Palaeoclimatic Research and Models : Report and Proceedings of the Workshop Held in Brussels, December 15–17, 1982

Palaeoclimatology is presently experiencing a period of rapid growth of techniques and concepts. Studies of earth's past climates ryrovide excellent opportunities to examine the interactions between the atmosrhere, oceans, cryosphere and the land surfaces. Thus, there is a growing recognition of the need of close collaboration between palaeoclimatologists and the climate mode 11 ers. The workshop "Palaeoclimatic Research and Models (PRaM)" was organized by the Directorate General for Science, Research and Development within the framework of the Climatology Research Programme of the Commission of the European Communities (CEC). The aim of the workshop was to give to the members of the Contact Group "Climate Models" and "Reconstitution of Past Climates" of the CEC Climatology Research Program~e and to some invited scientists the opportunity to discuss problems of mutual interest. About 35 experts fr.om 10 countries took nart in the workshop. In general, palaeoclimatologists were asked to identify and discuss the data corresponding to the three topics as defined by the programme committee: 1) Abrupt Climate Changes 2) Initiation of Glaciation 3) Glaciated polar regions and their impact on global climate. Climate modellers were asked to give their views as to how these specific problems could be modelled, what use could be ~ade of the available palaeoclimatic data and which complementary data are needed for modelling. Front Matter....Pages i-vii Front Matter....Pages 1-1 Abrupt Climate Changes....Pages 2-6 Initiation of Glaciation....Pages 7-9 Glaciated Polar Regions and their Impact on Global Climate....Pages 10-12 Appendix to Session Reports....Pages 13-14 Front Matter....Pages 15-15 Actual Palaeoclimatic Problems from a Climatologist’s Viewpoint....Pages 17-33 The Physical Basis of Climate Modelling....Pages 34-51 Application of inverse modelling techniques to palaeoclimatic data....Pages 52-68 Accuracy of palaeoinsolation and stability in the frequency domain....Pages 69-70 Front Matter....Pages 71-71 ICE Core Indications of Abrupt Climatic Changes....Pages 72-73 Abrupt Climate Changes: The terrestrial record....Pages 74-80 Evolution Climatique De La Mediterranee Orientale Au Cours De La Derniere Deglaciation....Pages 81-94 Late-Glacial Climate History from Ice Cores....Pages 95-107 Pollenanalyses and Characters of Climatic Changes at the End of the Eemian and at the Beginning of the Late Wurm in Western Europe....Pages 108-113 Les Crises Climatiques de Courte Duree (Quelques Annees a Quelques Siecles) et leur Enregistrement Dans la Sedimentation Continentale....Pages 114-123 Do 15 N Variations in Peat Bogs allow Statements of Climatic Changes in the Past?....Pages 124-128 Climatic Indexes on the Basis of Sedimentation Parameters in Geological and Archaeological Section....Pages 129-138 Rather Long Duration of the Transient Climatic Events in the “Grande Pile” (Vosges — France)....Pages 139-143 Front Matter....Pages 144-144 The Ocean Surface During the Last Interglacial to Glacial Transition: A Review of the Available Data....Pages 145-151 Abrupt Climatic Events During the Last Glacial to Interglacial Transition....Pages 152-156 ICE-Sheet Modelling for Climate Studies....Pages 157-163 Front Matter....Pages 144-144 A G.C.M. Simulation of the Importance of Insolation Forcing for the Initiation of the Laurentide ICE Sheet....Pages 164-167 Planetary Wave Climatology Experiments....Pages 168-173 The Evolution of Pleistocene Climatic Variability....Pages 174-176 Front Matter....Pages 177-177 History of the North Polar Seas During the Past 5 Million Years....Pages 178-180 Sensitivity of General Circulation Models to Changes in Sea-Ice Cover....Pages 181-192 Numerical Modelling of Arctic Sea Ice: Review and Preliminary Results....Pages 193-199 Back Matter....Pages 201-205