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Pre-Pleistocene Climates: Data and Models

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Book cover Climate and Geo-Sciences

Part of the book series: NATO ASI Series ((ASIC,volume 285))

Abstract

Six major problems in paleoclimatology are utilized to illustrate how critical observations from the pre-Pleistocene are leading focused, interdisciplinary investigations which are guiding future research: (1) the faint early sun paradox, (2) the Proterozoic “ice house”, (3) Cretaceous warmth, (4) Eocene equator-to-pole temperature gradients, (5) gateways and the Oligocene to Miocene transition to glacial climates, and (6) Milankovitch sedimentary rhythms during non-glacial climates. The research in these areas have produced a variety of advances and have fostered new areas of research including (1) consideration of atmospheric chemistry as a major regulator of the Earth’s climate, (2) illustration of critical limits to Radiative Convective Models and General Circulation Models, (3) consideration of feedbacks between temperature, continental weathering, and CO2, (4) evaluation of the mechanisms of glaciation, (5) illustration of the importance of tropical temperature history, (6) illustration of the importance of climates in continental interiors, (7) consideration of the importance of the role of the oceans in heat transport, (8) consideration of the role of barriers and gateways to ocean circulation and (9) indication of the potential of sedimentary rhythms as opportunities to investigate climate sensitivity.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Earth System Science Center, Pennsylvania State University, 512 Deike Building, University Park, PA, 16802, USA

    Eric J. Barron

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  1. Eric J. Barron
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Editors and Affiliations

  1. Institut d’Astronomie et de Géophysique Georges Lemaître, Université Catholique de Louvain-la-Neuve, Belgium

    A. Berger

  2. National Center for Atmospheric Research, Boulder, Colorado, USA

    S. Schneider

  3. Centre des Faibles Radioactivités, Laboratoire Mixte CNRS-CEA, Gif-sur-Yvette, France

    J. Cl. Duplessy

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© 1989 Kluwer Academic Publishers

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Barron, E.J. (1989). Pre-Pleistocene Climates: Data and Models. In: Berger, A., Schneider, S., Duplessy, J.C. (eds) Climate and Geo-Sciences. NATO ASI Series, vol 285. Springer, Dordrecht. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-94-009-2446-8_1

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-94-009-2446-8_1

  • Publisher Name: Springer, Dordrecht

  • Print ISBN: 978-0-7923-0412-8

  • Online ISBN: 978-94-009-2446-8

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