James Croll: a scientist ahead of his time

@article{Bolshakov2011JamesCA,
  title={James Croll: a scientist ahead of his time},
  author={V. A. Bol’shakov and Andrey Kapitsa and W. Gareth Rees},
  journal={Polar Record},
  year={2011},
  volume={48},
  pages={201 - 205}
}
ABSTRACT James Croll (1821–1890) was a Scottish scientist who made major, although still largely unrecognised, contributions to the theory of the effects of variations in the Earth's orbit on the global climate. He was the first to identify the importance of positive feedbacks in the climate system, especially the ice-albedo feedback, and he placed the astrochronological method on a sound footing. Croll's theory was the first to predict multiple ice ages. However, it was unable to place the end… 
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15 Citations

James Croll and 1876: an exceptional year for a ‘singularly modest man’
  • K. Edwards
  • History
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  • 2021
James Croll left school at the age of 13 years, yet while a janitor in Glasgow he published a landmark paper on astronomically-related climate change, claimed as ‘the most important discovery in…
‘The most remarkable man’: James Croll, Quaternary scientist
The year 2021 marked the bicentenary of the birth of James Croll (1821–1890), the self‐educated son of a crofter‐stonemason, whose life was characterised by a dizzying range of occupations and homes,…
James Croll (1821–1890): ice, ice ages and the Antarctic connection
  • D. Sugden
  • Environmental Science
    Antarctic Science
  • 2014
Abstract The thrust of this paper is that James Croll should be more generously lauded for his remarkable contribution to the study of ice ages, glacier flow and the nature of the Antarctic ice…
A link between global climate variability in the Pleistocene and variations in the Earth’s orbital parameters
The study demonstrates that the orbital climatic diagram (OCD) built on the basis of the simplified and general concepts of mechanisms for climatic response to orbital forcing can be a reasonable…
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The evolution and variability of Pleistocene glaciations is studied by comparison of the benthic δ18O stack LR04 and the Orbital Climatic Diagram (OrCD). Taking into account that the OrCD…
James Croll – bicentenary and biography, from janitor to genius
  • K. Edwards
  • History
    Earth and Environmental Science Transactions of the Royal Society of Edinburgh
  • 2021
How did a man who grew up on a croft in Scotland, with little schooling, reach the pinnacle of 19 th century scienti fi c achievement as a climate change pioneer, become a correspondent of Darwin…
Problem of the 400 k.y. Periodicity of Natural Variations in the Pleistocene: Analyzing the Empirical Data on DeepSea
The empirical data on the variations in the Pleistocene natural environment obtained on the basis of the paleoclimatic records of the deepsea and continen tal sections are analyzed in order to reveal…
Problem of the 400 k.y. Periodicity of natural variations in the Pleistocene: Analyzing the empirical data on deep-sea and continental sections
The empirical data on the variations in the Pleistocene natural environment obtained on the basis of the paleoclimatic records of the deep-sea and continental sections are analyzed in order to reveal…
In search of James Croll: archives, genealogy, publications and other resources
  • K. Edwards
  • History
    Earth and Environmental Science Transactions of the Royal Society of Edinburgh
  • 2021
Source materials for investigating the life of James Croll are examined and collated. This is organised around the topics of: Croll's Autobiographical sketch and the Memoir of his life and work, both…
Pioneers of the Ice Age Models: A Brief History from Agassiz to Milankovitch
  • M. Ates
  • Physics
    History of Geo- and Space Sciences
  • 2021
Abstract. It is currently known that astronomical factors trigger the emergence of glacial and interglacial periods. However, nearly two centuries ago, the overall situation was not as apparent as it…
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