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Climate change : biological and human aspects / Jonathan Cowie.

By: Material type: TextTextPublication details: Cambridge : Cambridge University Press, 2007.Description: xvi, 487 p. : ill., maps ; 25 cmISBN:
  • 9780521696197 (pbk.)
Subject(s): DDC classification:
  • 551.6 23 C874
Contents:
Introduction -- Acknowledgements -- 1. An introduction to climate change -- 1.1. Weather or climate -- 1.2. The greenhouse effect -- 1.3. The carbon cycle -- 1.4. Natural changes in the carbon cycle -- 1.5. Pacemaker of the glacial-interglacial cycles -- 1.6. Non-greenhouse influences on climate -- 1.7. The water cycle, climate change and biology -- 1.8. From theory to reality -- 1.9. References -- 2. Principal indicators of past climates -- 2.1. Terrestrial biotic climatic proxies -- 2.1.1. Tree-ring analysis (dendrochronology) -- 2.1.2. Isotopic dendrochronology -- 2.1.3. Leaf shape (morphology) -- 2.1.4. Leaf physiology -- 2.1.5. Pollen and spore analysis -- 2.1.6. Species as climate proxies -- 2.2. Marine biotic climatic proxies -- 2.2.1. ¹⁸O isotope analysis of forams and corals -- 2.2.2. Alkenone analysis -- 2.3. Non-biotic indicators -- 2.3.1. Isotopic analysis of water -- 2.3.2. Boreholes -- 2.3.3. Carbon dioxide and methane records as palaeoclimatic forcing agents -- 2.3.4. Dust as an indicator of dry-wet hemispheric climates -- 2.4. Other indicators -- 2.5. Interpreting indicators -- 2.6. Conclusions -- 2.7. References. 3. Past climate change -- 3.1. Early biology and climate of the Hadean and Archeaen eons (4.6-2.5 billion years ago, bya) -- 3.1.1. The pre-biotic Earth (4.6-3.8 bya) -- 3.1.2. The early biotic Earth (3.8-2.3 bya) -- 3.2. Major bio-climatic events of the Proterozoic eon (2.5-0.542 bya) -- 3.2.1. Earth in the anaerobic-aerobic transition (2.6-1.7 bya) -- 3.2.2. The aerobic Earth (from 1.7 bya) -- 3.3. Major bio-climatic events of the pre-Quaternary Phanerozoic (540-2 mya) -- 3.3.1. Late-Ordovician extinction (455-435 mya) -- 3.3.2. Late-Devonian extinction (365-363.5 mya) -- 3.3.3. Vascular plants and the atmospheric depletion of carbon dioxide (350-275 mya) -- 3.3.4. Permo-Carboniferous glaciation (330-250 mya) -- 3.3.5. End-Permian extinction (251 mya) -- 3.3.6. End-Triassic extinction (205 mya) -- 3.3.7. Toarcian (early (late lower) Jurassic) extinction (183 mya) -- 3.3.8. Cretaceous-Tertiary extinction (65.5 mya) -- 3.3.9. Eocene climatic maximum (55-54.8 mya) -- 3.3.10. Eocene-Oligocene extinction (approximately 35 mya ; or 33.9 mya?) -- 3.3.11. Late Miocene expansion of C₄ grasses (14-9 mya) -- 3.4. Summary -- 3.5. References. 4. The Oligocene to the Quaternary : climate and biology -- 4.1. The Oligocene (33.9-23.03 mya) -- 4.2. The end Miocene (9-5.3 mya) -- 4.3. The Pliocene (5.3-1.8 mya) -- 4.4. The current ice age -- 4.5. The last glacial -- 4.5.1. Overview of temperature, carbon dioxide and timing -- 4.5.2. Ice and sea level -- 4.5.3. Temperature changes within the glacial -- 4.5.4. Biological and environmental impacts of the last glacial -- 4.6. Interglacials and the present climate -- 4.6.1. Previous interglacials -- 4.6.2. The Allerød, Bølling and Younger Dryas (14 600-11 600 years ago) -- 4.6.3. The Holocene (11 500 years ago, the Industrial Revolution) -- 4.6.4. Biological response to the last glacial, LGM and Holocene transition -- 4.7. Summary -- 4.8. References. 5. Present climate and biological change -- 5.1. Recent climate change -- 5.1.1. The latter half of the Little Ice Age -- 5.1.2. Twentieth-century climate -- 5.1.3. Twenty-first-century climate -- 5.1.4. The Holocene interglacial beyond the twenty-first century -- 5.1.5. Holocene summary -- 5.2. Human change arising from the Holocene climate -- 5.2.1. Climatic impacts on early human civilisations -- 5.2.2. The Little Ice Age's human impact -- 5.2.3. Increasing twentieth-century human climatic insulation -- 5.3. Climate and business as usual in the twenty-first century -- 5.3.1. IPCC business as usual -- 5.3.2. Uncertainties and the IPCC's conclusions -- 5.4. Current human influences on the carbon cycle -- 5.4.1. Carbon dioxide -- 5.4.2. Methane -- 5.4.3. Halocarbons -- 5.4.4. Nitrous oxide -- 5.5. References. 