Climatic Change and Human Society
In: Routledge Revivals Ser.
Cover -- Half Title -- Title Page -- Copyright Page -- Original Title Page -- Original Copyright Page -- Table of Contents -- Acknowledgements -- Dedication -- Introduction -- Chapter 1: Reconstructing past climates -- Instrumental records -- Historical and archaeological data -- Environmental indicators -- Chapter 2: Climatic change in the Quaternary era -- The glacial/interglacial sequence -- The Younger Dryas event -- The Holocene optimum -- The medieval optimum and the Little Ice Age -- Twentieth-century warming -- Variability within the present climate system -- Chapter 3: The greenhouse effect and greenhouse gases -- The greenhouse effect -- Carbon dioxide -- Methane -- Nitrous oxide -- Chlorofluorocarbons -- Ozone -- Feedback mechanisms and the greenhouse effect -- Chapter 4: Predicting future climates -- Analogues from past climates -- General circulation models -- Validating GCMs -- Time-dependent models -- Greenhouse gas emission scenarios -- GCM scenarios for future climate -- Climatic variability -- Detecting the signal through the noise -- Chapter 5: The impact of global warming: sea level rise -- Measuring sea level -- The impacts of sea level rise -- Impacts on delta areas -- Impacts in tropical and subtropical areas -- The Antarctic ice sheets -- Responding to sea level rise -- Chapter 6: The impact of global warming on natural ecosystems and agriculture -- Carbon dioxide and plant growth -- Impact on ecosystems -- Tropical rain forests and climatic change -- Hydrological impacts -- Impact on agriculture -- World food supply -- Chapter 7: Responding to global warming -- The political framework -- Reducing greenhouse gas emissions -- Conclusion -- Bibliography -- Glossary -- References -- Index.