Reconstructing Ocean History

This volume is one outcome of the 6th International Conference on Paleoceano graphy (ICP VI). The conference was held August 23-28, 1998 in Lisbon, Portugal. The meeting followed the traditional format of a small number of invited oral presentations complemented by a large number ofcontributed posters. Over 550 participants attended, representing thirty countries and nearly 450 posters were presented. The invited speakers addressed the main themes of the 5oral sessions. The session topics were: Polar-Tropical and Interhemisphere Linkages; Does the Ocean Cause, or Respond to, Abrupt Climatic Changes?; Biotic Responses to Major Paleoceanographic Changes; Past Warm Climates; and Innovations In Monitoring Ocean History. This is the first time in ICP history that the Conference Proceedings are published. The aim of the organisers with the publication of this book is two-fold: to provide a useful review of the field and to document the ideas/controversies raised during the con ference that may stimulate future work. The book reflects the initial intentions of the conference, but it is not a conven tional conference proceedings, given that the papers have been reviewed by formal exter nal referees. Each of the conference topics is introduced by a review article designed to summarize the state of the art in each theme followed by articles prepared by the invited speakers. As with most conference proceedings, each theme is covered heterogenously. Some topics have all the expected contributions, others are less well covered.

The context for understanding global climate change today lies in the records of Earth’s past. This is demonstrated by decades of paleoclimate research by scientists in organizations such as the Integrated Ocean Drilling Program (IODP), the Antarctic Geological Drilling Program (ANDRILL), and many others. The purpose of this full colour textbook is to put key data and published case studies of past climate change at your fingertips, so that you can experience the nature of paleoclimate reconstruction. Using foundational geologic concepts, students explore a wide variety of topics, including: marine sediments, age determination, stable isotope paleoclimate proxies, Cenozoic climate change, climate cycles, polar climates, and abrupt warming and cooling events, students are invited to evaluate published scientific data, practice developing and testing hypotheses, and infer the broader implications of scientific results. It is our philosophy that addressing how we know is as important as addressing what we know about past climate change. Making climate change science accessible is the goal of this book. This book is intended for earth science students at a variety of levels studying paleoclimatology, oceanography, Quaternary science, or earth-system science. Additional resources for this book can be found at: http://www.wiley.com/go/stjohn/climatehistory.

This Proceedings volume contains selected papers from two symposia which were held during the 29th International Geological Congress, Kyoto, Japan, 24 August--3 September, 1992. The first symposium --- ''Reconstruction of the Paleo-Asian Ocean'' --- contains 11 papers from a group of scientists working together in an international project of the same name. The goal of the project is to collect and evaluate petrologic and tectonic data within specific terranes so as to understand the geodynamic processes leading to the amalgamation of Asia. These papers represent vital geological discussions for interpreting the geodynamic maps being produced by the project. From the second symposium of this volume --- ''Quaternary Environmental Change'' --- 14 papers were selected. The wide range of topics can be divided as follows: Deep sea core analysis; Coral reef and nearshore environment; Paleoenvironmental analysis; Tephras, Loess and Pedology; River morphology and others.

Paleoceanographic proxies provide infonnation for reconstructions of the past, including climate changes, global and regional oceanography, and the cycles of biochemical components in the ocean. These prox ies are measurable descriptors for desired but unobservable environmental variables such as tempera ture, salinity, primary productivity, nutrient content, or surface-water carbon dioxide concentrations. The proxies are employed in a manner analogous to oceanographic methods. The water masses are first characterized according to their specific physical and chemical properties, and then related to particular assemblages of certain organisms or to particular element or isotope distributions. We have a long-standing series of proven proxies available. Marine microfossil assemblages, for instance, are employed to reconstruct surface-water temperatures. The calcareous shells of planktonic and benthic microorgan isms contain a wealth of paleoceanographic information in their isotopic and elemental compositions. Stable oxygen isotope measurements are used to detennine ice volume, and MglCa ratios are related to water temperatures, to cite a few examples. Organic material may also provide valuable infonnation, e. g. , about past productivity conditions. Studying the stable carbon isotope composition of bulk organic matter or individual marine organic components may provide a measure of past surface-water CO 2 conditions within the bounds of certain assumptions. Within the scope of paleoceanographic investigations, the existing proxies are continuously evolving and improving, while new proxies are being studied and developed. The methodology is improved by analysis of samples from the water column and surface sediments, and through laboratory experiments.

No books are available on the market describing recent carbonate mounds along the European continental margins and deciphering step by step their internal structure. The first results of IODP Expedition 307 "Modern Carbonate Mounds: Porcupine Drilling" are published in Ferdelman, T.G., Kano, A., Williams, T., Henriet, J.-P., and the Expedition 307 Scientists, 2006. Proc. IODP, 307: Washington, DC (Integrated Ocean Drilling Program Management International, Inc.). doi:10.2204/iodp.proc.307.2006. However, these proceedings do not give an overview of the existing knowledge on carbonate mounds and do not include detailed post-cruise analysis and advanced interpretations.

This textbook deals with the most important items in Marine Geology, including some pioneer work. The list of topics has grown greatly in the last few decades beyond the items identified by Eugen Seibold as central and now includes prominently such things as methane and climate change; that is, the carbon cycle and the Earth system as a whole. Relevant geophysical, geochemical, sedimentological and paleontological methods are shortly described. They should allow the reader to comment on new results about plate tectonics, marine sedimentation from the coasts to the deep sea, climatological aspects, paleoceanology and the use of the sea floor. The text tries to transmit to the reader excitement of marine geological research both aboard and in modern laboratories. Basic mineralogical, geochemical, biological and other relevant data and a detailed list of books and symposia are given in an Appendix. This Introduction builds on the third edition of “The Sea Floor” by E. Seibold and W.H. Berger. While much of the original text was written by Seibold, a considerable portion of the material presented in this edition is new, taking into account the recent great shift in marine geological research, some of it with great relevance to human concerns arising in a rapidly changing world.