It is now widely accepted that increasing concentrations of greenhouse gases in the atmosphere are causing higher global temperatures. This volume provides a comprehensive review of the effects of climate variability on hydrological and human systems in the Holocene (the last 10,000 years). The book concentrates on the regions bordering the Mediterranean Sea, western and central Europe, China, Japan, West and South Africa and southwestern U.S.A. It is intended for researchers and professionals in hydrology, climatology, geology and historical geography.

Since the greenhouse effect emerged as a predictable threat, necessitating the evalu- ation of its future impact on the environment in the various parts of the globe, interest in the climate changes during the Holocene has gained momentum. The background can be summarized by the sentence: The past is a key to the future. As a matter of fact, this sentence is in the opposite direction, on the dimension of time, to the principle adopted by the founders of the science of geology. They proposed that geological processes in the present should be used as a key for understanding the past. Another...