Contents
Preface viii
Acknowledgments xii
Introduction xiv
The Science of Paleoclimatology 1
The Purpose of Paleoclimatology 2
What Prehistoric Change Reveals about the Future 7
Rate of Change 8
Climate Patterns 12
Key Climate Intervals in the Earth's Past 16
The Earth's Geologic Past 17
Ancient Climates—2 Million to 4.6 Billion Years Ago 22
Evidence for Snowball Earth 29 The Pleistocene Climates—10,000 Years to 2 Million
Years Ago 32 The Holocene/Recent Climates—10,000 Years Ago to Present 35
Climate Time Line at a Glance 39
Key Uncertainties 40
Geochronology and Climate Proxies 42
Radiometric Dating Techniques 42
The Discovery and Use of Radioactive Decay 45
Nonradiogenic Dating Methods 53
Climate Reconstruction Resolution Climate Proxies
54 56
4 Proxy Data: Geomorphic Landforms 58
Geologic Evidence 60
Landforms of Arid Environments 61
Landforms of Cold Environments 69
Geological and Geochemical Proxy Data 73
Soils and Mineralogy Composition 75
Sediments 79
Ice Cores 85
Loess 90
Cave Environments 92
6 Biotic Proxies 96
Life-forms/Fossils 97
Dendrochronology 103 A. E. Douglass (1867-1962): The Birth of
Dendrochronology 108
Coral 108
Vegetation 111
Climate Change and Past Civilizations 115
The Rise of Civilization 116
Central and North America 117
Middle East, Far East, and Europe 124
Adaptations Today 127
8 Using New Technology to Discover the Past 131
The Science of Remote Sensing 131
The Science of Geographic Information Systems 139
9 What the Experts Say 143
Modeling Abrupt Climate Change 143
Mineral Clues to Past Climate 146
The Stories Marshes Tell 147
World Warmth Edging Ancient Levels 149
10 Conclusions and a Glance into the Future 152
Modeling the Earth's Climate 152
What Some Models Say about North America 157
Pangaea Ultima—the Future? 161
The Geological Timescale 166
The Periodic Table of the Elements 167
Chronology 169
Glossary 175
Further Resources 181
Index 188
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