Climate: Present, Past and Future: Volume 2: Climatic History and the Future

879 Pages·2011·25.574 MB·English

by  H. H. Lamb

Routledge Revivals
Climate: Present, Past and Future
First published in 1977, the second volume of Climate: Present, Past and Future covers
parts III and IV of Hubert Lamb’s seminal and pioneering study of climatology.
Part III provides a survey of evidence of types of climates over the last million years,
and of methods of dating that evidence. Through the earlier stages of the Earth’s
development the book traces what is known of the various geographies presented by
the drifting continents and indicates what can be learnt about climatic regimes and the
causes of climatic change. From the last ice age to the present our knowledge of the
succession of climates is summarized, indicating prevailing temperatures, rainfalls,
wind and ocean current patterns where possible.
Part IV considers events during the fifteen years prior to the book’s initial publication,
leading on to the problems of estimating the most probable future course of climatic
development, and the influence of Man’s activities on climate.
Alongside the reissue of volume 1, this Routledge Revival will be essential reading for
anyone interested in both the causes and workings of climate and in the history of
climatology itself.
Climate:
Present, Past and Future
Volume 2
Climatic History and the Future
H. H. Lamb
Firstpublishedin1977
byMethuen&Co.Ltd
Thiseditionfirstpublishedin2011byRoutledge
2ParkSquare,MiltonPark,Abingdon,Oxon,OX144RN
SimultaneouslypublishedintheUSAandCanada
byRoutledge
711ThirdAvenue,NewYork,NY10017
RoutledgeisanimprintoftheTaylor&FrancisGroup,aninformabusiness
©1977H.H.Lamb
Allrightsreserved.Nopartofthisbookmaybereprintedorreproducedorutilisedinanyformorby
anyelectronic,mechanical,orothermeans,nowknownorhereafterinvented,includingphotocopying
andrecording,orinanyinformationstorageorretrievalsystem,withoutpermissioninwritingfrom
thepublishers.
Publisher’sNote
Thepublisherhasgonetogreatlengthstoensurethequalityofthisreprintbutpointsoutthatsome
imperfectionsintheoriginalcopiesmaybeapparent.
Disclaimer
The publisher has made every effort to trace copyright holders and welcomes correspondence from
thosetheyhavebeenunabletocontact.
ALibraryofCongressrecordexistsunderLCControlNumber:77008305
ISBN13:978-0-415-67959-6(set)
ISBN13:978-0-415-67951-0(hbk)
ISBN13:978-0-203-80430-8(ebk)
CLIMATE
PRESENT, PAST AND FUTURE
CLIMATE
PRESENT, PAST AND FUTURE
Volume
2
Climatic history and the future
H. H. LAMB
METHUEN & CO LTD LONDON
BARNES & NOBLE BOOKS NEW YORK
First published in 1977
by Methuen & Co Ltd,
II New Fetter Lane, London Ec4
(01977 H. H. Lamb
Printed in Great Britain by
William Clowes & Sons Ltd,
Becc/es, Suffolk
ISBN 0 416 11540 3
Library of Congress Cataloging in Publication Data
Lamb, H. H.
Climatic history and the future.
(His Climate; v. 2)
Bibliography: p.
Includes indexes.
I. Paleoclimatology. 2. Climatology. 3. Weather
forecasting. I. Title.
QC981.L28 vol. 2 551.6s [551.6] 77-8305
ISBN 0-06-473881-7
Contents
Tables
Vll
Figures
x
Plates
XXI
Acknowledgements
XXlll
Preface
XXVll
Introduction to Parts III and IV
12 Man's awareness of climatic changes 1818
Part III Climatic history
13 Evidence of past weather and climate 2 I
13.1 Evidence from meteorology and parameteorological
phenomena 22
13.2 Dating methods 48
Contents
VI
13.3 Field evidence of past climates interpreted by
physical science 89
13.4 Field evidence of past climates derived from the
biological sciences I7I
13.5 Evidence from human history and archaeology 243
Climate and the long history of the Earth 280
14
IS The Quaternary ice ages and interglacial periods 308
16 Postglacial times 363
I7 Climate in historical times 423
18 Climate since instrument records began 474
Appendix to Part III
V Supplementary tables and figures 551
Part IV The future
19 Man-made climatic changes 655
20 Approaches to the problem of forecasting 678
Appendix to Part IV
VI Scientifically based climate forecasts known
to have been issued 699
References 715
Subject index 803
Geographical index 826
Tables
Part III
13.1 Main sea level stands during the Quaternary 115
13.2 Sea level changes in the Pacific Ocean 119
13·3 Sea floods which caused losses of land and/or cost many human
lives 120
13-4 (a) Numbers of severe sea floods reported each century
(b) Total numbers of sea floods around the coasts of the North
Sea listed per century 127
13·5 Years marking the phases of the fluctuating levels of the steppe
lakes between the Urals and the Ob 137
13.6 River floods (excluding snow-melt floods) and droughts in Europe
by centuries 144
13·7 Percentages of glaciers in the Italian Alps observed retreating in
different years 152
13.8 Changes in position of the snouts of the glaciers in the Italian
Alps 153
13·9 Correlations between annual mass balances of different glaciers 155
13.10 Apparent climatic limits of the ranges of vegetation species living
today '78