Principles of Paleoclimatology (The Critical Moments and Perspectives in Earth History and Paleobiology)

Greenhouse gases, global warming, thinning ozone layers -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, and lakes, and even on the evolution of our own species? This introduction to the rapidly emerging field of paleoclimatology explains the patterns and processes in the history of the Earth ́s climate to answer such 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 paleoclimate records provide a baseline against which we can compare modern climate trends. Designed to give a fundamental background -including both history and methodology -to the discipline of paleoclimatology, this book is the first to advance our understanding of how climate change develops, how those changes are detected, and how the climate of the past can shape the climate of the future. CONTENTS......Page 8 Preface......Page 12 Models and Observations......Page 16 Paleoclimatology: The Time Dimension......Page 19 Early Thoughts and Contemporary Sources......Page 22 A Brief Outline of This Book......Page 26 Introduction: A Multidisciplinary Approach in Paleoclimatology......Page 29 Defining the Principles of Paleoclimatology......Page 32 Causes of Climate Change: The Climate System......Page 35 “Time Is of the Essence’’......Page 53 Strategies to Study Climate History......Page 67 The Development of an Annual-Resolution Deglacial Chronology......Page 72 Proxies of Climate......Page 76 The Evolution of Glacial-Age Climatology......Page 88 Biological Principles in Paleoclimatology......Page 94 A Conceptual Framework of Biology and Climate Change......Page 109 Scale in Paleoclimatology......Page 113 Real Biological Entities or Heuristic Constructs?......Page 115 Biological Concepts in Paleoclimatology......Page 118 Summary......Page 143 The Jia-Yi Monument......Page 145 Early Development of Orbital Theory......Page 150 Support for Orbital Theory from Geochronology......Page 153 The Deep-Sea Record of Orbital Climate Change......Page 154 Fundamental Tenets of Modern Orbital Theory......Page 156 Geologic and Biotic Evidence for Orbital Climate Change......Page 164 Challenges to Orbital Theory......Page 200 Modeling Orbital Climate Change......Page 204 Closing Comments......Page 207 Dryas octopetala......Page 209 Early Evidence for Rapid Climate Change......Page 212 Ice and Millennial-Scale Climate Change......Page 214 The Younger Dryas and Other Rapid Climate Events During Deglaciation......Page 217 Heinrich Events and Dansgaard-Oeschger Cycles: Millennial-Scale Climate Change During Glacial Periods......Page 236 The Eemian: Climatic Variability During the Last Interglacial Period......Page 254 Summary......Page 266 Polar Bears and Potatoes: Human History and Holocene Climate......Page 268 Classical Holocene Climate Chronology......Page 274 Early and Middle Holocene Climatic History......Page 280 Late Holocene Climate History......Page 282 Forcing Mechanisms of Centennial and Decadal Holocene Climate......Page 307 Concluding Remarks......Page 315 La Corriente del Niño......Page 319 Interannual Paleoclimatology......Page 323 Aspects of the Modern El Niño—Southern Oscillation......Page 325 Paleoclimate Records of Tropical Seasonal and Interannual Climate......Page 335 Goddard Institute of Space Studies General Circulation Model of Isotopic Response to Interannual Climate......Page 369 By Land or by Sea?......Page 372 Early Concepts of Sea-Level Change......Page 377 Geological, Geochemical, Geophysical, and Biological Evidence for Sea-Level Change......Page 379 Processes Affecting Sea-Level Change......Page 382 Cenozoic Sea Level: Tectono-eustasy Versus Glacio-eustasy......Page 396 Quaternary Sea-Level History......Page 401 Historical Sea-Level Change......Page 419 Summary......Page 423 Atmospheric Change: Human and Natural Factors......Page 424 The Ice-Core Record of Paleo-atmospheres and Climate Change......Page 427 “One Thousand Centuries”: The Camp Century Climate Record......Page 429 Climate Proxies from Ice Cores......Page 434 The Dating and Correlation of Ice Cores......Page 447 Glacial–Interglacial Climate, Carbon Dioxide, and Methane......Page 456 Millennial-Scale Atmospheric Variability and Climatic Change......Page 468 The “Flickering Switch’’ of Climate......Page 478 Mechanisms of Climate Change......Page 479 References......Page 484 A......Page 562 C......Page 563 D......Page 564 E......Page 565 G......Page 566 I......Page 567 M......Page 569 N......Page 570 P......Page 571 S......Page 572 U......Page 574 Z......Page 575

Greenhouse gases, global warming, thinning ozone layers -- 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, and lakes, and even on the evolution of our own species?

This introduction to the rapidly emerging field of paleoclimatology explains the patterns and processes in the history of the Earth's climate to answer such 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 paleoclimate records provide a baseline against which we can compare modern climate trends. Designed to give a fundamental background -- including both history and methodology -- to the discipline of paleoclimatology, this book is the first to advance our understanding of how climate change develops, how those changes are detected, and how the climate of the past can shape the climate of the future.

Columbia University Press