Uploaded byScott St. George
CCG Paleoclimate
The document discusses how paleoclimatology provides insights into past climate changes in Canada by studying ice cores, tree rings, fossils, and geological features. It highlights research using these methods to study glacial retreat after the last ice age, changes in Great Lakes water levels, Arctic sea ice extent over the past 10,000 years, and sensitivity of the Greenland Ice Sheet. Paleoclimatology gives scientists a longer-term view to understand climate impacts and improve climate models.
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CCG Paleoclimate
- 1. post-glacial Canada CLIMATE CHANGE GEOSCIENCE Great Lakes PALEOCLIMATE ice cores sea ice
- 2.
- 3. “ The hillslook like sawdust, really, that colour. I've never seen it where the grass didn't turn green in the spring before.” JERRY MURPHY Elnora, Alberta source: Globe and Mail, 1 July 2009
- 4. Historical climate observationsat the Environment Canada archives in Toronto
- 5. Direct observations providea critical but short-sighted perspective on recent changes
- 6. CLIMATE HISTORY OFCANADA Younger Demise of Laurentide Dryas Ice Sheet 20 16 12 8 4 0 THOUSANDS OF YEARS AGO Final Drainage of Lake Agassiz LAST GLACIAL MODERN MAXIMUM OBSERVATIONS
- 8. PALEOCLIMATOLOGY ice cores tree rings sand dunes relic shorelines macrofossils
- 10. “Jack's a paleoclimatologist, and I have absolutely no idea what he's up to.” The Day After Tomorrow, 2004
- 11. SCIENCE PARTNER Intergovernmental Panel onClimate Change
- 12. post-glacial Canada CLIMATE CHANGE GEOSCIENCE Great Lakes PALEOCLIMATE ice cores sea ice
- 13. C A NA D A A F T E R GLACIATION
- 14. Art Dyke documentingwhale remains 23 metres above sea level in the central Canadian Arctic
- 16. “ Resolving the timing of regional variability in ice-sheet maxima is also important for understanding ice-sheet sensitivity to regional and global climate change, as well as in establishing ice-sheet–climate feedbacks. ” Science August 2009
- 17.
- 18. PEARLS UNSTRUNG? How willclimate change affect Canada’s Great Lakes?
- 19. Michael Lewis GSCAtlantic
- 20.
- 22. “ In the last decade or so, scientists have uncovered clues that the water level in Lake Erie — and indeed, the levels in at least some of the other Great Lakes — fell well below all natural outlets, rendering those ” lakes isolated bodies of water. Science News August 2009
- 23.
- 24. Artist’s rendition ofNiagara Falls, circa 8,000 yr B.P.
- 25. H I STO RY F R O Z E N I N ICE
- 26. Members of theGSC Glaciology group
- 27. High-altitude expeditions showhow Canada’s Arctic has responded to past climate change
- 28. James Zheng processesan ice core from the North Greenland Eemian Ice Drilling project
- 30. The Greenland IceSheet holds ca. 7 metres of sea-level equivalent
- 31. Fritz Koerner andDavid Fisher coring at the Agassiz Ice Cap on Ellesmere Island
- 33. “ State-of-the-art ice sheet models are generally found to be underestimating the extent and changes in GIS elevation and area; our findings may help to improve the ability of models to reproduce the GIS response to Holocene climate. ” Nature September 2009 SCIENCE PARTNER University of Copenhagen
- 34. S E AI C E IN THE ARCTIC
- 35.
- 36. Maximum sea iceextent September 2009 median sea ice extent 1979-2009 source: National Snow and Ice Data Center, University of Colorado
- 37. The remains ofbowhead whales provide clues about past changes in sea ice conditions
- 38. Estimates of sea-iceextent in the Canadian Arctic during the last 10,000 years
- 39. “ Historical records indicate that Arctic sea-ice extent has been declining since the late 19th century. Although this decline was accompanied by multidecadal oscillations, the accelerated ice loss during the last several decades lead to conditions not documented in ” at least the last few thousand years. Quaternary Science Reviews in the press
- 40.
- 41. L E SS O N S F R O M THE PAST
- 43. PALEOCLIMATE ✓ shows ushow critical landscapes and natural resources have been affected by climate change in the past ✓ gives us a broader perspective on contemporary environmental and resource issues ✓ provides a major contribution to international initiatives that assess the dynamics of the global climate system