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Physical Evidence of Quaternary Climatic Change

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  20 January 2017

Richard Foster Flint
Richard Foster Flint*
Affiliation:
Department of Geology and Geophysics, Yale University New Haven, Connecticut 06520 USA
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Abstract

Changes of climate have characterized parts, and at times apparently all, of Earth's surface. Changes that have occurred during the Quaternary period have special significance because, being comparatively recent, they are revealed by physical geologic features that are still at or near the surface, as yet little damaged by erosion. Although some of these features can be interpreted in terms that are broadly quantitative, most are still only qualitative in that they are limited to specifying climatic parameters that are positive or negative relative to those prevailing today in the same area. The common parameters indicated by the physical evidence include temperature (mean annual or summer) and precipitation (mean annual or seasonal). More rarely directions and minimum speeds of effective winds can be specified. A useful basis for reconstructions of former climates is a checklist of the relict geologic features from which climatic inferences can be drawn. Such a list is given here.

Type
Research Article
Information
Quaternary Research , Volume 6 , Issue 4 , December 1976 , pp. 519 - 528
Copyright
University of Washington

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