Paleoclimatology
Reconstructing Climates of the Quaternary
- 3rd Edition - February 20, 2014
- Latest edition
- Author: Raymond S. Bradley
- Language: English
- Hardback ISBN:9 7 8 - 0 - 1 2 - 3 8 6 9 1 3 - 5
- eBook ISBN:9 7 8 - 0 - 1 2 - 3 8 6 9 9 5 - 1
Paleoclimatology: Reconstructing Climates of the Quaternary, Third Edition—winner of a 2015 Textbook Excellence Award (Texty) from The Text and Academic Authors Associati… Read more
Paleoclimatology: Reconstructing Climates of the Quaternary, Third Edition—winner of a 2015 Textbook Excellence Award (Texty) from The Text and Academic Authors Association—provides a thorough overview of the methods of paleoclimatic reconstruction and of the historical changes in climate during the past three million years.
This thoroughly updated and revised edition systematically examines each type of proxy and elucidates the major attributes and the limitations of each. Paleoclimatology, Third Edition provides necessary context for those interested in understanding climate changes at present and how current trends in climate compare with changes that have occurred in the past. The text is richly illustrated and includes an extensive bibliography for further research.
- Winner of a 2015 Texty Award from the Text and Academic Authors Association
- A comprehensive overview of the methods of paleoclimate reconstruction, and the record of past changes in climate during the last ~3 million years
- Addresses all the techniques used in paleoclimatic reconstruction from climate proxies
- With full-color throughout, and thoroughly revised chapters on dating methods, climate forcing, ice cores, marine sediments, pollen analysis, dendroclimatology, and historical records
- Includes new chapters on speleothems, loess, and lake sediments
- More than 1,000 new references and 190 new figures
- Essential reading for those interested in how present trends in climate compare with changes that have occurred in the past
Advanced undergraduate and graduate students and researchers in climatology, Quaternary sciences, glaciology, archaeology, paleo-oceanography, paleoecology, geomorphology, and palynology.
Dedication
Acknowledgments
Front Cover Photograph
Holocene Rock Art from the Northwestern Flanks of the Ennedi Highlands, Eastern Sahara, Chad
References
Foreword
Preface to the Third Edition
Chapter 1. Paleoclimatic Reconstruction
Abstract
1.1 Introduction
1.2 Sources of Paleoclimatic Information
1.3 Levels of Paleoclimatic Analysis
1.4 Modeling in Paleoclimatic Research
References
Chapter 2. Climate and Climatic Variation
Abstract
2.1 The Nature of Climate and Climatic Variation
2.2 The Climate System
2.3 Feedback Mechanisms
2.4 Energy Balance of the Earth and Its Atmosphere
2.5 Timescales of Climatic Variation
2.6 Variations of the Earth’s Orbital Parameters
2.7 Solar Forcing
2.8 Volcanic Forcing
References
Chapter 3. Dating Methods I
Abstract
3.1 Introduction and Overview
3.2 Radioisotopic Methods
References
Chapter 4. Dating Methods II
Abstract
4.1 Paleomagnetism
4.2 Dating Methods Involving Chemical Changes
4.3 Tephrochronology
4.4 Biological Dating Methods
References
Chapter 5. Ice Cores
Abstract
5.1 Introduction
5.2 Stable Isotope Analysis
5.3 Dating Ice Cores
5.4 Paleoclimatic Reconstruction from Ice Cores
References
Chapter 6. Marine Sediments
Abstract
6.1 Introduction
6.2 Paleoclimatic Information from Biological Material in Ocean Cores
6.3 Oxygen Isotope Studies of Calcareous Marine Fauna
6.4 Paleotemperatures from Relative Abundance Studies
6.5 Paleotemperature Reconstruction from Sediment Geochemistry
6.6 Oceanographic Conditions at the Last Glacial Maximum (LGM)
6.7 Paleoclimatic Information from Inorganic Material in Marine Sediments
6.8 Thermohaline Circulation of the Oceans
6.9 Changes in Atmospheric Carbon Dioxide: The Role of the Oceans
6.10 Abrupt Climate Changes
References
Chapter 7. Loess
Abstract
