Department of Geography, University of Cambridge, Cambridge CB2 3EN, United Kingdom;
Forest Dynamics Research Unit, Swiss Federal Research Institute WSL, 8903 Birmensdorf, Switzerland.
Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A. 2020 Dec 29;117(52):32845-32847. doi: 10.1073/pnas.2018103117. Epub 2020 Dec 8.
The mathematical aberration of the Gregorian chronology's missing "year zero" retains enduring potential to sow confusion in studies of paleoclimatology and environmental ancient history. The possibility of dating error is especially high when pre-Common Era proxy evidence from tree rings, ice cores, radiocarbon dates, and documentary sources is integrated. This calls for renewed vigilance, with systematic reference to astronomical time (including year zero) or, at the very least, clarification of the dating scheme(s) employed in individual studies.
格里高利历缺失“公元零年”的数学偏差仍然有可能在古气候学和环境史的研究中造成混淆。当综合使用树木年轮、冰芯、放射性碳测年和文献资料等公元前的代用证据时,发生年代错误的可能性尤其高。这就需要提高警惕,系统地参考天文时间(包括公元零年),或者至少在单独的研究中澄清所使用的年代测定方案。