6. Current warming and likely future impacts -- 6.1. Current biological symptoms of warming -- 6.1.1. Current boreal dendrochronological response -- 6.1.2. Current tropical-rainforest response -- 6.1.3. Some biological dimensions of the climatic-change fingerprint -- 6.1.4. Phenology -- 6.1.5. Biological communities and species shift -- 6.2. Case study : climate and natural systems in the USA -- 6.3. Case study : climate and natural systems in the UK -- 6.4. Biological response to greenhouse trends beyond the twenty-first century -- 6.5. Possible surprise responses to greenhouse trends in the twenty-first century and beyond -- 6.5.1. Extreme weather events -- 6.5.2. Greenhouse gases -- 6.5.3. Sea-level rise -- 6.5.4. Methane hydrates (methane clathrates) -- 6.5.5. Volcanoes -- 6.5.6. Oceanic and atmospheric circulation -- 6.5.7. Ocean acidity -- 6.5.8. The probability of surprises -- 6.6. References. 7. The human ecology of climate change -- 7.1. Population (past, present and future) and its environmental impact -- 7.1.1. Population and environmental impact -- 7.1.2. Past and present population -- 7.1.3. Future population -- 7.1.4. Food -- 7.1.5. Impact on other species -- 7.2. Energy supply -- 7.2.1. Energy supply, the historical context -- 7.2.2. Future energy supply -- 7.3. Human health and climate change -- 7.3.1. Health and weather extremes -- 7.3.2. Climate change and disease -- 7.3.3. Flooding and health -- 7.3.4. Droughts -- 7.4. Climate change and food security -- 7.4.1. Past and present food security -- 7.4.2. Future food security and climate change -- 7.5. The biology of reducing anthropogenic climate change -- 7.5.1. Terrestrial photosynthesis and soil carbon -- 7.5.2. Manipulating marine photosynthesis -- 7.5.3. Biofuels -- 7.6. Summary and conclusions -- 7.7. References. 8. Sustainability and policy -- 8.1. Key developments of sustainability policy -- 8.1.1. UN Conference on the Human Environment (1972) -- 8.1.2. The Club of Rome's Limits to Growth (1972) -- 8.1.3. World Climate Conference (1979) -- 8.1.4. The World Conservation Strategy (1980) -- 8.1.5. The Brandt Report, Common Crisis North-South (1980) -- 8.1.6. The Brundtland, World Commission on Environment and Development Report (1987) -- 8.1.7. United Nations' Conference on the Environment and Development, Rio de Janeiro (1992) -- 8.1.8. The Kyoto Protocol (1997) -- 8.1.9. Johannesburg Summit, UNCED+10 (2002) -- 8.1.10. Post 2002 -- 8.2. Energy sustainability and carbon (global) -- 8.2.1. Prospects for savings from changes in land use -- 8.2.2. Prospects for savings from improvements in energy efficiency -- 8.2.3. Prospects for fossil-carbon savings from renewable energy -- 8.2.4. Prospects for carbon-capture technology -- 8.2.5. Prospects for nuclear options -- 8.2.6. Overall prospects for fossil-carbon savings to 2025. 8.3. Energy policy and carbon -- 8.3.1. Case history : USA -- 8.3.2. Case history : UK -- 8.3.3. Case history : China and India -- 8.4. Possible future energy options -- 8.4.1. Managing fossil-carbon emissions, the scale of the problem -- 8.4.2. Fossil futures -- 8.4.3. Nuclear futures -- 8.4.4. Renewable futures -- 8.4.5. Low-energy futures -- 8.4.6. Possible future energy options and greenhouse gases -- 8.5. Future human and biological change -- 8.5.1. The ease and difficulty of adapting to future impacts -- 8.5.2. Future climate change and human health -- 8.5.3. Future climate and human-ecology implications for wildlife -- 8.5.4. Reducing future anthropogenic greenhouse-gas emissions -- 8.5.5. A final conclusion -- 8.6. References -- Appendix 1 : Glossary and abbreviations -- Glossary -- Abbreviations -- Appendix 2 : Bio-geological chronology -- Appendix 3 : Calculations of energy demand/supply and orders of magnitude -- Calculations of energy demand/supply -- Orders of magnitude -- Sources -- Appendix 4 : The IPCC 2007 report -- Index.
