Climate Change
Observed impacts on Planet Earth

This book presents a true scientific picture of Earth's changing climate. It's a necessity for everyone who is interested in the causes of and evidence for climate change.

Trevor Letcher (Edited by)

9780444533012, Elsevier Science

Hardback, published 8 May 2009

492 pages
22.9 x 15.1 x 3 cm, 0.94 kg

CHOICE, December 2009: "This book encompasses 25 chapters written by 30 international experts on climate change . . . The chapter treatments are concise and authoritative . . . The book is well constructed and includes 30 high-quality color plates illustrating striking climate phenomena; references are provided at the end of each chapter. This work is complemented by Letcher's Future Energy (2008). Summing Up: Highly recommended. Upper-division undergraduate through professional collections." --F. T. Manheim, George Mason University

The climate of the Earth is always changing.  As the debate over the implications of changes in the Earth's climate has grown, the term climate change has come to refer primarily to changes we've seen over recent years and those which are predicted to be coming, mainly as a result of human behavior. This book serves as a broad, accessible guide to the science behind this often political and heated debate by providing scientific detail and evidence in language that is clear to both the non-specialist and the serious student.

Table of Contents

Foreword, Preface, List of Contributors


PART I. POSSIBLE CAUSES OF CLIMATE CHANGE

1. The Role of Atmospheric Gases in Global Warming
2. The Role of Widespread Surface Solar Radiation Trends in Climate Change: Dimming and Brightening
3. The Role of Space Weather and Cosmic Ray Effects in Climate Change
4. The Role of Volcanic Activity in Climate and Global Change
5. The Role of Variations of the Earth’s Orbital Characteristics in Climate Change

PART II. A GEOLOGICAL HISTORY OF CLIMATE CHANGE

6. A Geological History of Climate Change

PART III. INDICATORS OF CLIMATE AND GLOBAL CHANGE

7. Changes in the Circulation of the Atmosphere as Indicators of Climate Change
8. Weather Pattern Changes in the Tropics and Mid-Latitudes as an Indicator of Global Change
9. Bird Ecology as an Indicator of Climate and Global Change
10. Mammal Ecology as an Indicator of Climate Change
11. Climate Change and Temporal and Spatial Mismatches in Insect Communities
12. Sea Life (Pelagic and Planktonic Ecosystems) as an Indicator of Climate and Global Change
13. Changes in Coral Reef Ecosystems as an Indicator of Climate and Global Change
14. Changes in Marine Biodiversity as an Indicator of Climate Change
15. Inter-tidal Indicators of Climate and Global Change
16. Plant Ecology as an Indicator of Climate and Global Change
17. The Impact of Climate and Global Change on Crop Production
18. Rising Sea Level as an Indicator of Global Change
19. Sea Temperature Change as an Indicator of Global Change
20. Ocean Current Changes as an Indicator of Global Change
21. Ocean Acidification as an Indicator of Global Change
22. Ice Sheets: Instruments and Indicators of Global Change
23. Lichens as an Indicator of Climate and Global Change
24. Coastline Degradation as an Indicator of Global Change
25. Plant Pathogens as Indicators of Climate Change

Subject Areas: Climate change [RNPG], Geography [RG], Atmospheric physics [PHVJ]