NOAA/WDS Paleoclimatology - Mangini et al. 2005 Spannagel Cave Stalagmite Oxygen Isotope Data and Temperature Reconstruction

The precisely dated isotopic composition of a stalagmite from Spannagel Cave in the Central Alps is translated into a highly resolved record of temperature at high elevation during the past 2000 yr. Temperature maxima during the Medieval Warm Period between 800 and 1300 AD are in average about 1.7°C higher than the minima in the Little Ice Age and similar to present-day values. The high correlation of this record to d14C suggests that solar variability was a major driver of climate in Central Europe during the past 2 millennia.