The Quaternary period, which began 2.58 million years ago and continues to the present day, is distinctive for its significant climate variability. Understanding the mechanisms of climate change during this period and the relationship between carbon dioxide levels and temperature are hugely important in improving our ability to develop models to predict future climate change. This book discusses the main methods of empirical climatology and the models used to address different aspects of Quaternary climate dynamics, offering a multidisciplinary view of past and future climate changes. It examines the proposed mechanisms of Quaternary climate variability, including glacial cycles and abrupt climate changes, and their relationship to the intrinsic instability of ocean circulation and ice sheets. Including a final chapter on the Anthropocene, it provides a comprehensive overview of Quaternary and modern climate dynamics for graduate students and researchers working in paleoclimatology and climate change science.
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Provides a detailed overview of our current understanding of the types and mechanisms of climate variability during the Quaternary period.
Prologue;
1. Fundamentals of Climate Dynamics;
2. Methods of Empirical
Paleoclimatology;
3. Modeling Past Climates;
4. Pre-Quaternary Climates;
5.
Quaternary Glacial Climates;
6. Abrupt Glacial Climate Changes;
7.
Interglacials;
8. Anthropocene; Epilogue.
Andrey Ganopolski is a senior research scientist at Potsdam Institute for Climate Impact Research. He graduated from Moscow University, and subsequently held positions at the International Institute for Applied Systems Analysis. His work at the Potsdam Institute for Climate Impact Research led to the development of a novel class of Earth system models and pioneering research on past and future climates.
