Principles of Paleoclimatology

About this book

Greenhouse gases global warming thinning ozone layersunderstanding the Earths climatic changes is one of todays 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 Earths 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 Earths climatethe ice age cycles sea level changes volcanic activity changes in atmosphere and solar radiationand 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 backgroundincluding both history and methodologyto 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.