NOTICE: The project that is the subject of this report was approved by the Governing Board of the National Research Council, whose members are drawn from the Councils of the National Academy of Sciences, the National Academy of Engineering, and the Institute of Medicine. The members of the committee responsible for this report were chosen for their special competences and with regard for appropriate balance.
This report has been reviewed by a group other than the authors according to procedures approved by a Report Review Committee consisting of members of the National Academy of Sciences, the National Academy of Engineering, and the Institute of Medicine.
The National Research Council was established by the National Academy of Sciences in 1916 to associate the broad community of science and technology with the Academy’s purposes of furthering knowledge and of advising the federal government. The Council operates in accordance with general policies determined by the Academy under the authority of its congressional charter of 1863, which establishes the Academy as a private, nonprofit, self-governing membership corporation. The Council has become the principal operating agency of both the National Academy of Sciences and the National Academy of Engineering in the conduct of their services to the government, the public, and the scientific and engineering communities, It is administered jointly by both Academies and the Institute of Medicine. The National Academy of Engineering and the Institute of Medicine were established in 1964 and 1970, respectively, under the charter of the National Academy of Sciences.
The Geophysics Study Committee is pleased to acknowledge the support of the National Science Foundation, the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency, the National Aeronautics and Space Administration, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, the U.S. Geological Survey, and the Department of Energy (Grant # DE-FG02–80ER10757) for the conduct of this study.
Library of Congress Cataloging in Publication Data
Main entry under title:
Climate in earth history.
(Studies in geophysics)
Papers presented at the American Geophysical Union meeting, held in Toronto, May 1980.
Includes bibliographies.
1. Paleoclimatology—Addresses, essays, lectures. 2. Historical geology—Addresses, essays, lectures. I. National Research Council (U.S.). Geophysical Study Committee. II. American Geophysical Union. Meeting (1980: Toronto, Ont.) III. Series.
QC884.C574 1982 551.69 82–18857
ISBN 0-309-03329-2
Available from
NATIONAL ACADEMY PRESS
2101 Constitution Avenue, N.W. Washington, D.C. 20418
Printed in the United States of America
Panel on Pre-Pleistocene Climates
WOLFGANG H.BERGER,
Scripps Institution of Oceanography,
Cochairman
JOHN C.CROWELL,
University of California, Santa Barbara,
Cochairman
MICHAEL A.ARTHUR,
University of South Carolina
WILLIAM A.BERGGREN,
Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution
ARTHUR J.BOUCOT,
Oregon State University
GARRETT W.BRASS,
University of Miami
DAVID L.CLARK,
University of Wisconsin
HANS P.EUGSTER,
The Johns Hopkins University
J.FERRER,
Exxon Production Research-European
ALFRED G.FISCHER,
Princeton University
W.LAWRENCE GATES,
Oregon State University
JANE GRAY,
University of Oregon
ANTHONY HALLAM,
The University of Birmingham, England
BILAL U.HAQ,
Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution
JON HARDENBOL,
Exxon Production Research Company
WILLIAM W.HAY,
Joint Oceanographic Institution
W.T.HOLSER,
University of Oregon
JOHN IMBRIE,
Brown University
L.D.KEIGWIN, JR.,
Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution
