One of Springer's Major Reference Works, this book gives the reader a truly global perspective. Paleoclimate topics covered in the encyclopedia give the reader the capability to place the observations of recent global warming in the context of longer-term natural climate fluctuations.

This book is the first major reference work in its field. Paleoclimate topics covered in the encyclopedia give the reader the perspective with which to place the observations of recent global warming in the context of longer-term natural climate fluctuations. 'Climate proxies'--natural archives of environmental change recorded in tree rings, corals, ice cores, lake varves, marine sediments, etc. help extend the centennial timescale of instrumental records to the ancient past and enable reconstruction of ancient climates. Significant elements of the encyclopedia include recent developments in paleoclimate modeling, paleo-ocean circulation, as well as the influence of geological processes (e.g., plate tectonics and mountain uplift), and biological feedbacks (through modulating atmospheric CO2 or CH4) on global climate change. New techniques in radiometric dating, geochemical analyses, and paleoecological reconstructions are also described. The encyclopedia enables the reader to gain an entry point into the literature on these and many other groundbreaking topics.

First major reference work on this topic More than 230 articles by over 200 top experts in the field Multidisciplinary--touches on most areas of the earth sciences Provides long-term perspective on current climate change and environmental issues Uses key observational evidence and computer simulations to reconstruct past climates Lists extensive bibliographies with up-to-date references Includes supplementary material: sn.pub/extras

Klappentext

Concern exists over human-generated increases in atmospheric greenhouse gases and their potential consequences to society. The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) in 2007 finds that global temperatures have increased by 0.8ºC since 1850 and that climate warming is now 'unequivocal'. While the human imprint is becoming increasingly apparent, Earth's climate has shifted dramatically and frequently during the last few million years, alternating between ice ages, when vast glaciers covered Northern Europe and much of North America, and interglacialswarm periods much like today. Farther back in geologic time, climates have differed even more from the present. Thus, to fully understand the unusual changes of the 20 th century and possible future trends, these must be placed in a longer-term context extending beyond the period of instrumental records.

The Encyclopedia of Paleoclimatology and Ancient Environments , a companion volume to the recently-published Encyclopedia of World Climatology , provides the reader with an entry point to the rapidly expanding field of paleoclimatologythe study of climates of the past. Highly interdisciplinary in nature, paleoclimatology integrates information from a broad array of disciplines in the geosciences, ranging from stratigraphy, geomorphology, glaciology, paleoecology, paleobotany to geochemistry and geophysics, among others. The encyclopedia offers 230 informative articles written by over 200 well known international experts on numerous subjects, ranging from classical geological evidence to the latest research. The volume is abundantly illustrated with line-drawings, black-white and color photographs. Articles are arranged alphabetically, with extensive bibliographies and cross-references.

Volume Editor:

Vivien Gornitz is a Senior Research Scientist, Center for Climate Systems Research Columbia University and NASA Goddard Institute forSpace Studies. She holds a B.A. from Barnard College and a Ph.D. from Columbia University. Her research interests include global sea level rise--past, present, and future, coastal hazards, climatic implications of land cover transformations, and planetary geology, including Mars. In addition to numerous scientific publications, she has edited Geology of the Planet Mars (Benchmark Papers in Geology, v. 48, Dowden, Hutchinson & Ross, Inc., 1979) and has contributed articles to several of the encyclopedias in the Earth Sciences Series. She was a Contributing Author for the IPCC in 1990, 1995, 2001, and 2007.

Inhalt

List of Contributors.- Preface.- Acknowledgments.- Abrupt climate change.- Aerosols (mineral).- Albedo (feedbacks).- Alkenones.- Animal proxies, invertebrates.- Animal proxies, vertebrates.- Anoxic events.- Antarctica, glaciation history.- Antarctic Bottom Water and climate change.- Antarctic Cold Reversal.- Antarctic sea ice history, Late Quaternary.- Archean environments.- Archeological data and climate change.- Arctic sea ice.- Arid climates and indicators.- Astronomical theory of climate change.- Atmospheric circulation during the Last Glacial Maximum.- Atmospheric evolution, Earth.- Atmospheric evolution, Mars.- Atmospheric evolution, Venus.- Banded iron formations and the early atmosphere.- Basal ice.- Beachrock.- Beetles as Quaternary and Late Tertiary climate indicators.- Beryllium-10.- Binge/purge model of ice sheet dynamics.- Bolide impacts and climate.- Bølling-Allerød interstadial.- Borehole climatology: climate change from geothermal data.- Carbon cycle.- Carbon dioxide, dissolved (ocean).- Carbon dioxide and methane, Quaternary variations.- Carbon isotopes, stable.- Carbon isotope variations over geologic time .- Carbonate compensation depth.- Carbonates, cool water.- Carbonates, warm water.- Cenozoic climate and long-term cooling.- Cirques.- CLAMP (Climate Leaf Analysis Multivariate Program).- CLIMAP.- Climate change, causes.- Climate forcing.- Climate variability, last 1000 years.- Coal beds, origin and climate.- Coastal environments.- Coccoliths.- COHMAP.- Continental sediments.- Corals and coral reefs.- Cordilleran ice sheet.- Cosmogenic radionuclides.- Cretaceous-Tertiary (K-T) boundary.- Cretaceous warm climates.- Cryosphere.- Cyclic sedimentation (cyclothems).- Dansgaard-Oeschger cycles.- Dating, amino acid geochronology.- Dating, biostratigraphic methods.- Dating, dendrochronology.- Dating, fission tracks.- Dating, luminescence techniques.- Dating, magnetostratigraphy.- Dating, radiometric methods.- Deep Sea Drilling Project (DSDP).- Deltaic sediments, climate records.- Dendroclimatology.- Desert varnish as climate proxy.- Deuterium, deuterium excess.- Diamicton.- Diatoms.- Dinoflagellates.- Dole effect .- Drumlins.- Duricrusts.- Dust transport, Quaternary.- Earth laws and climatology.- Early Paleozoic climates (Cambrian-Devonian).- Eccentricity, earth's orbit.- Eemian (Sangamonian) interglacial.- Electrical conductivity.- Eolian dust, marine sediments.- Eolian sediments and processes.- Eolianite.- Eskers.- Evaporites.- Evolution and climate change.- Faint Young Sun Paradox.- Flood basalts, climatic implications.- Foraminifera.- Geochemical proxies (non-isotopic).- Glacial erratic.- Glacial eustasy.- Glacial geomorphology.- Glacial isostasy.- Glacial.- megalakes .- Glacial sediments.- Glaciations, pre-Quaternary.- Glaciations, Quaternary.- Glaciofluvial sediments.- Glaciomarine sediments.- Glendonite/ikaite.- "Greenhouse" (warm) climates.- Heat transports, oceanic and atmospheric.- Heinrich events.- History of Paleoclimatology.- Holocene climates.- Holocene treeline fluctuations.- Hypsithermal.- Human evolution and climate change.- Ice cores, Antarctica and Greenland.- Ice cores, mountain glaciers.- "Icehouse" (cold) climates.- Ice-rafted debris (IRD).- Integrated Ocean Drilling Program (IODP).- Interstadials.- Iron and climate change.- Isotopic fractionation.- Kames.- Kettles.- Lacustrine sediments.- Lake level variations.- Late Glacial Maximum .- Last Glacial Termination.- Laterite.- Late Paleozoic climates.- Late Quaternary-Holocene vegetation modeling.- Late Quaternary megafloods .- Laurentide ice shee…