National Oceanic and
Atmospheric Administration
United States Department of Commerce

Our Weather's Past, the Climate's Future

June 09, 2015

The changing Arctic climate is a harbinger of a global future, but to understand emerging patterns we need to know more about the past history of the Earth's weather. The handwritten journals and logbooks of scientists and sailors who for centuries have left records of the weather and environmental conditions they encountered on their travels provide unique information about the history of the Arctic climate.

Help scientists recover Arctic weather observations made by explorers. These transcriptions will contribute to climate model projections and improve a database of weather extremes. Historians will use your work to track past ship movements and the stories of the people on board. Learn more from the Old Weather YouTube video and at the Arctic ReDiscovery website.