Paleoclimate / Michael L. Bender.

Format:

Book

Author/Creator:

Bender, Michael L.

Series:

Princeton primers in climate

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

Paleoclimatology.

Physical Description:

xi, 306 pages ; 21 cm.

Place of Publication:

Princeton : Princeton University Press, [2013]

Summary:

Princeton Primers in Climate is a new series of short, authoritative books that explain the state of the art in climate-science research. Written specifically for students, researchers, and scientifically minded general readers looking for succinct and readable books on this frequently misunderstood subject, these primers reveal the physical workings of the global climate system with unmatched accessibility and detail. Princeton Primers in Climate is the ideal first place to turn to get the essential facts, presented with uncompromising clarity, and to begin further investigation-whether in the classroom or in one's own reading chair. Earth's climate has undergone dramatic changes over the geologic timescale. At one extreme, Earth has been glaciated from the poles to the equator for periods that may have lasted millions of years. At another, temperatures were once so warm that the Canadian Arctic was heavily forested and large dinosaurs lived on Antarctica. Paleoclimatology is the study of such changes and their causes. Studying Earth's long-term climate history gives scientists vital clues about anthropogenic global warming and how climate is affected by human endeavor. In this book, Michael Bender, an internationally recognized authority on paleoclimate, provides a concise, comprehensive, and sophisticated introduction to the subject. After briefly describing the major periods in Earth history to provide geologic context, he discusses controls on climate and how the record of past climate is determined. The heart of the book then proceeds chronologically, introducing the history of climate changes over millions of years-its patterns and major transitions, and why average global temperature has varied so much. The book ends with a discussion of the Holocene (the past 10,000 years) and by putting manmade climate change in the context of paleoclimate. The most up-to-date overview on the subject, Paleoclimate provides an ideal introduction to undergraduates, nonspecialist scientists, and general readers with a scientific background. Book jacket.

Contents:

Earth's climate system

The faint young sun

Precambrian glaciations

Regulation of the Earth system and global temperature

The late Paleozoic ages

Equable climates of the Mesozoic and Paleogene

The Paleocene-Eocene thermal maximum

The long cooling of the Cenozoic

The origin of Northern Hemisphere glaciation and the Pleistocene ice ages

Rapid climate change during the last glacial period

The Holocene

Anthropogenic global warming in the context of paleoclimate.

Notes:

Includes bibliographical references and index.

ISBN:

0691145555

9780691145549

0691145547

9780691145556

OCLC:

820123451

Publisher Number:

99955400207