Paleoclimatology - From Snowball Earth to the Anthropocene

Informationen zum Autor About the Author Colin P. Summerhayes is an Emeritus Associate of the Scott Polar Research Institute of Cambridge University. He has carried out research and managed research programmes on aspects of past climate change in academia, in government laboratories, in intergovernmental and non-governmental organizations, and in industry since obtaining a PhD in Geochemistry from Imperial College, London, in 1970. The cover shows a view of some the numerous small crevassed glaciers typical of the Antarctic Peninsula, which are seen here cutting across the Mid-Jurassic to Lower Cretaceous volcanic rocks of the exposed magmatic core of the ancient island arc underlying the Peninsula, on the east side of the northern entrance to the Lemaire Channel. Klappentext Life on our planet depends upon having a climate that changes within narrow limits - not too hot for the oceans to boil away nor too cold for the planet to freeze over. Over the past billion years Earth's average temperature has stayed close to 14-15°C, oscillating between warm greenhouse states and cold icehouse states. We live with variation, but a variation with limits. Paleoclimatology is the science of understanding and explaining those variations, those limits, and the forces that control them. Without that understanding we will not be able to foresee future change accurately as our population grows. Our impact on the planet is now equal to a geological force, such that many geologists now see us as living in a new geological era - the Anthropocene.Paleoclimatology describes Earth's passage through the greenhouse and icehouse worlds of the past 800 million years, including the glaciations of Snowball Earth in a world that was then free of land plants. It describes the operation of the Earth's thermostat, which keeps the planet fit for life, and its control by interactions between greenhouse gases, land plants, chemical weathering, continental motions, volcanic activity, orbital change and solar variability. It explains how we arrived at our current understanding of the climate system, by reviewing the contributions of scientists since the mid-1700s, showing how their ideas were modified as science progressed. And it includes reflections based on the author's involvement in palaeoclimatic research.The book will transform debate and set the agenda for the next generation of thought about future climate change. It will be an invaluable course reference for undergraduate and postgraduate students in geology, climatology, oceanography and the history of science."A real tour-de-force! An outstanding summary not only of the science and what needs to be done, but also the challenges that are a consequence of psychological and cultural baggage that threatens not only the survival of our own species but the many others we are eliminating as well."Peter BarrettEmeritus Professor of Geology, Antarctic Research Centre, Victoria University of Wellington, New Zealand"What a remarkable and wonderful synthesis... it will be a wonderful source of [paleoclimate] information and insights."Christopher R. ScoteseProfessor, Department of Earth and Planetary Sciences, Northwestern University, Evanston, IL, USA Zusammenfassung Life on our planet depends upon having a climate that changes within narrow limits - not too hot for the oceans to boil away nor too cold for the planet to freeze over. Over the past billion years Earth's average temperature has stayed close to 14-15°C, oscillating between warm greenhouse states and cold icehouse states. We live with variation, but a variation with limits. Paleoclimatology is the science of understanding and explaining those variations, those limits, and the forces that control them. Without that understanding we will not be able to foresee future change accurately as our population grows. Our impact on the planet is now equal to a geological force, such that many g...

