Past Antarctica: Paleoclimatology and Climate Change presents research on the past and present of Antarctica in reference to its current condition, including considerations for effects due to climate change. Experts in the field explore key topics, including environmental changes, human colonization and present environmental trends. Addressing a wide range of fields, including the biosphere, geology and biochemistry, the book offers geographers, climatologists and other Earth scientists a vital resource that is beneficial to an understanding of Antarctica, its history and conservation efforts.
Part 1. Reconstructing Past Climate Variability
1. Long-Term Climate Evolution Based on Ice Core Records
2. Inferring the Past Atmospheric Composition from Ice Cores
3. Holocene Environmental Changes Deduced from Antarctic Lake Sediments
Part 2. Geological and Geomorphological Dynamics
4. The role of volcanism in the making of Antarctica
5. Tracing Deglaciation Since the Last Glacial Maximum
6. Glacio-isostatic Uplift and Relative Sea Level Changes
7. Past Geomorphic Processes: The role of Periglacial Processes in Ice-Free Environments
8. Soils of Antarctica: A Key to Past Environments
Part 3. Biological Processes and Human Colonization
9. Past Changes on Fauna and Flora Distribution
10. Refuge of Antarctic Biodiversity
11. Geoecological Response
Part 4. Recent Climate and Environmental Trends
12. Connections with Middle and Low Latitudes
13. Recent Climate Trends
14. Exploring and Exploiting Antarctica: The First Human Interactions
15. Humans in Antarctica: Science and Policy
Marc Oliva holds a PhD in Geography from the Universitat de Barcelona, where he is now enrolled as a research scientist and leads a research group on Antarctic, Arctic and Alpine Environments. He has carried out research and teaching activities in universities of Portugal, Canada, Switzerland, Spain and Russia. He has participated in eight expeditions to Antarctica and four to the High Arctic. Apart from the Polar Regions, he has also conducted research in other mountain regions (Rocky Mountains, Alps, N Iceland, Pamir, Tien Shan, Pyrenees, Cantabrian Mountains), which has provided him with a wide comprehension of Earth surface processes in cold-climate environments. His research interests include the study of geomorphological processes and past environments and climate in the Polar Regions and high mountains using a wide range of natural records (glacial, periglacial, lacustrine).
Jesús Ruiz-Fernández is Assistant Professor at the University of Oviedo (Spain). His research experience includes over a decade of participation in various projects of national and international research; his current research activity is mainly focused on the quaternary and present-day environmental evolution of polar regions (Antarctica, Greenland) and mountain areas, as well as the study of natural hazards (mainly large snowfalls and snow avalanches). He has participated in the organization of scientific conferences and meetings, coordinated conference cycles, and conducted several research internship in universities and national and foreign centers. Dr Ruiz-Fernández is a member of the Spanish Society of Geomorphology, the Spanish Association of Geography, the Permafrost Young Researchers Network (PYRN), and a corresponding member of the Royal Institute of Asturian Studies (RIDEA).