Summary: This textbook provides a broad review of past, present and likely future climate change from the viewpoints of biology, ecology and human ecology.
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Includes bibliographical references and index.

Introduction --
Acknowledgements --
1. An introduction to climate change --
1.1. Weather or climate --
1.2. The greenhouse effect --
1.3. The carbon cycle --
1.4. Natural changes in the carbon cycle --
1.5. Pacemaker of the glacial-interglacial cycles --
1.6. Non-greenhouse influences on climate --
1.7. The water cycle, climate change and biology --
1.8. From theory to reality --
1.9. References --
2. Principal indicators of past climates --
2.1. Terrestrial biotic climatic proxies --
2.1.1. Tree-ring analysis (dendrochronology) --
2.1.2. Isotopic dendrochronology --
2.1.3. Leaf shape (morphology) --
2.1.4. Leaf physiology --
2.1.5. Pollen and spore analysis --
2.1.6. Species as climate proxies --
2.2. Marine biotic climatic proxies --
2.2.1. ¹⁸O isotope analysis of forams and corals --
2.2.2. Alkenone analysis --
2.3. Non-biotic indicators --
2.3.1. Isotopic analysis of water --
2.3.2. Boreholes --
2.3.3. Carbon dioxide and methane records as palaeoclimatic forcing agents --
2.3.4. Dust as an indicator of dry-wet hemispheric climates --
2.4. Other indicators --
2.5. Interpreting indicators --
2.6. Conclusions --
2.7. References. 3. Past climate change --
3.1. Early biology and climate of the Hadean and Archeaen eons (4.6-2.5 billion years ago, bya) --
3.1.1. The pre-biotic Earth (4.6-3.8 bya) --
3.1.2. The early biotic Earth (3.8-2.3 bya) --
3.2. Major bio-climatic events of the Proterozoic eon (2.5-0.542 bya) --
3.2.1. Earth in the anaerobic-aerobic transition (2.6-1.7 bya) --
3.2.2. The aerobic Earth (from 1.7 bya) --
3.3. Major bio-climatic events of the pre-Quaternary Phanerozoic (540-2 mya) --
3.3.1. Late-Ordovician extinction (455-435 mya) --
3.3.2. Late-Devonian extinction (365-363.5 mya) --
3.3.3. Vascular plants and the atmospheric depletion of carbon dioxide (350-275 mya) --
3.3.4. Permo-Carboniferous glaciation (330-250 mya) --
3.3.5. End-Permian extinction (251 mya) --
3.3.6. End-Triassic extinction (205 mya) --
3.3.7. Toarcian (early (late lower) Jurassic) extinction (183 mya) --
3.3.8. Cretaceous-Tertiary extinction (65.5 mya) --
3.3.9. Eocene climatic maximum (55-54.8 mya) --
3.3.10. Eocene-Oligocene extinction (approximately 35 mya ; or 33.9 mya?) --
3.3.11. Late Miocene expansion of C₄ grasses (14-9 mya) --
3.4. Summary --
3.5. References. 4. The Oligocene to the Quaternary : climate and biology --
4.1. The Oligocene (33.9-23.03 mya) --
4.2. The end Miocene (9-5.3 mya) --
4.3. The Pliocene (5.3-1.8 mya) --
4.4. The current ice age --
4.5. The last glacial --
4.5.1. Overview of temperature, carbon dioxide and timing --
4.5.2. Ice and sea level --
4.5.3. Temperature changes within the glacial --
4.5.4. Biological and environmental impacts of the last glacial --
4.6. Interglacials and the present climate --
4.6.1. Previous interglacials --
4.6.2. The Allerød, Bølling and Younger Dryas (14 600-11 600 years ago) --
4.6.3. The Holocene (11 500 years ago, the Industrial Revolution) --
4.6.4. Biological response to the last glacial, LGM and Holocene transition --
4.7. Summary --
4.8. References. 5. Present climate and biological change --
5.1. Recent climate change --
5.1.1. The latter half of the Little Ice Age --
5.1.2. Twentieth-century climate --
5.1.3. Twenty-first-century climate --
5.1.4. The Holocene interglacial beyond the twenty-first century --
5.1.5. Holocene summary --
5.2. Human change arising from the Holocene climate --
5.2.1. Climatic impacts on early human civilisations --
5.2.2. The Little Ice Age's human impact --
5.2.3. Increasing twentieth-century human climatic insulation --
5.3. Climate and business as usual in the twenty-first century --
5.3.1. IPCC business as usual --
5.3.2. Uncertainties and the IPCC's conclusions --
5.4. Current human influences on the carbon cycle --
5.4.1. Carbon dioxide --
5.4.2. Methane --
5.4.3. Halocarbons --
5.4.4. Nitrous oxide --
