Blowing in the Wind: Climate Clues from Our Whaling Past with Dr. Caroline Ummenhofer and Dr. Timothy Walker
November 5 @ 6:30 pm – 7:30 pm
Wednesday, November 5th, 2025
Richard I. Burnham Resource Center | 82 Touro Street, Newport
Admission $15 – $20 per person | *Student Discounts now available $10 with valid student ID
6:30pm to 7:30pm; doors open at 5:30pm for a complimentary reception
Dr. Timothy Walker, Professor of History at the University of Massachusetts Dartmouth, and oceanographer Dr. Caroline Ummenhofer from Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution, highlight how weather records contained in ship logbooks from American whaling voyages can be used to assess shifting wind and weather patterns.
A treasure trove of unexploited ship logbooks spanning the period 1790 to 1910 exists in several New England archives, such as the Providence Public Library, New Bedford Whaling Museum, Nantucket Historical Association, and Falmouth Historical Society.
The logbooks, often covering multi-year voyages to some of the most remote waters around the globe, contain systematic daily weather observations, such as wind strength/direction, rainfall, and cloudiness.
Our results demonstrate that the historical records provide an important long-term context for changing wind and weather patterns over the world’s oceans lacking observational records during the 18th-19th centuries.
We will discuss challenges and opportunities for climate research through data rescue and digitization of these under-utilized historical ship logbooks.