Principles of paleoclimatology / Thomas M. Cronin.

Format:

Book

Author/Creator:

Cronin, Thomas M.

Series:

Perspectives in paleobiology and earth history series

Perspectives in paleobiology and earth history

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

Paleoclimatology.

Physical Description:

xiii, 560 pages : illustrations ; 24 cm.

Place of Publication:

New York : Columbia University Press, [1999]

Summary:

Greenhouse gases, global warming, rising sea levels -- understanding the earth's climatic changes is one of today's most pressing international concerns. How fast has the climate changed? Where and why is it changing? What is the impact of climate change on our ecosystems, coastal regions, glaciers, forests, lakes, and oceans?

This introduction to the rapidly emerging field of paleoclimatology explains the patterns and processes in the history of the Earth's climate to answer these essential questions. Using the geologic records of ocean and lake sediment, ice cores, corals, and other natural archives, "Principles of Paleoclimatology" describes the history of the Earth's climate -- the ice age cycles, sea level changes, volcanic activity, changes in atmosphere and solar radiation -- and the resulting, sometimes catastrophic, biotic responses. These paleoclimatic records provide a baseline against which we can compare modern climate trends. This groundbreaking book advances our understanding of how climate change occurs, how those changes are detected, and how the history of climate can suggest the climate of the future.

Contents:

1. Contemporary Issues in Climate Change: The Role of Paleoclimatology 1

Models and Observations 1

Paleoclimatology: The Time Dimension 4

Early Thoughts and Contemporary Sources 7

2. Principles of Paleoclimatology 14

Introduction: A Multidisciplinary Approach in Paleoclimatology 14

Defining the Principles of Paleoclimatology 17

Causes of Climate Change: The Climate System 20

"Time Is of the Essence" 38

Strategies to Study Climate History 52

The Development of an Annual-Resolution Deglacial Chronology 57

Proxies of Climate 61

The Evolution of Glacial-Age Climatology 73

3. Vital Effects: Biological Aspects of Paleoclimatology 79

Biological Principles in Paleoclimatology 79

A Conceptual Framework of Biology and Climate Change 94

Scale in Paleoclimatology 98

Real Biological Entities or Heuristic Constructs? 100

Biological Concepts in Paleoclimatology 103

4. Orbital Climate Change 130

The Jia-Yi Monument 130

Early Development of Orbital Theory 135

Support for Orbital Theory from Geochronology 138

The Deep-Sea Record of Orbital Climate Change 139

Fundamental Tenets of Modern Orbital Theory 141

Geologic and Biotic Evidence for Orbital Climate Change 149

Challenges to Orbital Theory 185

Modeling Orbital Climate Change 189

5. Millennial-Scale Climate Change 194

Dryas octopetala 194

Early Evidence for Rapid Climate Change 197

Ice and Millennial-Scale Climate Change 199

The Younger Dryas and Other Rapid Climate Events During Deglaciation 202

Heinrich Events and Dansgaard-Oeschger Cycles: Millennial-Scale Climate Change During

Glacial Periods 221

The Eemian: Climatic Variability During the Last Interglacial Period 239

6. Holocene Centennial and Decadal Climatic Variability 253

Polar Bears and Potatoes: Human History and Holocene Climate 253

Classical Holocene Climate Chronology 259

Early and Middle Holocene Climatic History 265

Late Holocene Climate History 267

Forcing Mechanisms of Centennial and Decadal Holocene Climate 292

7. Interannual Climate Change in the Tropics: ENSO 304

La Corriente del Nino 304

Interannual Paleoclimatology 308

Aspects of the Modern El Nino

Southern Oscillation 310

Paleoclimate Records of Tropical Seasonal and Interannual Climate 320

Goddard Institute of Space Studies General Circulation Model of Isotopic Response to Interannual Climate 354

8. Sea-Level Change 357

By Land or by Sea? 357

Early Concepts of Sea-Level Change 362

Geological, Geochemical, Geophysical, and Biological Evidence for Sea-Level Change 364

Processes Affecting Sea-Level Change 367

Cenozoic Sea Level: Tectono-eustasy Versus Glacio-eustasy 381

Quaternary Sea-Level History 386

Historical Sea-Level Change 404

9. Paleo-atmospheres: The Ice-Core Record of Climate Change 409

Atmospheric Change: Human and Natural Factors 409

The Ice-Core Record of Paleo-atmospheres and Climate Change 412

"One Thousand Centuries": The Camp Century Climate Record 414

Climate Proxies from Ice Cores 419

The Dating and Correlation of Ice Cores 432

Glacial-Interglacial Climate, Carbon Dioxide, and Methane 441

Millennial-Scale Atmospheric Variability and Climatic Change 453

The "Flickering Switch" of Climate 463

Mechanisms of Climate Change 464.

Notes:

Includes bibliographical references (pages 469-545) and index.

ISBN:

0231109547

0231109555

OCLC:

40193700