date: Mon, 14 May 2007 10:55:24 +0100
from: "R Selley" <r.selley@btinternet.com>
subject: Re: Query re. UK isotherms
to: "Phil Jones" <p.jones@uea.ac.uk>

   Phil,



   Thank you so much for your detailed response to my query and for the attached paper which
   is invaluable. My interest in viticulture was primarily to see if there were any geological
   controls (there are, but they are indirect). To begin with climate change was not at the
   front of my mind. After putting together a database of British vineyards I noted that they
   were either Roman, Medieval, Little Ice Age or Modern, with gaps. It was irresistible to
   draw their northern limits on a map of the UK. This revealed the ebb and flow correlative
   with the 'Received wisdom' proxy temperature.



   Re. Isotherm maps. Yes, I have the IPCC reports, and Houghton's 'Global Warming - the
   complete briefing' and have surfed the Met Office, Hadley Centre and other web sites to try
   to find annual isotherms. Why I am so obsessed with annual rather than seasonal isotherms
   is that globally the world's main wine-growing regions occur between the 10 & 20 degree C
   annual average isotherms



   Re. your comments that the rises and falls of British viticulture may be cultural rather
   than correlative with climate change. The Celts were into wine drinking in a big way, and
   imported it in considerable quantities from Euroland. Likewise the Saxons imported wine for
   communion and conviviality, and had planted vineyards before 1066.



   Once again thank you for your detailed response and the 2004 paper. I would be most
   grateful for later publications on this topic.



   Best regards



   Dick

   Professor R C Selley
   Department of Earth Science & Engineering, Royal School of Mines, Imperial College, Prince
   Consort Road, London SW7 2BP
   Phone: : +44 (0)1306 882026  email: [1]r.selley@btinternet.com
   Website: [2]www.ese.imperial.ac.uk/homepage.php?StaffID=108
   Also: [3]www.encyclopediaofgeology.com & [4]www.winelandsofbritain.co.uk

   ----- Original Message -----

   From: [5]Phil Jones

   To: [6]r.selley@btinternet.com

   Cc: [7]Sheppard Sylv Miss (SCI)

   Sent: Monday, May 14, 2007 8:59 AM

   Subject: FW: Query re. UK isotherms

      Dear Dick,

             Getting isotherm maps is quite difficult, especially for recent times.
      There are probably maps for 1961-90 or 1971-2000 developed by the
      Met Office for the UK. There are anomaly maps for recent months
      and years on their website, so the 'normals' for the base periods
      (61-90 or 71-00) must be available, but we don't have them.
          It would be best if you had one single measure that grapes respond
      to - such as May-Sept temperature average or some degree-day threshold.
      The latter may be more what the viticulturalists use, but it is far
      easier getting monthly means.
         For the future, you need to look at one of the UKCIP reports (their
      UKCIP02). UKCIP is the UK Climate Impacts Programme at Oxford.
      By the way I'm somewhat skeptical about whether climate (or temperature)
      is the single factor affecting the spread and shrinkage over time of
      vineyards. The Romans and the Normans came with a grape growing
      culture, but in between the Celts, Saxons and Vikings were not that much
      into grapes - preferring other forms of alcohol.
        The recent upsurge now is also more cultural than climatic.
        Grape growing is always put forward as one of the main pieces of
      evidence to warmer times in the Medieval period, but it isn't that
      convincing, bearing in mind other more direct evidence. I have
      discussed this in a paper, which I'm attaching for your interest.
      See pages 6-8 in particular.
      Cheers
      Phil

     -----Original Message-----
     From: R Selley [[8] mailto:r.selley@btinternet.com]
     Sent: Friday, May 11, 2007 12:08 AM
     To: cru@uea.ac.uk
     Subject: Query re. UK isotherms
     Dear Reader,

     Please can you help me and forward the following query to a climate guru in your group
     who can assist with the following query:

     I am a geologist interested in geo-viticulture who has strayed into climate change,
     having discovered that I can map the ebb and flow of British vineyards across the
     countryside correlative with temperature over the last 2K (see
     [9]www.winelandsofbritain.co.uk). Naturally it would be fun to map the future advance of
     vineyards, and indeed the optimum zones for different grape varieties, correlative with
     global warming. As I am only a geologist I am unfamiliar with the literature and web
     resources on climate data. I have a map of UK isotherms for 1900. Where can I find one
     for 2000, or thereabouts?

     Thank you.

     Regards

     Dick Selley
     Professor R C Selley
     Department of Earth Science & Engineering, Royal School of Mines, Imperial College,
     Prince Consort Road, London SW7 2BP
     Phone: : +44 (0)1306 882026  email: [10]r.selley@btinternet.com
     Website: [11]www.ese.imperial.ac.uk/homepage.php?StaffID=108
     Also: [12]www.encyclopediaofgeology.com & [13]www.winelandsofbritain.co.uk

     Prof. Phil Jones
     Climatic Research Unit        Telephone +44 (0) 1603 592090
     School of Environmental Sciences    Fax +44 (0) 1603 507784
     University of East Anglia
     Norwich                          Email    p.jones@uea.ac.uk
     NR4 7TJ
     UK
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