Climate change in deserts : past, present and future / Martin Williams, the University of Adelaide.

Format:

Book

Author/Creator:

Williams, M. A. J., author.

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

Paleoclimatology.

Arid regions climate.

Climatic changes.

Deserts--History.

Deserts.

Physical Description:

1 online resource (xxi, 629 pages) : digital, PDF file(s).

Place of Publication:

Cambridge : Cambridge University Press, 2014.

Language Note:

English

Summary:

Reconstructing climatic changes in deserts and their margins at a variety of scales in space and time, this book draws upon evidence from land and sea, including desert dunes, wind-blown dust, river and lake sediments, glacial moraines, plant and animal fossils, isotope geochemistry, speleothems, soils, and prehistoric archaeology. The book summarises the Cenozoic evolution of the major deserts of the Americas, Eurasia, Africa and Australia and the causes of historic floods and droughts. The book then considers the causes and consequences of desertification and proposes four key conditions for achieving ecologically sustainable use of natural resources in arid and semi-arid areas. Climate Change in Deserts is an invaluable reference for researchers and advanced students interested in the climate and geomorphology of deserts: geographers, geologists, ecologists, archaeologists, soil scientists, hydrologists, climatologists and natural resource managers.

Contents:

Climatic change in deserts : an introduction

Present-day desert environments

Cenozoic evolution of deserts

Adaptations to life in deserts

Evolution of desert research

Dating desert landforms and sediments

Stable isotope analysis and trace element geochemistry

Desert dunes

Desert dust

Desert rivers

Desert lakes

The pluvial debate

Desert glaciations

Speleothems and tufas in arid areas

Desert soils, paleosols and duricrusts

Plant and animal fossils in deserts

Prehistoric occupation of deserts

African and Arabian deserts

Asian deserts

North American deserts

South American deserts

Australian deserts

Historic floods and droughts

Desertification : causes, consequences and solutions

Current climatic trends and possible future changes

Towards sustainable use of deserts.

Notes:

Title from publisher's bibliographic system (viewed on 05 Oct 2015).

Includes bibliographical references and index.

ISBN:

1-316-05599-X

1-316-05363-6

1-316-08200-8

1-316-07964-3

1-139-06178-X

1-316-07018-2

1-316-07490-0

1-316-07727-6

1-316-07254-1