| Description |
1 online resource |
| Contents |
Cover; Title Page; Copyright; Dedication; Contents; Author Biography; Foreword; Acknowledgements; Chapter 1 Introduction; References; Chapter 2 The Great Cooling; 2.1 The Founding Fathers; 2.2 Charles Lyell, 'Father of Palaeoclimatology'; 2.3 Agassiz Discovers the Ice Age; 2.4 Lyell Defends Icebergs; References; Chapter 3 Ice Age Cycles; 3.1 The Astronomical Theory of Climate Change; 3.2 James Croll Develops the Theory; 3.3 Lyell Responds; 3.4 Croll Defends his Position; 3.5 Even More Ancient Ice Ages; 3.6 Not Everyone Agrees; References; Chapter 4 Trace Gases Warm the Planet |
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4.1 De Saussure's Hot Box4.2 William Herschel's Accidental Discovery; 4.3 Discovering Carbon Dioxide; 4.4 Fourier, the 'Newton of Heat', Discovers the 'Greenhouse Effect'; 4.5 Tyndall Shows How the 'Greenhouse Effect' Works; 4.6 Arrhenius Calculates How CO2 Affects Air Temperature; 4.7 Chamberlin's Theory of Gases and Ice Ages; References; Chapter 5 Moving Continents and Dating Rocks; 5.1 The Continents Drift; 5.2 The Seafloor Spreads; 5.3 The Dating Game; 5.4 Base Maps for Palaeoclimatology; 5.5 The Evolution of the Modern World; References; Chapter 6 Mapping Past Climates |
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6.1 Climate Indicators6.2 Palaeoclimatologists Get to Work; 6.3 Palaeomagneticians Enter the Field; 6.4 Oxygen Isotopes to the Rescue; 6.5 Cycles and Astronomy; 6.6 Pangaean Palaeoclimates (Carboniferous, Permian, Triassic); 6.7 Post-Break-Up Palaeoclimates (Jurassic, Cretaceous); 6.8 Numerical Models Make their Appearance; 6.9 From Wegener to Barron; References; Chapter 7 Into the Icehouse; 7.1 Climate Clues from the Deep Ocean; 7.2 Palaeoceanography; 7.3 The World's Freezer; 7.4 The Drill Bit Turns; 7.5 Global Cooling; 7.6 Arctic Glaciation; References |
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Chapter 8 The Greenhouse Gas Theory Matures8.1 CO2 in the Atmosphere and Ocean (1930-1955); 8.2 CO2 in the Atmosphere and Ocean (1955-1979); 8.3 CO2 in the Atmosphere and Ocean (1979-1983); 8.4 Biogeochemistry: The Merging of Physics and Biology; 8.5 The Carbon Cycle; 8.6 Oceanic Carbon; 8.7 Measuring CO2 in the Oceans; 8.8 A Growing International Emphasis; 8.9 Reflection on Developments; References; Chapter 9 Measuring and Modelling CO2 Back through Time; 9.1 CO2: The Palaeoclimate Perspective; 9.2 Fossil CO2; 9.3 Measuring CO2 Back through Time; 9.4 Modelling CO2 and Climate |
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9.5 The Critics GatherReferences; Chapter 10 The Pulse of the Earth; 10.1 Climate Cycles and Tectonic Forces; 10.2 Ocean Chemistry; 10.3 Black Shales; 10.4 Sea Level; 10.5 Biogeochemical Cycles, Gaia and Cybertectonic Earth; 10.6 Meteorite Impacts; 10.7 Massive Volcanic Eruptions; References; Chapter 11 Numerical Climate Models and Case Histories; 11.1 CO2 and General Circulation Models; 11.2 CO2 and Climate in the Early Cenozoic; 11.3 The First Great Ice Sheet; 11.4 Hyperthermal Events; 11.5 Case History: The Palaeocene-Eocene Boundary; 11.6 CO2 and Climate in the Late Cenozoic |
| Summary |
To understand climate change today, we first need to know how Earth's climate changed over the past 450 million years. Finding answers depends upon contributions from a wide range of sciences, not just the rock record uncovered by geologists. In Earth's Climate Evolution, Colin Summerhayes analyzes reports and records of past climate change dating back to the late 18th century to uncover key patterns in the climate system. The book will transform debate and set the agenda for the next generation of thought about future climate change. The book takes a unique approach to the subject providing a description of the greenhouse and icehouse worlds of the past 450 million years since land plants emerged, ignoring major earlier glaciations like that of Snowball Earth, which occurred around 600 million years ago in a world free of land plants. It describes the evolution of thinking in palaeoclimatology and introduces the main players in the field and how their ideas were received and, in many cases, subsequently modified. It records the arguments and discussions about the merits of different ideas along the way. It also includes several notes made from the author's own personal involvement in palaeoclimatological and palaeoceanographic studies, and from his experience of working alongside several of the major players in these fields in recent years. This book will be an invaluable reference for both undergraduate and postgraduate students taking courses in related fields and will also be of interest to historians of science and/or geology, climatology and oceanography. It should also be of interest to the wider scientific and engineering community, high school science students, policy makers, and environmental NGOs. Reviews:"Outstanding in its presentation of the facts and a good read in the way that it intersperses the climate story with the author's own experiences. [This book] puts the climate story into a compelling geological history."--Dr. James Baker "The book is written in very clear and concise prose, [and takes] original, enlightening, and engaging approach to talking about 'ideas' from the perspective of the scientists who promoted them."--Professor Christopher R. Scotese |
| Bibliography |
Includes bibliographical references and index |
| Notes |
Print version record and CIP data provided by publisher |
| Subject |
Atmospheric carbon dioxide.
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Climatic changes -- Research.
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Geological carbon sequestration.
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Paleoclimatology.
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Ice cores.
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SCIENCE -- Earth Sciences -- Meteorology & Climatology.
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Atmospheric carbon dioxide.
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Climatic changes -- Research.
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Geological carbon sequestration.
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Ice cores.
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Paleoclimatology.
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| Form |
Electronic book
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| LC no. |
2015015785 |
| ISBN |
9781118897379 |
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1118897374 |
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9781118897386 |
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1118897382 |
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1118897390 |
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9781118897393 |
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