Climate Modes of the Phanerozoic

by Lawrence A. Frakes, Jane E. Francis, Jozef I. Syktus

Overview

This book views the Earth's climate as a global system, by describing the evolution of climate throughout the past 600 million years, from the Cambrian to the Quaternary. Palaeoclimates are examined in terms of Cold and Warm modes—phases during which the Earth's climates were either relatively cool with ice forming in high latitudes or when high levels of CO2 led to "greenhouse" warmings and temperate floras and faunas inhabited polar regions. Evidence for climate changes, such as biological indicators, geochemical parameters, and the presence of ice, are compared between these modes. These studies have highlighted the crucial role of tectonics and continental distribution in governing ocean circulation, the distribution of sea ice, sea level changes and global temperature distribution. Orbital forcing and the carbon cycle are also shown as important influences, particularly on short term climatic variations.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780521021944
Publisher:	Cambridge University Press
Publication date:	11/03/2005
Edition description:	New Edition
Pages:	288
Product dimensions:	6.69(w) x 9.61(h) x 0.63(d)

Table of Contents

Preface; Introduction; 1. The early Cambrian to late Ordovician warm mode; 2. The late Ordovician to early Silurian cool mode; 3. The late Silurian to early Carboniferous warm mode; 4. The early Carboniferous to late Permian cool mode; 5. The late Permian to middle Jurassic warm mode; 6. The middle Jurassic to early Cretaceous cool mode; 7. The late Cretaceous to early Tertiary warm mode; 8. The Cenozoic cool mode: early Eocene - late Miocene; 9. The Cenozoic cool mode: late Miocene - Holocene; 10. Causes and chronology of climate change; Bibliography; Index.

Editorial Reviews

"I recommend the book highly...." Leonard T. Boyer, Paleontological Notes

"...not only summarizes and organizes the work of most other workers in the field, but also presents, in context, some still controversial conclusions of the authors....should be of general interest to all geology graduate students and professionals, and is also suitable as a reference for advanced undergraduate students in historical geology and stratigraphy or as a course text in paleoclimatology." C.W. Dimmick, Choice

"...the most definitive reference so far on the interpretation of the climatic evolution of Earth as a series of alternating warm and cold modes." Eric J. Barron, Nature

"...very knowledgeable and readable. It should be of interest to all geologists delving into the past records of the planet and climatologists and oceanographers interested in global climate cycles." Paul Aharon, Geochimica et Cosmochimica Acta

From the Publisher