of Sixteenth Century Spanish Florida: The Case of Santa Elena Re-examined.- Reconstructing Extreme Events and Parameters.- Historical Accounts of the Drought and Hurricane Season of 1860.- Reconstructing 19th Century Atlantic Basin Hurricanes at Differing Spatial Scales.- The Sitka Hurricane of October 1880.- Daily Synoptic Weather Map Analysis of the New England Cold Wave and Snowstorms of 5 to 11 June 1816.- March 1843: The Most Abnormal Month Ever?.- The Role of Station History in Understanding the Instrumental Record.- Weather Station History and Introduced Variability in Climate Data.- Monitoring the Climate of the Old Northwest: 1820–1895.- Spatial Metadata for Weather Stations and the Interpretation of Climate Data.- Methodologies and Other Analyses.- A Seasonal Warm/Cold Index for the Southern Yukon Territory: 1842–1852.- Backward Seasons, Droughts and Other Bioclimatic Indicators of Variability.- The Challenge of Snow Measurements.

From the reviews:

“Readers interested in reconstructing past climate events in the US will find this book a useful reference tool. One realizes, while reading this work, that the ability to fully understand and reconstruct the characteristics of historical climate events/extremes requires a complex and exhaustive research approach. … Most chapters are well referenced, written in fascinating detail, and easy to read. Summing Up: Recommended. Upper-division undergraduates and above with an interest in historical climatology.” (D. Changnon, Choice, Vol. 47 (10), June, 2010)