Climate Change: A Multidisciplinary ApproachCambridge University Press, 2001 M05 3 - 298 pages This volume provides an up-to-date presentation of climate change and its implications for society. Burroughs, an expert on the subject, begins with balanced coverage of the physical principles of the global climate, its behavior on all timescales, and the evidence for and consequences of past change. He then reviews the methods used to measure climate change and the statistical methods for analyzing data. A comprehensive guide, the volume also explores the causes of change and how this behavior can be modeled. The final sections discuss predictions of future climate change and the economic and political debate surrounding its prevention and mitigation. This is a valuable undergraduate textbook for a wide range of courses, including meteorology, oceanography, environmental science, earth science, geography, history, agriculture and social science. It will also appeal to a wider general audience of readers in search of a better understanding of climate change. |
From inside the book
Results 1-5 of 50
Page vi
Sorry, this page's content is restricted.
Sorry, this page's content is restricted.
Page 3
Sorry, this page's content is restricted.
Sorry, this page's content is restricted.
Page 4
Sorry, this page's content is restricted.
Sorry, this page's content is restricted.
Page 5
Sorry, this page's content is restricted.
Sorry, this page's content is restricted.
Page 28
Sorry, this page's content is restricted.
Sorry, this page's content is restricted.
Contents
INTRODUCTION | 1 |
11 WEATHER AND CLIMATE | 2 |
13 CONNECTIONS TIMESCALES AND UNCERTAINTIES | 3 |
RADIATION AND THE EARTHS ENERGY BALANCE | 10 |
21 SOLAR AND TERRESTRIAL RADIATION | 11 |
22 SOLAR VARIABILITY | 27 |
23 SUMMARY | 30 |
THE ELEMENTS OF THE CLIMATE | 32 |
63 HISTORICAL RECORDS | 151 |
64 PROXY MEASUREMENTS | 153 |
65 DATING | 168 |
ISOTOPIC AGE DATING | 169 |
67 SUMMARY | 173 |
STATISTICS SIGNIFICANCE AND CYCLES | 175 |
71 TIME SERIES SAMPLING AND HARMONIC ANALYSIS | 176 |
72 NOISE | 180 |
32 ATMOSPHERIC CIRCULATION PATTERNS | 36 |
33 RADIATION BALANCE | 45 |
34 THE HYDROLOGICAL CYCLE | 49 |
35 THE BIOSPHERE | 50 |
36 SUSTAINED ABNORMAL WEATHER PATTERNS | 51 |
37 ATMOSPHEREOCEAN INTERACTIONS | 56 |
38 THE GREAT OCEAN CONVEYOR | 67 |
39 SUMMARY | 71 |
EVIDENCE OF CLIMATE CHANGE | 73 |
41 PEERING INTO THE ABYSS OF TIME | 74 |
42 ATMOSPHERIC COMPOSITION | 85 |
43 SEA LEVEL FLUCTUATIONS | 87 |
44 THE ICE AGES | 90 |
45 THE END OF THE LAST ICE AGE | 95 |
46 THE HOLOCENE CLIMATIC OPTIMUM | 98 |
47 CHANGES IN RECORDED HISTORY | 100 |
48 THE MEDIEVAL CLIMATIC OPTIMUM | 104 |
410 THE TWENTIETH CENTURY WARMING | 110 |
411 CONCLUDING OBSERVATIONS | 113 |
CONSEQUENCES OF CLIMATE CHANGE | 116 |
51 GEOLOGICAL CONSEQUENCES | 117 |
52 FLORA AND FAUNA | 118 |
53 MASS EXTINCTIONS | 122 |
54 GLACIERS ICE CAPS ICE SHEETS AND SEA LEVELS | 123 |
55 THE HISTORICAL IMPACT OF CLIMATIC VARIATIONS | 126 |
56 AGRICULTURE | 128 |
57 SPREAD OF DISEASES | 132 |
58 THE ECONOMIC IMPACT OF EXTREME WEATHER EVENTS | 134 |
59 SUMMARY | 137 |
THE MEASUREMENT OF CLIMATIC CHANGE | 139 |
61 INSTRUMENTAL OBSERVATIONS | 140 |
62 SATELLITE MEASUREMENTS | 146 |
73 MEASURES OF VARIABILITY AND SIGNIFICANCE | 182 |
74 SMOOTHING | 193 |
75 MULTIDIMENSIONAL ANALYSIS | 197 |
76 SUMMARY | 199 |
THE CAUSES OF CLIMATIC CHANGE | 201 |
81 AUTOVARIANCE AND NONLINEARITY | 202 |
82 ATMOSPHEREOCEAN INTERACTIONS | 204 |
83 OCEAN CURRENTS | 207 |
84 VOLCANOES | 208 |
85 SUNSPOTS AND SOLAR ACTIVITY | 211 |
86 TIDAL FORCES | 217 |
87 ORBITAL VARIATIONS | 221 |
88 CHANGES IN ATMOSPHERIC COMPOSITION | 225 |
89 HUMAN ACTIVITIES | 227 |
810 CATASTROPHES AND THE NUCLEAR WINTER | 230 |
811 SUMMARY | 235 |
MODELLING THE CLIMATE | 239 |
91 GLOBAL CIRCULATION MODELS | 240 |
92 SIMULATION OF CLIMATIC VARIABILITY | 247 |
93 THE CHALLENGES FACING MODELLERS | 252 |
94 SUMMARY | 257 |
PREDICTING CLIMATE CHANGE | 259 |
102 PREDICTING GLOBAL WARMING | 261 |
103 THE PREDICTED CONSEQUENCES OF GLOBAL WARMING | 263 |
104 WHEN WILL WE BE CERTAIN ABOUT GLOBAL WARMING? | 267 |
105 CAN WE DO ANYTHING ABOUT CLIMATE CHANGE? | 271 |
106 THE GAIA HYPOTHESIS | 273 |
BIBLIOGRAPHY | 277 |
GLOSSARY | 283 |
293 | |
Other editions - View all
Common terms and phrases
absorbed aerosols albedo amount analysis Antarctica areas atmosphere average behaviour Burroughs carbon century circulation climate change climate variability clouds cold components consequences cooling cycle effect El NiƱo emissions energy ENSO Europe evidence factors Figure fluctuations forecasts frequency GCMs geological geological timescale glacial global climate global warming greenhouse gases Greenland high latitudes human activities ice cores ice sheets identified impact important increase IPCC isotope last ice age linked Little Ice Age longer term major measurements meteorological models North Atlantic northern hemisphere observations occurred ocean sediments orbital Oscillation Pacific past climates patterns period physical precipitation predicted produce radiative forcing rainfall records regions running mean satellite sea level Section shifts significant snow cover solar activity solar radiation spectrum statistical stratosphere summer sunspot numbers terrestrial radiation thermocline thermohaline circulation timescales tion tree-ring trend tropical variance variations warmer water vapour wavelength weather winter