An important overview of Quaternary climates including detailed Pleistocene and Holocene sea-level changes, for researchers and graduate and advanced undergraduate students.

One of Springer’s Major Reference Works, this book gives the reader a truly global perspective. It is the first major reference work in its field. Paleoclimate topics covered in the encyclopedia give the reader the capability to place the observations of recent global warming in the context of longer-term natural climate fluctuations. Significant elements of the encyclopedia include recent developments in paleoclimate modeling, paleo-ocean circulation, as well as the influence of geological processes and biological feedbacks on global climate change. The encyclopedia gives the reader an entry point into the literature on these and many other groundbreaking topics.

"There have been significant changes in sea level over the past two million years, and a complete understanding of natural cycles of change as well as anthropogenic effects is imperative for future global development. This book reviews the history of research into these sea-level changes and summarises the methods and analytical approaches used to interpret evidence for sea-level changes. It provides an overview of changing climates during the Quaternary, examines processes responsible for global variability of sea-level records, and presents detailed reviews of sea-level changes for the Pleistocene and Holocene. The book concludes by discussing current trends in sea levels and likely future sea-level changes. This is an important and authoritative resource for academic researchers and graduate and advanced undergraduate students working in tectonics, stratigraphy, geomorphology, physical geography, environmental science and other aspects of Quaternary studies"--

This book provides an up-to-date overview of the Quaternary geological and geomorphological evolution of the Coorong Coastal Plain region and its significance in a global context for understanding long-term records of Quaternary sea-level changes. The Coorong Coastal Plain in southern Australia is a natural laboratory for examining the response of coastal barrier landscapes to relative sea-level changes. The region provides direct evidence of coastal sedimentation during successive interglacials over the past 1 million years, as well as more recent volcanism. The region has received international focus and attracted scientists from around the World, with interests in long-term coastal evolution, sea-level changes, Quaternary dating methods and geochronology, soil development, temperate carbonate sedimentation, karst geomorphology and geologically recent volcanism.

Tide gauges show that global sea level has risen about 7 inches during the 20th century, and recent satellite data show that the rate of sea-level rise is accelerating. As Earth warms, sea levels are rising mainly because ocean water expands as it warms; and water from melting glaciers and ice sheets is flowing into the ocean. Sea-level rise poses enormous risks to the valuable infrastructure, development, and wetlands that line much of the 1,600 mile shoreline of California, Oregon, and Washington. As those states seek to incorporate projections of sea-level rise into coastal planning, they asked the National Research Council to make independent projections of sea-level rise along their coasts for the years 2030, 2050, and 2100, taking into account regional factors that affect sea level. Sea-Level Rise for the Coasts of California, Oregon, and Washington: Past, Present, and Future explains that sea level along the U.S. west coast is affected by a number of factors. These include: climate patterns such as the El Niño, effects from the melting of modern and ancient ice sheets, and geologic processes, such as plate tectonics. Regional projections for California, Oregon, and Washington show a sharp distinction at Cape Mendocino in northern California. South of that point, sea-level rise is expected to be very close to global projections. However, projections are lower north of Cape Mendocino because the land is being pushed upward as the ocean plate moves under the continental plate along the Cascadia Subduction Zone. However, an earthquake magnitude 8 or larger, which occurs in the region every few hundred to 1,000 years, would cause the land to drop and sea level to suddenly rise.

A NATO Advanced Study Institute, "Late Quaternary Sea-level Correlation and Applications", was held together with the Final Meeting of IGCP Project 200 in Halifax, Canada, 19-30 July 1987. This Volume is a collection of the NATO Keynote Papers presented at this meeting. The authors of these papers are from seven of the NATO countries - two each from France, the U. K. , Canada, and the U. S . A. , and one each from Spain, Germany and the Netherlands. With these authors, we are able to assemble work from virtually all of the world's oceans with several different approaches. The Volume is dedicated to Walter S. Newman, one of the best known and best liked sea-level workers of our time who died shortly before this Conference. This Volume contains one of his last contributions and all contributors to this Volume are honoured to be in the company of Walter's last work. There are several papers from North Atlantic countries dealing with Holocene sea level in a variety of ways. Shennan summarizes data from the U. K. and makes a preliminary effort to place the data in the context of a model. Zazo & Goy present new data from the coast of Spain and place it in a stratigraphical context. Van de P1assche re assesses previous data and adds new data to the very sea-level sensitive Dutch coast. Leatherman uses sea-level information in the Chesapeake Region to assess coastal management problems.

Coral reefs are the largest landforms built by plants and animals. Their study therefore incorporates a wide range of disciplines. This encyclopedia approaches coral reefs from an earth science perspective, concentrating especially on modern reefs. Currently coral reefs are under high stress, most prominently from climate change with changes to water temperature, sea level and ocean acidification particularly damaging. Modern reefs have evolved through the massive environmental changes of the Quaternary with long periods of exposure during glacially lowered sea level periods and short periods of interglacial growth. The entries in this encyclopedia condense the large amount of work carried out since Charles Darwin first attempted to understand reef evolution. Leading authorities from many countries have contributed to the entries covering areas of geology, geography and ecology, providing comprehensive access to the most up-to-date research on the structure, form and processes operating on Quaternary coral reefs.