Principles of Paleoclimatology

by Cronin, Thomas M.

• ISBN13: 9780231109543
• ISBN10: 0231109547
• Format: Hardcover
• Copyright: 1999-07-01
• Publisher: Columbia Univ Pr

Summary

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 Paleoclimatologydescribes 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.

Table of Contents

Preface	xi
1. Contemporary Issues in Climate Change: The Role of Paleoclimatology	1	(13)
Models and Observations	1	(3)
Paleoclimatology: The Time Dimension	4	(3)
Early Thoughts and Contemporary Sources	7	(4)
A Brief Outline of This Book	11	(3)
2. Principles of Paleoclimatology	14	(65)
Introduction: A Multidisciplinary Approach in Paleoclimatology	14	(3)
Defining the Principles of Paleoclimatology	17	(3)
Causes of Climate Change: The Climate System	20	(18)
"Time Is of the Essence"	38	(14)
Strategies to Study Climate History	52	(5)
The Development of an Annual-Resolution Deglacial Chronology	57	(4)
Proxies of Climate	61	(12)
The Evolution of Glacial-Age Climatology	73	(6)
3. Vital Effects: Biological Aspects of Paleoclimatology	79	(51)
Biological Principles in Paleoclimatology	79	(15)
A Conceptual Framework of Biology and Climate Change	94	(4)
Scale in Paleoclimatology	98	(2)
Real Biological Entities or Heuristic Constructs?	100	(3)
Biological Concepts in Paleoclimatology	103	(25)
Summary	128	(2)
4. Orbital Climate Change	130	(64)
The Jia-Yi Monument	130	(5)
Early Development of Orbital Theory	135	(3)
Support for Orbital Theory from Geochronology	138	(1)
The Deep-Sea Record of Orbital Climate Change	139	(2)
Fundamental Tenets of Modern Orbital Theory	141	(8)
Geologic and Biotic Evidence for Orbital Climate Change	149	(36)
Challenges to Orbital Theory	185	(4)
Modeling Orbital Climate Change	189	(3)
Closing Comments	192	(2)
5. Millennial-Scale Climate Change	194	(59)
Dryas octopetala	194	(3)
Early Evidence for Rapid Climate Change	197	(2)
Ice and Millennial-Scale Climate Change	199	(3)
The Younger Dryas and Other Rapid Climate Events During Deglaciation	202	(19)
Heinrich Events and Dansgaard-Oeschger Cycles: Millennial-Scale Climate Change During Glacial Periods	221	(18)
The Eemian: Climatic Variability During the Last Interglacial Period	239	(12)
Summary	251	(2)
6. Holocene Centennial and Decadal Climatic Variability	253	(51)
Polar Bears and Potatoes: Human History and Holocene Climate	253	(6)
Classical Holocene Climate Chronology	259	(6)
Early and Middle Holocene Climatic History	265	(2)
Late Holocene Climate History	267	(25)
Forcing Mechanisms of Centennial and Decadal Holocene Climate	292	(8)
Concluding Remarks	300	(4)
7. Interannual Climate Change in the Tropics: ENSO	304	(53)
La Corriente del Nino	304	(4)
Interannual Paleoclimatology	308	(2)
Aspects of the Modern El Nino--Southern Oscillation	310	(10)
Paleoclimate Records of Tropical Seasonal and Interannual Climate	320	(34)
Goddard Institute of Space Studies General Circulation Model of Isotopic Response to Interannual Climate	354	(3)
8. Sea-Level Change	357	(52)
By Land or by Sea?	357	(5)
Early Concepts of Sea-Level Change	362	(2)
Geological, Geochemical, Geophysical, and Biological Evidence for Sea-Level Change	364	(3)
Processes Affecting Sea-Level Change	367	(14)
Cenozoic Sea Level: Tectono-eustasy Versus Glacio-eustasy	381	(5)
Quaternary Sea-Level History	386	(18)
Historical Sea-Level Change	404	(4)
Summary	408	(1)
9. Paleo-atmospheres: The Ice-Core Record of Climate Change	409	(60)
Atmospheric Change: Human and Natural Factors	409	(3)
The Ice-Core Record of Paleo-atmospheres and Climate Change	412	(2)
"One Thousand Centuries": The Camp Century Climate Record	414	(5)
Climate Proxies from Ice Cores	419	(13)
The Dating and Correlation of Ice Cores	432	(9)
Glacial-Interglacial Climate, Carbon Dioxide, and Methane	441	(12)
Millennial-Scale Atmospheric Variability and Climatic Change	453	(10)
The "Flickering Switch" of Climate	463	(1)
Mechanisms of Climate Change	464	(5)
References	469	(78)
Index	547