Climate, Environment, and Society in the Pacific during the Last Millennium (eBook)

Front Cover 1
Climate, Environment Society in the Pacific During the Last Millennium 4
Copyright Page 5
CONTENTS 8
Preamble and acknowledgements 14
CHAPTER 1. CLIMATE, ENVIRONMENT AND SOCIETY: GLOBAL AND REGIONAL PERSPECTIVES 16
1.1. Global climate, environment and society over the past 5,000 years 17
1.2. The approach to the last millennium 24
1.3. Dividing the last millennium 25
1.4. Medieval Warm Period 27
1.5. The A.D. 1300 Event (the transition between the Medieval Warm Period and the Little Ice Age) 28
1.6. Little Ice Age 30
1.7. Recent Warming 31
1.8. The Pacific Basin 32
1.9. Organization of this book 38
Key points 38
CHAPTER 2. ARRIVAL AND SPREAD OF HUMANS IN THE PACIFIC BASIN 40
2.1. Human beginnings 40
2.2. Humans on the Pacific Rim 42
2.3. Colonization of the Pacific Islands 46
Key points 48
CHAPTER 3. INFLUENCES OF CLIMATE AND SEA-LEVEL CHANGES ON HUMANS 50
3.1. Climate change and human evolution 50
3.2. Human adaptation to late Pleistocene climate and sea-level changes 51
3.3. Effects of Holocene climate changes on humans 54
3.4. Effects of Holocene sea-level changes on humans 59
Key points 73
CHAPTER 4. THE MEDIEVAL WARM PERIOD (A.D. 750–1250) IN THE PACIFIC BASIN 74
4.1. Climates during the Medieval Warm Period in the Pacific Basin 74
4.2. Environments during the Medieval Warm Period in the Pacific Basin 85
4.3. Societies during the Medieval Warm Period in the Pacific Basin 92
Key points 101
CHAPTER 5. THE A.D. 1300 EVENT (A.D. 1250–1350) IN THE PACIFIC BASIN 102
5.1. The nature of the A.D. 1300 Event 103
5.2. Climates during the A.D. 1300 Event in the Pacific Basin 105
5.3. Environments during the A.D. 1300 Event in the Pacific Basin 117
5.4. Societies during the A.D. 1300 Event in the Pacific Basin 127
Key points 135
CHAPTER 6. THE LITTLE ICE AGE (A.D. 1350–1800) IN THE PACIFIC BASIN 136
6.1. Climates of the Little Ice Age in the Pacific Basin 136
6.2. Environments of the Little Ice Age in the Pacific Basin 143
6.3. Societies of the Little Ice Age in the Pacific Basin 150
6.4. The end of the Little Ice Age 176
Key points 178
CHAPTER 7. THE A.D. 1300 EVENT: AN EXPLANATORY MODEL FOR SOCIETAL RESPONSE TO CLIMATE CHANGE DURING THE LAST MILLENNIUM IN THE PACIFIC BASIN 180
7.1. Outline of the model of the A.D. 1300 Event 182
7.2. Alternative models 184
7.3. Cause–effect linkages for climate change in the A.D. 1300 Event model 186
7.4. Cause–effect linkages for environmental change in the A.D. 1300 Event model 189
7.5. Cause–effect linkages for societal change during and after the A.D. 1300 Event 190
7.6. Case studies of the A.D. 1300 Event along the Pacific Rim 196
7.7. Case studies of the A.D. 1300 Event in the Pacific Islands 201
7.8. Key issues concerning cause and effect 210
7.9. Verifying the A.D. 1300 Event model 214
Key points 215
CHAPTER 8. RECENT WARMING AND SEA-LEVEL RISE (SINCE A.D. 1800) IN THE PACIFIC BASIN 216
8.1. Climate change during the period of Recent Warming in the Pacific Basin 216
8.2. Climate-linked environmental change during the period of Recent Warming in the Pacific Basin 223
8.3. Climate-linked societal change during the period of Recent Warming in the Pacific Basin 229
8.4. Future climate change and its effects on Pacific Basin environments and societies 232
Key points 238
CHAPTER 9. TELECONNECTIONS AND GLOBAL CLIMATE TRENDS 240
9.1. Climate change outside the Pacific Basin during the last millennium 241
9.2. Environmental change outside the Pacific Basin during the last millennium 249
9.3. Societal change outside the Pacific Basin during the last millennium 253
9.4. Global climate trends during the last millennium 257
Key points 259
CHAPTER 10. CAUSES OF LAST-MILLENNIUM CLIMATE CHANGE 260
10.1. Ultimate causes of last-millennium climate change 261
10.2. Ultimate causes of last-millennium sea-level change 268
10.3. Proximate causes of last-millennium climate and sea-level changes in the Pacific Basin 270
10.4. Abrupt climate change 273
10.5. A last word 276
Key points 277
References 278
Index 314