Past Antarctica. Paleoclimatology and Climate Change

Table of Contents

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

Authors

Marc Oliva Universitat de Barcelona, Spain. Marc Oliva holds a PhD in Geography from the Universitat de Barcelona, where he works now as 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, and Cantabrian Mountains), which has provided him 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, and lacustrine). Jesus Ruiz Fernandez Assistant Professor, Department of Geography, University of Oviedo, Spain. Jes�s Ruiz-Fern�ndez 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-Fern�ndez 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).