Paleoclimatology

by Crowley, Thomas J.; North, Gerald R.

• ISBN13: 9780195105339
• ISBN10: 0195105338
• Format: Paperback
• Copyright: 1996-04-04
• Publisher: Oxford University Press

Summary

Paleoclimatology is a review of the history of the Earth's climate from the time of its formation four-and-a-half billion years ago to the present. The field, according to John Imbrie, a leading paleontologist at Brown University, is "ripe for synthesis," with broad implications in geology, geophysics, geochemistry, oceanography, and the atmospheric sciences. This book addresses several topics rarely discussed in paleoclimate summaries, including the modeling of Paleozoic climates and the environmental consequences of asteroid impacts. In addition, the book identifies areas for future research and offers a frame of reference for interpreting the likely consequences of greenhouse warming. A new chapter has been added updating the information since 1991.

Table of Contents

PART I: Introduction to Climate Models 1. Elementary Models of the Climate System 2. General Circulation of the Atmosphere and Oceans PART II: Quaternary Climates 3. Reconstructing Climate of the Last 20,000 Years 4. Modeling the Climate of the Last 20,000 Years 5. Historical Climate Fluctuations 6. Temporal Trends in Pleistocene Climates 7. Time Series Analysis of Paleoclimate Records PART III: Pre-Quaternary Climates 8. Mid-Cretaceous 9. Environmental Consequences of an Asteroid Impact 10. The Last 100 Million Years 11. Paleozoic and Mesozoic Climates 12. Precambrian PART IV: Summary and Synthesis 13. Summary and Synthesis of Past Climates 14. Paleoclimate Perspectives on a Greenhouse Warming