Earth's Climate Evolution

Colin Summerhayes is an Emeritus Associate of the Scott Polar Research Institute of Cambridge University. He has carried out research on past climate change in both academia and industry: at Imperial College London; the University of Cape Town; the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution; the UK’s Institute of Oceanographic Sciences Deacon Laboratory; the UK’s Southampton (now National) Oceanography Centre; the Exxon Production Research Company; and the BP Research Company. He has managed research programmes on climate change for the UK’s Natural Environment Research Council, the Intergovernmental Oceanographic Commission of UNESCO, and the Scientific Committee on Antarctic Research of the International Council for Science. He has co-edited several books relating to aspects of past or modern climate, including North Atlantic Palaeoceanography (1986), Upwelling Systems: Evolution Since the Early Miocene (1992), Upwelling in the Oceans (1995), Oceanography: An Illustrated Guide (1996), Understanding the Oceans (2001), Oceans 2020: Science, Trends and the Challenge of Sustainability (2002), Antarctic Climate Change and the Environment (2009), and Understanding Earth’s Polar Challenges: International Polar Year 2007-2008 (2011).

• Author Biography xiForeword xiiiAcknowledgements xv1 Introduction 1References 72 The Great Cooling 82.1 The Founding Fathers 82.2 Charles Lyell, ‘Father of Palaeoclimatology’ 122.3 Agassiz Discovers the Ice Age 172.4 Lyell Defends Icebergs 20References 253 Ice Age Cycles 283.1 The Astronomical Theory of Climate Change 283.2 James Croll Develops the Theory 293.3 Lyell Responds 323.4 Croll Defends his Position 333.5 Even More Ancient Ice Ages 343.6 Not Everyone Agrees 34References 354 Trace Gases Warm the Planet 374.1 De Saussure’s Hot Box 374.2 William Herschel’s Accidental Discovery 374.3 Discovering Carbon Dioxide 384.4 Fourier, the ‘Newton of Heat’, Discovers the ‘Greenhouse Effect’ 394.5 Tyndall Shows How the ‘Greenhouse Effect’ Works 404.6 Arrhenius Calculates How CO2 Affects Air Temperature 434.7 Chamberlin’s Theory of Gases and Ice Ages 45References 495 Moving Continents and Dating Rocks 515.1 The Continents Drift 515.2 The Seafloor Spreads 565.3 The Dating Game 615.4 Base Maps for Palaeoclimatology 625.5 The Evolution of the Modern World 65References 686 Mapping Past Climates 716.1 Climate Indicators 716.2 Palaeoclimatologists Get to Work 726.3 Palaeomagneticians Enter the Field 756.4 Oxygen Isotopes to the Rescue 776.5 Cycles and Astronomy 786.6 Pangaean Palaeoclimates (Carboniferous, Permian, Triassic) 816.7 Post-Break-Up Palaeoclimates (Jurassic, Cretaceous) 876.8 Numerical Models Make their Appearance 946.9 From Wegener to Barron 98References 997 Into the Icehouse 1057.1 Climate Clues from the Deep Ocean 1057.2 Palaeoceanography 1067.3 The World’s Freezer 1117.4 The Drill Bit Turns 1147.5 Global Cooling 1197.6 Arctic Glaciation 125References 1278 The Greenhouse Gas Theory Matures 1328.1 CO2 in the Atmosphere and Ocean (1930–1955) 1328.2 CO2 in the Atmosphere and Ocean (1955–1979) 1338.3 CO2 in the Atmosphere and Ocean (1979–1983) 1418.4 Biogeochemistry: The Merging of Physics and Biology 1448.5 The Carbon Cycle 1458.6 Oceanic Carbon 1478.7 Measuring CO2 in the Oceans 1488.8 A Growing International Emphasis 1498.9 Reflection on Developments 150References 1529 Measuring and Modelling CO2 Back through Time 1569.1 CO2: The Palaeoclimate Perspective 1569.2 Fossil CO2 1579.3 Measuring CO2 Back through Time 1599.4 Modelling CO2 and Climate 1659.5 The Critics Gather 168References 17610 The Pulse of the Earth 18110.1 Climate Cycles and Tectonic Forces 18110.2 Ocean Chemistry 18810.3 Black Shales 19010.4 Sea Level 19310.5 Biogeochemical Cycles, Gaia and Cybertectonic Earth 19410.6 Meteorite Impacts 19610.7 Massive Volcanic Eruptions 199References 20311 Numerical Climate Models and Case Histories 20711.1 CO2 and General Circulation Models 20711.2 CO2 and Climate in the Early Cenozoic 21111.3 The First Great Ice Sheet 21511.4 Hyperthermal Events 21811.5 Case History: The Palaeocene–Eocene Boundary 21911.6 CO2 and Climate in the Late Cenozoic 22211.7 Case History: The Pliocene 226References 23412 Solving the Ice Age Mystery: The Deep-Ocean Solution 24012.1 Astronomical Drivers 24012.2 An Ice Age Climate Signal Emerges from the Deep Ocean 24212.3 The Ice Age CO2 Signal Hidden on the Deep-Sea Floor 24812.4 Flip-Flops in the Conveyor 24912.5 A Surprise Millennial Signal Emerges 25112.6 Ice Age Productivity 25312.7 Observations on Deglaciation and Past Interglacials 25412.8 Sea Level 256References 25913 Solving the Ice Age Mystery: The Ice Core Tale 26413.1 The Great Ice Sheets 26413.2 The Greenland Story 26413.3 Antarctic Ice 26613.4 Seesaws 27013.5 CO2 in the Ice Age Atmosphere 27313.6 The Ultimate Climate Flicker: The Younger Dryas Event 27913.7 Problems in the Milankovitch Garden 28013.8 The Mechanics of Change 282References 29614 The Holocene Interglacial 30214.1 Holocene Climate Change 30214.2 The Role of Greenhouse Gases: Carbon Dioxide and Methane 31114.3 Climate Variability 315References 32015 Medieval Warming, the Little Ice Age and the Sun 32415.1 Solar Activity and Cosmic Rays 32415.2 Solar Cycles in the Geological Record 32715.3 The Medieval Warm Period and the Little Ice Age 33015.4 The End of the Little Ice Age 34015.5 The Hockey Stick Controversy 34715.6 Sea Level 353References 35816 Putting It All Together 36516.1 A Fast-Evolving Subject 36516.2 Natural Envelopes of Climate Change 36616.3 Evolving Knowledge 36716.4 Where is Climate Headed? 37316.5 Some Final Remarks 37516.6 What Can Be Done? 377References 379Appendix A: Further Reading 381Appendix B: List of Figure Sources and Attributions 383Index 389

"What makes this book particularly distinctive is how well it builds in the narrative of change in ideas over time." (Holocene book reviews, May 2016) "This is a fascinating book and the author's biographical approach gives it great human appeal." (E Adlard 2016) "I would recommend this book to all those with an interest in the climate (which should be all of us)" - Edward R. Adlard, Chromatographia 2016 "This is a marvelous book: the best serious, all-round, indepth book on palaeoclimate I have encountered. If you have space on your bookshelf for just one properly substantial volume on this huge and manyfaceted topic - well, look no further. This is it." Jan Zalasiewicz, Geoscientist Online, 2018