THEODORE C.MOORE, JR.,
Exxon Production Research Company
W.H.PETERSON,
University of Miami
NICKLAS G.PISIAS,
Oregon State University
JAMES B.POLLACK,
National Aeronautics and Space Administration
RICHARD Z.POORE,
U.S. Geological Survey, Reston
E.SALTZMAN,
University of Miami
SAMUEL M.SAVIN,
Case Western Reserve University
J.L.SLOAN II,
University of Miami
J.R.SOUTHAM,
University of Miami
HANS R.THIERSTEIN,
Scripps Institution of Oceanography
PETER R.VAIL,
Exxon Production Research Company
JAMES W.VALENTINE,
University of California, Santa Barbara
FRANKLYN B.VAN HOUTEN,
Princeton University
JACK A.WOLFE,
U.S. Geological Survey, Menlo Park
Geophysics Study Committee
CHARLES L.DRAKE,
Dartmouth College,
Chairman
LOUIS J.BATTAN,
University of Arizona,
Vice Chairman
JOHN D.BREDEHOEFT,
U.S. Geological Survey
ALLAN V.COX,
Stanford University
JOHN C.CROWELL,
University of California, Santa Barbara
HUGH ODISHAW,
University of Arizona
CHARLES B.OFFICER,
Dartmouth College
RAYMOND G.ROBLE,
National Center for Atmospheric Research
Liaison Representatives
BRUCE B.HANSHAW,
U.S. Geological Survey
GEORGE A.KOLSTAD,
Department of Energy
MURLI MANGHNANI,
National Science Foundation
NED OSTENSO,
National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration
WILLIAM RANEY,
National Aeronautics and Space Administration
CARL F.ROMNEY,
Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency
Staff
THOMAS M.USSELMAN
Geophysics Research Board
PHILIP H.ABELSON,
American Association for the Advancement of Science,
Chairman
CHARLES R.BENTLEY,
University of Wisconsin
JOHN D.BREDEHOEFT,
U.S. Geological Survey
A.G.W.CAMERON,
Harvard College Observatory
DORIS M.CURTIS,
Houston, Texas
JOHN C.CROWELL,
University of California, Santa Barbara
WILLIAM R.DICKINSON,
University of Arizona
CHARLES L.DRAKE,
Dartmouth College
JOHN V.EVANS,
Massachusetts Institute of Technology
WILLIAM A.FOWLER,
California Institute of Technology
KATE H.HADLEY,
Exxon Company
ARTHUR E.MAXWELL,
University of Texas at Austin
JOHN C.MAXWELL,
University of Texas at Austin
THOMAS V.McEVILLY,
University of California, Berkeley
V.RAMA MURTHY,
University of Minnesota
HUGH ODISHAW,
University of Arizona
RICHARD J.REED,
University of Washington
ALAN H.SHAPLEY,
National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration
EUGENE M.SHOEMAKER,
U.S. Geological Survey
JOHN H.STEELE,
Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution
MURRAY STRASBERG,
U.S. Navy
VERNER E.SUOMI,
University of Wisconsin
EINAR A.TANDBERG-HANSSEN,
National Aeronautics and Space Administration
BYRON D.TAPLEY,
University of Texas at Austin
CHARLES A.WHITTEN,
Silver Spring, Maryland
Ex Officio
LOUIS J.BATTAN,
University of Arizona
OWEN GINGERICH,
Smithsonian/Harvard Center for Astrophysics
C.GORDON LITTLE,
National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration
ARTHUR L.SCHAWLOW,
Stanford University
Staff
PEMBROKE J.HART
Commission on Physical Sciences, Mathematics, and Resources
HERBERT FRIEDMAN,
National Research Council,
Cochairman
ROBERT M.WHITE,
University Corporation for Atmospheric Research,
Cochairman
STANLEY I.AUERBACH,
Oak Ridge National Laboratory
ELKAN R.BLOUT,
Harvard Medical School
WILLIAM BROWDER,
Princeton University
BERNARD F.BURKE,
Massachusetts Institute of Technology
HERMAN CHERNOFF,
Massachusetts Institute of Technology
WALTER R.ECKELMANN,
Exxon Corporation
JOSEPH L.FISHER,
Office of the Governor, Commonwealth of Virginia
JAMES C.FLETCHER,
University of Pittsburgh
WILLIAM A.FOWLER,
California Institute of Technology
GERHART FRIEDLANDER,
Brookhaven National Laboratory
EDWARD A.FRIEMAN,
Science Applications, Inc.
