Paleoclimatology : reconstructing climates of the quaternary /

This textbook/reference work attempts to cover all aspects of the inference of past climates over the last 2.6 million years. After providing a broad introduction to climate studies and methods of dating, Bradley (Univ. of Massachusetts, Amherst) reviews climate data from ice cores, marine and lacustrine sediments, loess (aeolian glacial dust), stalagmites and stalactites, glacial deposits, and specific indicators of climate such as pollen, tree rings, insects, corals, and historical documents. Unfortunately, a number of important approaches are not even mentioned, especially the use of fossil animals in both relative dating of sediments and the inference of climate and paleoenvironment. There is similarly no discussion of the archaeological record, both as a source of climate data and a "consumer" of paleoclimatic results. Some illustrations are poorly captioned (for example, figures 3.13 and 3.15 on calibration of radiocarbon ages do not clearly explain what is shown). The book has been thoroughly updated since the previous edition (2nd ed., CH, Oct'99, 37-0947; 1st ed., Quaternary Paleontology, CH, Jul'85), as far as can be told from new bibliographic entries and topical sections. Valuable for specialist collections, but be aware of the noted gaps. --Eric Delson, CUNY Herbert H. Lehman College