Ice Age Earth: Late Quaternary Geology and Climate

ISBN-13: 9780415015677 / Angielski / Miękka / 1991 / 316 str.

A. G. Dawson; Alastair Dawson;Dawson Alastair

Opis

The reconstruction of past climatic change is dependent upon the application of reliable dating techniques and an understanding of the context of these methods. The study of Quarternary palaeoenvironments must draw from a range of disciplines. In an area of increasing interest and specialisation, Ice Age Earth combines a summary of research and a synthetic description of the late Quarternary. It focuses on changes in the Earth's geology and climate between the last interglacial and the final melting of the last great ice sheets: 130,000 to 7000 year ago. The book describes the study of ocean sediments and ice cores and the value of these findings to the development of advance circulation models. Emphasis i s placed on regional variability in glacial history, the rapidity of past climate change and the complexity of environmental responses to widespread deglaciation. Periglacial environmnents - lakes, rivers, mires, volcanic and aeolian activity, crustal and sea-level movement - are also considered. The book closes with a contextual discussion on Milankovitch insolation theory.

Recenzje

`This approach provides a coherence that is rare in volumes of this kind ... a book that should prove of considerable value to teachers, undergraduates, and more able A-level students. - Geography

` ... the book represents an excellent introduction I do not hesitate in recommending Ice Age Earth to be read as an introduction to and overview of the fascinating subject of Late Quaternary climatic change. - Terra Nova

`Ice Age Earth is well and carefully written. It provides an insightful approach to the recent achievements in the studies on Late Quaternary Climatic and environmental changes. ... I warmly recommend it.' - The Holocene

`.. as a modern, undergraduate-level reference text it will serve a very useful role. The presentation of the material is clear and of high quality.' - Progress in Physical Geography

`Undoubtedly, the main attraction of the book is its up-to-date review of the international literature ... will be a valuable source of international examples for the next few years.' - Times Higher Education Supplement

`This book succeeds in distilling a great amount of literature which is relatively inaccessible, except to specialists, into a form that is both accessible and enjoyable to read ... There is no doubt that this book will appear on many student reading lists and widen the perspectives of those teaching the subject to a more global overview.' - Quaternary Science

` ... is the best textbook compilation on the subject currently available ... makes for stimulating reading.' - Boreas

`This volume will serve as an excellent text for advanced undergraduates in geology and physical geography ... The book is wide-ranging in both its subject and geographic coverage. It is far broader in scope than equivalent texts on glacial landscapes or glacial processes ... All-in-all this volume will serve as an up-to-date text on the variety of Ice Age associated environments that resulted in the present global landscape.' - Palaeogeography, Palaeoclimatology, Palaeoecology

`This book, representing an enormous effort in synthesizing a vast and dispersed inter-disciplinary literature, is unique and very welcome indeed ... In summary, this book fills a large gap among those works that help us to stay abreast of the state of the art that are not our own, and does so in a manner and a style that make it very accessible indeed ... Reasonably priced, it should be in many hands; may the author see good sales and feel up to frequent revisions.' - Geological Magazine

Spis treści

Acknowledgements Chapter 1. Introduction 2. Ocean Sediments and Ice Cores 3. Ice Age Palaeoclimates and Computer Simulations 4. Glaciation History from the Last Interglacial to the Last Glacial Maximum 5. The Melting of the Last Great Ice Sheets 6. Ice Age Periglacial Environments 7. Lakes, Bogs and Mines 8. Rivers 9. Ice Age Aeolian Activity 10. Late Quarternary Volcanic Activity 11. Crustal and Sub-Crustal Effects 12. Late Quarternary Sea Level changes 13. Milankovitch Cycles and Late Quarternary Climate Change

O autorze

Alastair G. Dawson