CLIMATE CHANGES - IMPACTS ON GEOMORPHIC PROCESSES

Climate is one of the conditions which permits, inhibits, retards or e nhances certain responses in the geomorphic environment. Components of climate important to geomorphic processes include (1) the duration an d character of climate episodes, i.e., the variation of the various cl imate parameters during any such period, and (2) the nature of discont inuities at both a climate episode's beginning and end, i.e., the magn itude of change and the rate of change occurring at the time of discon tinuity. We will evaluate changes in the climate character over the Ho locene, compare that to that observed during the instrumental period a nd, in turn, compare to predicted changes for an atmosphere with twice today's carbon dioxide concentration.