Synoptic Paleoclimatology

Projecting regional climate change over this century and the next remains challenging due to the chaotic nature of weather, but it is made more reliable through reconstructions of paleoweather in relation to climate change in atmospheric and ocean circulation, winds, waves, currents, and precipitation. This primer applies a cross-disciplinary treatment of large-scale and synoptic climatology to the reconstruction of past climates under the umbrella of synoptic paleoclimatology, providing the theory and application of synoptic paleoclimatology for the study and prediction of future climate evolution. Climate proxy and data–model assimilation methodologies are described in detail, focusing on coasts, the surface ocean, glaciers, and ice sheets. This book also presents a state-of-the-art synthesis of regional climate history across the Southern Hemisphere, including tropical coral reefs, coasts, alpine glaciers, and Antarctica. This book will be invaluable to advanced students, researchers, and practitioners in climatology, paleoclimatology, meteorology, coastal geoscience, glaciology, oceanography, global change, and climate risk assessment.