Geochemical records of paleoenvironmental change in Northwest North America from fossil plant waxes, volcanic glass and tree-rings

北极地区的气候变暖速度快于地球其他地区，目前正在进行的相关环境变化(例如，冰川融化、永久冻土融化释放的碳、北方扩张)预计将放大变暖趋势，其影响将在全球和北方社区感受到。关键是要对北极气候系统有深入的了解，以便能够准确预测未来的变化，并用来指导可能受到影响的自然资源和社区的合理政策决策。过去的气候数据为气候动力学提供了有价值的见解，但北部地区的历史记录稀少而简短。或者，诸如树木年轮和沉积物记录等自然指标记录了过去与今天一样温暖或比今天更温暖的持续时间间隔，并提供了一套令人信服的证据，描述了未来更温暖的世界可能是什么样子。

Climate warming in Arctic regions is fast outpacing the rest of the planet, and associated environmental changes now underway (e.g., ice loss, carbon release from thawing permafrost, boreal expansion) are expected to amplify warming trends with impacts that will be felt globally, and in northern communities. It is critical to develop advanced understandings of the Arctic climate system so that future changes can be accurately predicted, and used to guide sound policy decisions for natural resources and communities that may be impacted. Past climate data offers valuable insights on climate dynamics, but historical records are sparse and short in northern regions. Alternatively, natural proxies such as tree-rings and sediment records document past warm periods that were as warm as or warmer than today for sustained intervals, and provide a compelling suite of evidence describing what a future, warmer world might look like.