5.5. References. 6. Current warming and likely future impacts --
6.1. Current biological symptoms of warming --
6.1.1. Current boreal dendrochronological response --
6.1.2. Current tropical-rainforest response --
6.1.3. Some biological dimensions of the climatic-change fingerprint --
6.1.4. Phenology --
6.1.5. Biological communities and species shift --
6.2. Case study : climate and natural systems in the USA --
6.3. Case study : climate and natural systems in the UK --
6.4. Biological response to greenhouse trends beyond the twenty-first century --
6.5. Possible surprise responses to greenhouse trends in the twenty-first century and beyond --
6.5.1. Extreme weather events --
6.5.2. Greenhouse gases --
6.5.3. Sea-level rise --
6.5.4. Methane hydrates (methane clathrates) --
6.5.5. Volcanoes --
6.5.6. Oceanic and atmospheric circulation --
6.5.7. Ocean acidity --
6.5.8. The probability of surprises --
6.6. References. 7. The human ecology of climate change --
7.1. Population (past, present and future) and its environmental impact --
7.1.1. Population and environmental impact --
7.1.2. Past and present population --
7.1.3. Future population --
7.1.4. Food --
7.1.5. Impact on other species --
7.2. Energy supply --
7.2.1. Energy supply, the historical context --
7.2.2. Future energy supply --
7.3. Human health and climate change --
7.3.1. Health and weather extremes --
7.3.2. Climate change and disease --
7.3.3. Flooding and health --
7.3.4. Droughts --
7.4. Climate change and food security --
7.4.1. Past and present food security --
7.4.2. Future food security and climate change --
7.5. The biology of reducing anthropogenic climate change --
7.5.1. Terrestrial photosynthesis and soil carbon --
7.5.2. Manipulating marine photosynthesis --
7.5.3. Biofuels --
7.6. Summary and conclusions --
7.7. References. 8. Sustainability and policy --
8.1. Key developments of sustainability policy --
8.1.1. UN Conference on the Human Environment (1972) --
8.1.2. The Club of Rome's Limits to Growth (1972) --
8.1.3. World Climate Conference (1979) --
8.1.4. The World Conservation Strategy (1980) --
8.1.5. The Brandt Report, Common Crisis North-South (1980) --
8.1.6. The Brundtland, World Commission on Environment and Development Report (1987) --
8.1.7. United Nations' Conference on the Environment and Development, Rio de Janeiro (1992) --
8.1.8. The Kyoto Protocol (1997) --
8.1.9. Johannesburg Summit, UNCED+10 (2002) --
8.1.10. Post 2002 --
8.2. Energy sustainability and carbon (global) --
8.2.1. Prospects for savings from changes in land use --
8.2.2. Prospects for savings from improvements in energy efficiency --
8.2.3. Prospects for fossil-carbon savings from renewable energy --
8.2.4. Prospects for carbon-capture technology --
8.2.5. Prospects for nuclear options --
8.2.6. Overall prospects for fossil-carbon savings to 2025. 8.3. Energy policy and carbon --
8.3.1. Case history : USA --
8.3.2. Case history : UK --
8.3.3. Case history : China and India --
8.4. Possible future energy options --
8.4.1. Managing fossil-carbon emissions, the scale of the problem --
8.4.2. Fossil futures --
8.4.3. Nuclear futures --
8.4.4. Renewable futures --
8.4.5. Low-energy futures --
8.4.6. Possible future energy options and greenhouse gases --
8.5. Future human and biological change --
8.5.1. The ease and difficulty of adapting to future impacts --
8.5.2. Future climate change and human health --
8.5.3. Future climate and human-ecology implications for wildlife --
8.5.4. Reducing future anthropogenic greenhouse-gas emissions --
8.5.5. A final conclusion --
8.6. References --
Appendix 1 : Glossary and abbreviations --
Glossary --
Abbreviations --
Appendix 2 : Bio-geological chronology --
Appendix 3 : Calculations of energy demand/supply and orders of magnitude --
Calculations of energy demand/supply --
Orders of magnitude --
Sources --
Appendix 4 : The IPCC 2007 report --
Index.

This textbook provides a broad review of past, present and likely future climate change from the viewpoints of biology, ecology and human ecology.

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