National Academies Press: OpenBook

Understanding Earth's Deep Past: Lessons for Our Climate Future (2011)

Chapter: Appendix C: Presentations to Committee

« Previous: Appendix B: Workshop Agenda and Participants
Suggested Citation:"Appendix C: Presentations to Committee." National Research Council. 2011. Understanding Earth's Deep Past: Lessons for Our Climate Future. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/13111.
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Appendix C

Presentations to Committee

Although most of the community input to the committee occurred at the workshop hosted by the committee in May 2008 (Appendix B), there were several additional presentations by scientists working in the field and by the study sponsors at the first committee meeting in February 2008:

Gaps in Our Knowledge of Past Climates and Causes of Climate Change

Bill Hay

High Frequency Paleoclimate Analysis: Impact on Climate Research and Exploration

Marty Perlmutter

The USGS Perspective on the Committee’s Task

Linda Gundersen

Additional USGS Comments

Pat Jellison

The NSF (GEO-EAR) Perspective on the Committee’s Task

Ray Bernor

The NSF (OPP) Perspective on the Committee’s Task

Scott Borg

Deep-Time Paleoclimate Geoinformatics—A Community Platform for Research and Knowledge Transfer

Walt Snyder

Thoughts on Deep-Time Climate Research

Judy Parrish

Suggested Citation:"Appendix C: Presentations to Committee." National Research Council. 2011. Understanding Earth's Deep Past: Lessons for Our Climate Future. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/13111.
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There is little dispute within the scientific community that humans are changing Earth's climate on a decadal to century time-scale. By the end of this century, without a reduction in emissions, atmospheric CO2 is projected to increase to levels that Earth has not experienced for more than 30 million years. As greenhouse gas emissions propel Earth toward a warmer climate state, an improved understanding of climate dynamics in warm environments is needed to inform public policy decisions. In Understanding Earth's Deep Past, the National Research Council reports that rocks and sediments that are millions of years old hold clues to how the Earth's future climate would respond in an environment with high levels of atmospheric greenhouse gases.

Understanding Earth's Deep Past provides an assessment of both the demonstrated and underdeveloped potential of the deep-time geologic record to inform us about the dynamics of the global climate system. The report describes past climate changes, and discusses potential impacts of high levels of atmospheric greenhouse gases on regional climates, water resources, marine and terrestrial ecosystems, and the cycling of life-sustaining elements. While revealing gaps in scientific knowledge of past climate states, the report highlights a range of high priority research issues with potential for major advances in the scientific understanding of climate processes. This proposed integrated, deep-time climate research program would study how climate responded over Earth's different climate states, examine how climate responds to increased atmospheric carbon dioxide and other greenhouse gases, and clarify the processes that lead to anomalously warm polar and tropical regions and the impact on marine and terrestrial life.

In addition to outlining a research agenda, Understanding Earth's Deep Past proposes an implementation strategy that will be an invaluable resource to decision-makers in the field, as well as the research community, advocacy organizations, government agencies, and college professors and students.

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