EDWARD D.GOLDBERG,
Scripps Institution of Oceanography
KONRAD B.KRAUSKOPF,
Stanford University
CHARLES J.MANKIN,
Oklahoma Geological Survey
WALTER H. MUNK,
University of California, San Diego
NORTON NELSON,
New York University Medical Center
DANIEL A.OKUN,
University of North Carolina
GEORGE E.PAKE,
Xerox Research Center
DAVID PIMENTEL,
Cornell University
CHARLES K.REED,
National Research Council
HATTEN S.YODER, JR.,
Carnegie Institution of Washington
RAPHAEL G.KASPER, Executive Director
Studies in Geophysics*
ENERGY AND CLIMATE
Roger R.Revelle, panel chairman, 1977, 158 pp.
CLIMATE, CLIMATIC CHANGE, AND WATER SUPPLY
James R.Wallis, panel chairman, 1977, 132 pp.
ESTUARIES, GEOPHYSICS, AND THE ENVIRONMENT
Charles B.Officer, panel chairman, 1977, 127 pp.
THE UPPER ATMOSPHERE AND MAGNETOSPHERE
Francis S.Johnson, panel chairman, 1977, 169 pp.
GEOPHYSICAL PREDICTIONS
Helmut E.Landsberg, panel chairman, 1978, 215 pp.
IMPACT OF TECHNOLOGY ON GEOPHYSICS
Homer E.Newell, panel chairman, 1979, 121 pp.
CONTINENTAL TECTONICS
B.Clark Burchfiel, Jack E.Oliver, and Leon T.Silver, panel cochairmen, 1980, 197 pp.
MINERAL RESOURCES: GENETIC UNDERSTANDING FOR PRACTICAL APPLICATIONS
Paul B.Barton, Jr., panel chairman, 1981, 118 pp.
SCIENTIFIC BASIS OF WATER-RESOURCE MANAGEMENT
Myron B.Fiering, panel chairman, 1982, 127 pp.
SOLAR VARIABILITY, WEATHER, AND CLIMATE
John A.Eddy, panel chairman, 1982, 106 pp.
CLIMATE IN EARTH HISTORY
Wolfgang H.Berger and John C.Crowell, panel cochairmen, 1982, 198 pp.
Preface
In 1974 the Geophysics Research Board completed a plan, subsequently approved by the Committee on Science and Public Policy of the National Academy of Sciences, for a series of studies to be carried out on various subjects related to geophysics. The Geophysics Study Committee was established to provide guidance in the conduct of the studies.
One purpose of the studies is to provide assessments from the scientific community to aid policymakers in decisions on societal problems that involve geophysics. An important part of such an assessment is an evaluation of the adequacy of present geophysical knowledge and the appropriateness of present research programs to provide information required for those decisions. Some of the studies place more emphasis on assessing the present status of a field of geophysics and identifying the most promising directions for future research.
This study was initiated in response to the recommendation in the report Geological Perspectives on Climatic Change (National Academy of Sciences, Washington, D.C., 1978). The recommendation called for the following: “(1) to assess the state of the art, …and to stimulate progress in geological aspects of climate research; (2) to evaluate comprehensively and in detail the research opportunities in, the operational needs of, and the scientific and societal relevance of geological and geophysical processes affecting the understanding of climate and climatic forecasting; and (3) to recommend the appropriate geological content of a national and global climate pro-
gram.” In considering this recommendation, the Geophysics Study Committee felt that the major geologic and geophysical questions concerning climate were those found in the pre-Pleistocene (older than 2 million years) record.
The study was developed through meetings of the Geophysics Study Committee and the Panel on Pre-Pleistocene Climates. The preliminary scientific findings of the panel were presented at an American Geophysical Union meeting that took place in Toronto in May 1980. These presentations and the essays contained in this volume provide examples of current basic knowledge of the climate in the geologic past. They also pose many of the fundamental questions and uncertainties that require additional research. In completing their papers, the authors had the benefit of discussion at this symposium as well as comments of several scientific referees. Responsibility for the individual essays rests with the corresponding authors.
The Overview of the study summarizes the highlights of the essays and formulates conclusions and recommendations. In preparing it, the panel chairmen had the benefit of meetings that took place at the symposium, the comments of the panel of authors, and selected referees. Responsibility for the Overview rests with the Geophysics Study Committee and the chairmen of the panel.
