The global environment is changing rapidly under the impact of human activities, and an important element of this change is related to global c1imate modification. Can the study of c1imate and history help in devising strategies for coping with this change? What might be the type of information most useful in this context? What are the pitfalls awaiting the unwary? These are the kinds of questions that led us to bring together experts from the natural and social sci- ences with a strong interest in history, to promote discussion between workers in different disciplines by focussing on a...

Paleoceanographic proxies provide infonnation for reconstructions of the past, including climate changes, global and regional oceanography, and the cycles of biochemical components in the ocean. These prox- ies are measurable descriptors for desired but unobservable environmental variables such as tempera- ture, salinity, primary productivity, nutrient content, or surface-water carbon dioxide concentrations. The proxies are employed in a manner analogous to oceanographic methods. The water masses are first characterized according to their specific physical and chemical properties, and then...