Paleoclimate, Global Change, and the Future

Abstract

Paleoclimate, Global Change, and the Future defines a new discipline that we might call, for lack of a better term,“paleo‐environmentology.” Borrowing from the mantra of the more restricted field of paleoclimatology this volume embraces the viewpoint that documenting past environmental changes is the key to understanding present and future potential changes. The book is a collection of chapters organized into a volume under the auspices of the Past Global Changes (PAGES) project of the International Geosphere Biosphere Program (IGBP), which is charged with investigating the Earth's past climate and environment. The volume documents the various ways in which both empirical paleoenvironmental information and modeling approaches can provide a perspective on modern changes taking place in our environment—in the dynamics and chemistry of the ocean, atmosphere, biosphere, and climate.