I would add that if there ever was a case to be made for action, then this case has been made here in this volume and others like it which has followed the IPCC 2007 assessment. As the editor says in his Introduction, if there ever was doubt about climate change then this should be dispelled in this book. But the book’s strength lies in this not just being a summary of the IPCC because many of its authors were not involved extensively in the 2007 assess- ment, and thus they are able both to evaluate afresh the nature of the evidence and to bring new perspectives to bear on the issue. Its chapters on the various processes that may affect the world’s climate and on the detected changes in atmospheric, ocean and terrestrial (especially biological) systems serve to unfold this scientific narrative for the reader. The concreteness of that case is examined in great detail in this book. Now, the policy- makers could say, we are beginning to see come true just what the scientists had been predicting. The positive response by policymakers was due not only to the higher levels of certainty surrounding the issue, but that empirically observed evidence now supported the simulation modelling of the future that had gen- erally characterised the previous three IPCC assessments. The second was that the effects of this observed global warming can now be detected on every continent in the form of altered hydrology and biology. The first was that current climate change is ‘unequivocal’ and is due largely to emissions of greenhouse gases resulting from human activity. (Trevor M.) QC903.C56 2009 551.6–dc22 ISBN: 978-1-2 For information on all Elsevier publications visit our website at Printed and bound in The Netherlands 09 10 11 12 10987654321, Foreword The 2007 Assessment of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change drew two substantially new conclusions which have had a marked effect on policymakers. Includes bibliographical references and index. British Library Cataloguing in Publication Data A catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data Climate change : observed impacts on planet Earth / edited by Trevor M. Alternatively you can submit your request online by visiting the Elsevier web site at, and selecting Obtaining permission to use Elsevier material Notice No responsibility is assumed by the publisher for any injury and/or damage to persons or property as a matter of products liability, negligence or otherwise, or from any use or operation of any methods, products, instructions or ideas contained in the material herein. All rights reserved No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system or transmitted in any form or by any means electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording or otherwise without the prior written permission of the publisher Permissions may be sought directly from Elsevier’s Science & Technology Rights Department in Oxford, UK: phone (þ44) (0) 1865 843830 fax (þ44) (0) 1865 853333 email: email is hidden.