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The Palgrave Handbook of Climate History pp 83–92Cite as

Palgrave Macmillan

Evidence from the Archives of Societies: Early Instrumental Observations

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Abstract

This chapter defines early instrumental observations and explains their significance for climate reconstruction. It also addresses their problems and explains how best to work with them. The chapter sections discuss the development and shortcomings of early instruments—thermometers, barometers, and rain gauges—the relevant measurement practices, and the history of early instrumental observation networks.

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Notes

  1. 1.

    Middleton, 1964, 1966; Goodison, 1968; Frisinger, 1977; Landsberg, 1985; Borchi et al., 1990; Borchi and Macii, 1997; Kingston, 1997; Camuffo and Jones, 2002; Brázdil et al., 2005; Brázdil, 2012; Przybylak et al., 2010.

  2. 2.

    Negretti and Zambra, 1864; Scott, 1875.

  3. 3.

    WMO, 2006.

  4. 4.

    Magalotti, 1667.

  5. 5.

    Camuffo and Bertolin, 2012.

  6. 6.

    Camuffo and Jones, 2002; Camuffo and Bertolin, 2012.

  7. 7.

    Middleton, 1966; Camuffo and Jones, 2002.

  8. 8.

    On Newton’s linseed oil themometer, see Camuffo and della Valle, 2017; on spirit thermometers, see Camuffo and della Valle, 2016.

  9. 9.

    Manley, 1974; Parker et al., 1992.

  10. 10.

    Camuffo and Jones, 2002.

  11. 11.

    Böhm et al., 2010.

  12. 12.

    Goodison, 1968.

  13. 13.

    Middleton, 1964.

  14. 14.

    Cotte, 1774.

  15. 15.

    Middleton, 1964.

  16. 16.

    Ganot, 1854.

  17. 17.

    Groisman et al., 1996.

  18. 18.

    Strangeways, 2010.

  19. 19.

    Camuffo and Bertolin, 2012.

  20. 20.

    Brázdil et al., 2008.

  21. 21.

    Camuffo and Jones, 2002.

  22. 22.

    Pfister, 2008.

  23. 23.

    Borel, 2005.

  24. 24.

    Cassidy, 1985.

  25. 25.

    Camuffo and Jones, 2002.

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Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Institute of Atmospheric Sciences and Climate, National Research Council (CNR), Padua, Italy

    Dario Camuffo

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  1. Dario Camuffo
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Editors and Affiliations

  1. Ohio State University, Columbus, OH, USA

    Sam White

  2. Institute of History, Oeschger Centre for Climate Change, Bern, Switzerland

    Christian Pfister

  3. Institute for Advanced Sustainability Studies, University of Potsdam, Potsdam, Germany

    Franz Mauelshagen

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Camuffo, D. (2018). Evidence from the Archives of Societies: Early Instrumental Observations. In: White, S., Pfister, C., Mauelshagen, F. (eds) The Palgrave Handbook of Climate History. Palgrave Macmillan, London. https://doi.org/10.1057/978-1-137-43020-5_7

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1057/978-1-137-43020-5_7

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