In recent years, efforts to integrate solid earth geophysical studies and climate studies have progressed slowly, but this volume responds to the deficiency with an in-depth examination of climate modeling. Written by eminent figures from both disciplines, it focuses on the role of tectonic boundary conditions for paleoclimate reconstruction at the same time it presents background material on the impact of tectonic changes on climate and the uncertainties in tectonic boundary conditions.

"This volume summarizes new developments in understanding the longest-lived icehouse period in Phanerozoic Earth history, the late Paleozoic ice age. Resolving the Late Paleozoic Ice Age in Time and Space provides summaries of existing and new data from the various Gondwanan continental relics, and also reviews stratigraphic successions from the paleotropical and temperate regions of Laurussia that preserve an indirect record of glaciation. It addresses the extent to which records of glaciation indicate protracted, long-term climatic austerity, as opposed to fluctuating, more dynamic climate, and provides new constraints on the timing of glaciation. Additionally, it tackles questions of synchroneity of glaciation across the various Gondwanan continental relics, and timing relationships between near-field and far-field records at greater levels of resolution than has been possible previously. Results point toward a dynamic icehouse regime that is comparable to the Cenozoic icehouse, and away from traditional interpretations of the late Paleozoic ice age as a single, protracted event that involved stable, long-lived ice centers."--Publisher's website.

Utah's landscape is among the most spectacular in the world. It is a region of prominent peaks, sweeping valleys, dramatic canyons, and plateaus rimmed by sheer cliffs. Unique among western states, Utah's landscape includes the Colorado Plateau, Basin and Range, and Rocky Mountains geologic provinces. Exposed rocks tell the geologic story of the region's basement structures, overlying surface features, and rock sequences that have contributed to sculpting the appearance of today's landscape. Rocks and formations record the evolution of the western part of the North American continent, and give clues to the nature of ancient crustal basement and Earth's deeper layers. Climate change has shaped the present landscape through the erosional power of ancient glaciers and the presence of today's large lakes and basins. Geology of Utah introduces the state's deep earth, plate tectonics, and the development of its ancient mountains. It describes the geology of the three main geological provinces, ancient elevations, cliffs, valleys, and the history of the region's climate. This book will enrich the experience of enthusiastic amateur geologists who want to understand and explore the development of Utah's highlands and the history of this dynamic landscape.

Antarctic Climate Evolution is the first book dedicated to furthering knowledge on the evolution of the world's largest ice sheet over its ~34 million year history. This volume provides the latest information on subjects ranging from terrestrial and marine geology to sedimentology and glacier geophysics. - An overview of Antarctic climate change, analyzing historical, present-day and future developments - Contributions from leading experts and scholars from around the world - Informs and updates climate change scientists and experts in related areas of study

This book is an unorthodox ground-breaking scientific study on natural climate change and its contribution to ongoing multi-centennial global warming. The book critically reviews the effect of the following on climate: - Milankovitch cycles - abrupt glacial (Dansgaard-Oeschger) events - Holocene climate variability - the 1500-year cycle - solar activity - volcanic eruptions - greenhouse gases - energy transport Applying the scientific method to available evidence reveals that some of these phenomena are profoundly misunderstood by most researchers. Milankovitch cycles are tied to orbital obliquity, not to orbital precessional summer insolation; glacial megatides might have triggered abrupt Dansgaard-Oeschger events; and tides are likely responsible for the related 1500-year climate cycle. Climate change affects volcanic eruptions more than the opposite; and secular variations in solar activity are more important to climate change during the Holocene than greenhouse gases. In this book, we see how important natural climate change has been on human societies of the past. It also produces new climate projections for the 21st century and when the next glaciation could happen. What emerges from this study of natural climate change is a central theme: Variations in the transport of energy from the tropics to the poles have been neglected as a cause of climate change, and solar activity variations affect climate by modulating this transport. The author tells us: –Transporting more energy from a greenhouse gas-rich region, the tropics, to a greenhouse gas-poor region, the poles, increases the amount of energy lost at the top of the atmosphere. The effect resembles a reduction in the greenhouse gas content.– The book presents the Winter-Gatekeeper Hypothesis on how variations in solar activity regulate Earth's energy transport and in so doing affect atmospheric circulation, the rotation of the planet, and the El Niño/Southern Oscillation. This book is oriented toward students and academics in the climate sciences and climate anthropology and should also appeal to readers interested in the science of natural climate change. The repercussions of Climate of the Past, Present and Future are far reaching. By uncovering a strong natural climate change component, it provides a novel view of anthropogenic climate change, fossil energy use, and our future climate; a view quite different from the IPCC's gloomy projections.

This comprehensive update addresses all researchers in the fields of marine science, marine botany, ecophysiology, ecology, conservation biology, and polar research in general. --Book Jacket.