List of contents

Author Biography xi
 
Acknowledgement xiii
 
1 Introduction 1
 
1.1 What is Palaeoclimatology? 1
 
1.2 What Can Palaeoclimatology Tell Us About Future Climate Change? 2
 
1.3 Using Numerical Models to Aid Understanding 4
 
1.4 The Structure of This Book 4
 
1.5 Why is This History Not More Widely Known? 6
 
References 7
 
2 The Great Cooling 9
 
2.1 The Founding Fathers 9
 
2.2 Charles Lyell, 'Father of Palaeoclimatology' 13
 
2.3 Agassiz Discovers the Ice Age 19
 
2.4 Lyell Defends Icebergs 22
 
References 28
 
3 Ice Age Cycles 31
 
3.1 The Astronomical Theory of Climate Change 31
 
3.2 James Croll Develops the Theory 33
 
3.3 Lyell Responds 35
 
3.4 Croll Defends His Position 36
 
3.5 Even More Ancient Ice Ages 37
 
3.6 Not Everyone Agrees 38
 
References 39
 
4 Trace Gases Warm The Planet 41
 
4.1 De Saussure's Hot Box 41
 
4.2 William Herschel's Accidental Discovery 41
 
4.3 Discovering Carbon Dioxide 42
 
4.4 Fourier, the 'Newton of Heat' Discovers the 'Greenhouse Effect' 43
 
4.5 Tyndall Shows How the 'Greenhouse Effect' Works 44
 
4.6 Arrhenius Calculates How CO2 Affects Air Temperature 47
 
4.7 Chamberlin's Theory of Gases and Ice Ages 49
 
References 53
 
5 Changing Geography Through Time 57
 
5.1 The Continents Drift 57
 
5.2 The Sea Floor Spreads 63
 
5.3 The Dating Game 71
 
5.4 Base Maps for Palaeoclimatology 72
 
5.5 The Evolution of the Modern World 74
 
References 77
 
6 Mapping Past Climates 81
 
6.1 Climate Indicators 81
 
6.2 Palaeoclimatologists Get to Work 82
 
6.3 Refining Palaeolatitudes 86
 
6.4 Oxygen Isotopes to the Rescue 87
 
6.5 Cycles and Astronomy 88
 
6.6 Pangaean Palaeoclimates (Carboniferous, Permian, Triassic) 91
 
6.7 Post-Break Up Palaeoclimates (Jurassic, Cretaceous) 97
 
6.8 Numerical Models Make Their Appearance 104
 
6.9 From Wegener to Barron 110
 
References 110
 
7 Into the Icehouse 117
 
7.1 Climate Clues from the Deep Ocean 117
 
7.2 Palaeoceanography 118
 
7.3 The World's Freezer 124
 
7.4 The Drill Bit Turns 126
 
7.5 Global Cooling 131
 
7.6 Arctic Glaciation 138
 
References 141
 
8 Greenhouse Gas Theory Matures 147
 
8.1 CO2 in the Atmosphere and Ocean (1930-1955) 147
 
8.2 CO2 in the Atmosphere and Ocean (1955-1979) 149
 
8.3 CO2 in the Atmosphere and Ocean (1979-1983) 161
 
8.4 Biogeochemistry: The Merging of Physics and Biology 166
 
8.5 The Carbon Cycle 167
 
8.6 Ocean Carbon 170
 
8.7 A Growing International Emphasis 173
 
8.8 Reflection on Developments 174
 
References 176
 
9 Measuring and Modelling CO2 Back Through Time 183
 
9.1 CO2 - The Palaeoclimate Perspective 183
 
9.2 Modelling CO2 Back Through Time 187
 
9.3 The Critics Gather 191
 
9.4 Fossil CO2 197
 
9.5 Measuring CO2 Back Through Time 199
 
9.6 CO2, Temperature, Solar Luminosity, and the Ordovician Glaciation 204
 
9.7 Some Summary Remarks 215
 
References 216
 
10 The Pulse of the Earth 223
 
10.1 Climate Cycles and Tectonic Forces 223
 
10.2 Ocean Chemistry 232
 
10.3 Black Shales 235
 
10.4 Sea Level 238
 
10.5 Biogeochemical Cycles, Gaia and Cybertectonic Earth 240
 
10.6 Meteorite Impacts 242
 
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Product details

• Authors: C. P. Summerhayes, Colin P Summerhayes, Colin P. Summerhayes, Colin P. (Southampton Oceanography Ce Summerhayes, CP Summerhayes, Summerhayes Colin P.
• Publisher: Wiley, John and Sons Ltd
• Languages: English
• Product format: Paperback / Softback
• Released: 31.08.2020
• EAN: 9781119591382
• ISBN: 978-1-119-59138-2
• No. of pages: 560
• Subjects: Natural sciences, medicine, IT, technology > Geosciences > Miscellaneous; Paläontologie, Geowissenschaften, Klimatologie, Earth Sciences, Paleontology, Paleobiology & Geobiology, Paläontologie, Paläobiologie u. Geobiologie, Climatology & Palaeoclimatology, Klimatologie u. Paläoklimatologie, Paläoklimatologie