Encyclopedia of Paleoclimatology and Ancient Environments

The Encyclopedia of Paleoclimatology and Ancient Environments is the first major reference work in its field. It provides the comprehensive overview required by the rapid expansion and specialization of paleoclimatology in recent years. Articles summarize recent findings covering a broad spectrum of the geosciences, including atmospheric sciences, comparative planetology, geochemistry, geophysics, glaciology, paleobotany, paleontology, paleoceanography, and sedimentology, among others.

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.

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.- Bolling-Allerod 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 sheet.- Little Ice Age.- Loess deposits.- Marine biogenic sediments.- Marine carbon geochemistry.- Marine clay minerals.- Marine non-biogenic (inorganic) sediments.- Mars: water and past climates .- Mass extinctions: role of Climate.- Maunder minimum.- Medieval warm period.- Mesozoic climates.- Messinian salinity crisis.- Methane hydrates, carbon cycling, and environmental change.- Mid-Pliocene warming.- Millennial climate variability.- Mineral indicators of past climates.- Monsoons, Pre-Quaternary.- Monsoons, Quaternary.- Moraines.- Mountain.- glaciers,.- Mountain uplift and climate change.- Nearest-living-relative method.- Neogene climates.- Nitrogen isotopes.- North Atlantic Oscillation (NAO) records.- North Atlantic Deep Water and climate change.- Obliquity, earth's orbit.- Ocean Drilling Program (ODP).- Ocean paleocirculation.- Ocean paleoproductivity.- Ocean paleotemperatures.- Organic geochemical proxies.- Ostracodes.- Outwash plains.- Oxygen isotopes.- PAGES.- aleobotany.- Paleocene-Eocene Thermal Maximum.- Paleoclimate modeling, Quaternary.- Paleoclimate modeling, pre-Quaternary .- Paleoclimate proxies, an introduction.- Paleo-El Nino-Southern Oscillation (ENSO) records.- Paleogene climates.- Paleohydrology.- Paleo-ocean modeling.- Paleo-ocean pH.- Paleoceanography.- Paleolimnology.- Paleo-precipitation indicators.- Paleosols--pre-Quaternary.- Paleosols--Quaternary.- Paleotemperatures, proxy reconstructions.- Paleotempestology--sedimentary record of intense hurricanes.- Palynology.- Patterned ground.- Periglacial geomorphology.- Phosphorite.- Phosphorus cycle.- Pingo.- Plate tectonics and climate change.- Pleistocene climates.- Pliocene climates.- Pollen analysis.- Potassium-Argon/argon-argon dating.- Precession, earth's orbit.- Pre-Quaternary Milankovitch cycles and climate.- Proglacial lacustrine sediments.- Proterozoic climates.- Quaternary climate transitions and cycles.- Quaternary vegetation distribution.- Radiocarbon dating.- Radiolaria.- Red beds.- Roche moutonnee.- Sapropels (organic-rich muds).- Scandinavian ice sheet.- Sea level change, Holocene.- Sea level change, Quaternary.- Sea level change, last 250 million years.- Sea level indicators.- Sedimentary indicators of climate change.- Snowball Earth hypothesis.- SPECMAP.- Speleothems.- Stable isotope analysis.- Strontium isotopes.- Sulfur isotopes.- Sun-climate connections.- Tephrochronology.- The 8200 year BP cold event.- Thermohaline circulation.- Time series analysis.- Till and Tillites.- Transfer functions.- Triassic-Jurassic climates.- Uranium-series dating.- Varved sediments.- Volcanic eruptions and climate change.- Weathering and climate.- Wisconsinan (Weichselian, Wurm) glaciation.- Younger Dryas.- Author index.- Subject index.