7.1 Chronology of Loess-Paleosol Sequences
7.2 Paleoclimatic Significance of Loess-Paleosol Sequences
References
Chapter 8. Speleothems
Abstract
8.1 Isotopic Variations in Speleothems
8.2 Tropical and Subtropical Paleoclimate Variability from Speleothems
8.3 Speleothems and Glacial Terminations
8.4 Millennial to Centennial Scale Changes
8.5 Late Glacial and Holocene Records
8.6 Stalagmite Records of the Last Two Millennia
8.7 Paleoclimatic Information from Periods of Speleothem Growth
8.8 Speleothems as Indicators of Sea-Level Variations
References
Chapter 9. Lake Sediments
Abstract
9.1 Sedimentology and Inorganic Geochemistry
9.2 Varves
9.3 Pollen, Macrofossils, and Phytoliths
9.4 Ostracods
9.5 Diatoms
9.6 Stable Isotopes
9.7 Organic Biomarkers
References
Chapter 10. Nonmarine Geologic Evidence
Abstract
10.1 Introduction
10.2 Periglacial Features
10.3 Snowlines and Glaciation Thresholds
10.4 Mountain Glacier Fluctuations
10.5 Lake-level Fluctuations
References
Chapter 11. Insects and Other Biological Evidence from Continental Regions
Abstract
11.1 Introduction
11.2 Insects
11.3 Former Vegetation Distribution from Plant Macrofossils
11.4 Peat
References
Chapter 12. Pollen
Abstract
12.1 Introduction
12.2 The Basis of Pollen Analysis
12.3 Pollen Rain as a Representation of Vegetation Composition and Climate
12.4 Quantitative Paleoclimatic Reconstructions Based on Pollen Analysis
12.5 Paleoclimatic Reconstruction from Long Quaternary Pollen Records
References
Chapter 13. Tree Rings
Abstract
13.1 Introduction
13.2 Fundamentals of Dendroclimatology
13.3 Dendroclimatic Reconstructions
13.4 Isotopic Dendroclimatology
References
Chapter 14. Corals
Abstract
14.1 Coral Records of Past Climate
14.2 Paleoclimate from Coral Growth Rates
14.3 Luminescence in Corals
14.4 δ18O in Corals
14.5 δ13C in Corals
14.6 Δ14C in Corals
14.7 Trace Elements in Corals
14.8 Fossil Coral Records
References
Chapter 15. Historical Documents
Abstract
15.1 Introduction
15.2 Historical Records and Their Interpretation
15.3 Regional Studies Based on Historical Records
15.4 Records of Climate Forcing Factors
15.5 Climate Paradigms for the Last Millennium
References
Appendix A. Further Considerations on Radiocarbon Dating
A.1 Calculation of Radiocarbon Age and Standardization Procedure
A.2 Fractionation Effects
References
Appendix B. Internet Resources in Paleoclimatology
References
Index
- Edition: 3
- Latest edition
- Published: February 20, 2014
- Language: English
RB
Raymond S. Bradley
Raymond S. Bradley has been involved in many national and international activities related to paleoclimatology, most notably as the current Chair of the Scientific Steering Committee for the International Geosphere-Biosphere Program on Past Global Changes (IGBP-PAGES). He has published dozens of articles in scientific journals, and has edited several important books in paleoclimatology. The first edition of Quaternary Paleoclimatology has been the definitive text in this field for over a decade. His research is in climatology, specifically in climatic change and the evidence for how the earth’s climate has varied in the past. He has carried out research on climate variation, both on the long (glacial and interglacial) time-scale and on the short (historical and instrumental) time-scale, involving the analysis of data from all over the world. In recent years he has been involved in studies of natural climate variability, to provide a background for understanding potential anthropogenic changes in climate resulting from rapid increases in "greenhouse gases" over the last century or so. R.S. Bradley has been a professor in the Department of Geosciences, University of Massachusetts, Amherst, USA, since 1984. He has been Head of the Department of Geosciences since 1993. Additionally, he is a member of Clare Hall at Cambridge.
Affiliations and expertise
University of Massachusetts, Amherst, USARead Paleoclimatology on ScienceDirect