Paper finds another non-hockey-stick in the Alps, late 20th century temperatures were low to normal in comparison to past 9000 years

A paper published in Vegetation History and Archaeobotany reconstructs temperature variations in the Central Eastern Alps over the past 9,000 years and finds "summer temperatures as observed in the late 20th century were at the normal or the lower limit of the temperature range which can be assumed for long periods of the early and middle Holocene epoch" [the past 11,500 years].

Full paper here


Holocene tree-line variability in the Kauner Valley, Central Eastern Alps, indicated by dendrochronological analysis of living trees and subfossil logs

Abstract: The altitude of the Alpine tree-line has often been used as proxy for the climatic conditions in the Holocene epoch. The usual approach for establishing a record for this proxy is the analysis of pollen and macro remains. We analysed living trees and subfossil logs from the timberline ecotone in the innermost Kauner valley in the Central Eastern Alps in order to assemble a Holocene dendrochronological tree-line record...The dendrochronological record from the Kauner valley, showing high and very high tree-line positions between approx. 7100 and 2100 B.C. with only two gaps (around 6490 B.C. and from 3350 to 3280 B.C.), suggests that summer temperatures as observed in the late 20th century were at the normal or the lower limit of the temperature range which can be assumed for long periods of the early and middle Holocene epoch.