Dendroclimatic Studies

A top priority in climate research is obtaining broad-extent and long-term data to support analyses of historical patterns and trends, and for model development and evaluation. Along with directly measured climate data from the present and recent past, it is important to obtain estimates of long past climate variations spanning multiple centuries and millennia. Dendroclimatic Studies at the North American Tree Line presents an overview of the current state of dendroclimatology, its contributions over the past few decades, and its future potential. The material included is not useful not only to those who generate tree-ring records of past climate-dendroclimatologists, but also to users of their results-climatologists, hydrologists, ecologists and archeologists. In summary, this book: Sheds light on recent and future climate trends by assessing long term past climatic variations from tree rings Is a timely coverage of a crucial topic in climate science portraying recent warming trends which are of serious concern today Features well-reputed scientists highlighting new advanced methodologies to reconstruct past climate change Models the tree growth environmental response

A top priority in climate research is obtaining broad-extent and long-term data to support analyses of historical patterns and trends, and for model development and evaluation. Along with directly measured climate data from the present and recent past, it is important to obtain estimates of long past climate variations spanning multiple centuries and millennia. These longer time perspectives are needed for assessing the unusualness of recent climate changes, as well as for providing insight on the range, variation and overall dynamics of the climate system over time spans exceeding available records from instruments, such as rain gauges and thermometers. Tree rings have become increasingly valuable in providing this long-term information because extensive data networks have been developed in temperate and boreal zones of the Earth, and quantitative methods for analyzing these data have advanced. Tree rings are among the most useful paleoclimate information sources available because they provide a high degree of chronological accuracy, high replication, and extensive spatial coverage spanning recent centuries. With the expansion and extension of tree-ring data and analytical capacity new climatic insights from tree rings are being used in a variety of applications, including for interpretation of past changes in ecosystems and human societies. This volume presents an overview of the current state of dendroclimatology, its contributions over the last 30 years, and its future potential. The material included is useful not only to those who generate tree-ring records of past climate-dendroclimatologists, but also to users of their results-climatologists, hydrologists, ecologists and archeologists. ‘With the pressing climatic questions of the 21st century demanding a deeper understanding of the climate system and our impact upon it, this thoughtful volume comes at critical moment. It will be of fundamental importance in not only guiding researchers, but in educating scientists and the interested lay person on the both incredible power and potential pitfalls of reconstructing climate using tree-ring analysis.’, Glen M. MacDonald, UCLA Institute of the Environment, CA, USA ‘This is an up-to-date treatment of all branches of tree-ring science, by the world’s experts in the field, reminding us that tree rings are the most important source of proxy data on climate change. Should be read by all budding dendrochronology scientists.’, Alan Robock, Rutgers University, NJ, USA

In response to a request from Congress, Surface Temperature Reconstructions for the Last 2,000 Years assesses the state of scientific efforts to reconstruct surface temperature records for Earth during approximately the last 2,000 years and the implications of these efforts for our understanding of global climate change. Because widespread, reliable temperature records are available only for the last 150 years, scientists estimate temperatures in the more distant past by analyzing "proxy evidence," which includes tree rings, corals, ocean and lake sediments, cave deposits, ice cores, boreholes, and glaciers. Starting in the late 1990s, scientists began using sophisticated methods to combine proxy evidence from many different locations in an effort to estimate surface temperature changes during the last few hundred to few thousand years. This book is an important resource in helping to understand the intricacies of global climate change.

Regional Climate of China is the first volume to present the latest research findings gained over the last decade which has greatly advanced our knowledge of the regional climate researches in China. A distinctive feature of the volume is that it is based on an integration of researches by using the advanced technologies, such as field observation and experiment, satellite information and numerical models in the regional climate studies.

Volume 19 in this prestigious series is the second under the new editorial team and benefits once again from their own special interests. The scope of this volume is wide, spanning aspects of plant/insect interactions and arthropod population dynamics to palaeobotany, the evolution of photosynthesis, and marine community ecology. Of particular topical interest is an article on the impact of rising levels of atmospheric carbon dioxide on tree physiology.

First Published in 2004. Climate Since A.D. 1500 presents a unique perspective on the 'Little Ice Age' and the climate of the twentieth century. Leading scientists explore historical documents, dendroclimatic data and ice core records from all over the world, presenting an invaluable compilation for all those concerned with past climate and the risks of man-made climatic change in the future. This revised edition includes a new chapter summarizing the wealth of literature on climatic change over the past few years and a new and expanded index.