Earth climate varies on time scales from decades to centuries to millennia. Documenting, examination and understanding of those variations are necessary for accurate assessment of the current, greenhouse-gas-induced climate change and for forecasting future climate. Paleoclimate studies provide insights into important forcings (solar, albedo, greenhouse gases) and mechanisms, including feedback processes within and between components of the Earth system influencing climatic change. Paleoclimate and paleoenvironmental studies also develop and enhance our knowledge of important environmental processes to inform and guide our efforts on environmental sustainability.
We encourage submission of manuscripts of original research and concise reviews of disciplinary and interdisciplinary topics in paleoclimatology and about history of the environment in the context of environmental sustainability. Research may focus on the period since large-scale human activities began to become a significant driving force for environmental change (e.g., the Industrial Revolution), or natural changes (i.e., unperturbed by humans) of the environment of the last 2,000 years, up to 10,000 years. Of particular interest are regional perspectives on climate variability and environmental change and how global change manifests with regional characteristics. We also welcome comments on current research directions, as well as important methodological advances in paleoenvironmental research that can be applied across any time or space scales.
We encourage submissions related to the following topics:
- The variability of the climate, both global and regional, prior to the beginning of the Industrial Revolution and up to 10,000 years before present, and key forcing factors driving the climate variation.
- Relative magnitude of climate and environmental change since the beginning of the Industrial Revolution, as compared to the natural (unperturbed by humans) variability
- How effective are past, current and proposed efforts to control, reduce or otherwise mitigate human impact on the climate and the environment
- Comparison of historical climate records (e.g., instrumental) with proxy-based paleoclimate records in order to integrate climate records for the Common Era (last 2,000 years)
