An Overview of Paleo-Climate Evidence
in Egypt
Hassan Khozyem
Abstract In this chapter, we discuss the global paleoclimatic and paleoenvironmental changes focusing on their causes and consequences. Two main processes can yield
the climatic changes; the earth’s internal processes and the extraterrestrial impacts.
Both of them have a strong effect on the earth’s system. The paleoclimatic change
is well preserved in the earth’s sedimentary record and can be reviled by using multidisciplinary studies including mineralogy, geochemistry, and the fossil contents.
Egypt is a key area of one of the most pronounced climatic changes that occurred in
the earth’s geologic history; the Paleocene Eocene thermal maximum (PETM) that
used recently as analog for the current warming.
Keywords Paleoclimate · Paleoenvironment · Mass extinction events ·
Hyperthermal events · PETM · Current warming
1 Introduction
Earth is superorganism, the oceans are the heart of Earth’s global system, and the forests are
the lungs …. James Hutton (1785)
The earth’s climate is defined between two climatic end members; polar climate
and tropical wet climate. Between icy poles and the steamy tropics, wide variety
of climatic conditions are occurring and contribute to Earth’s geologic history and
consequently effect on biodiversity and geologic heritage. In 1985; James Lovelock;
proposed the Gaia Hypothesis to explain the environmental changes that occurred on
the Earth’s surface. The Gaia Hypothesis discuss five main aspects, which are: (1)
Earth is an Organism; (2) Life significantly affects Earth’s environment; (3) Different
life sorts modify the environment to reach to its betterment of life; (4) the deliberately
and/or consciously of life can control the global environment; and (5) Studying of
the Gaia hypothesis needs to activate the interdisciplinary thinking.
H. Khozyem (B)
Geology Department, Faculty of Sciences, Aswan University, Aswan 81528, Egypt
e-mail: H.M.Khozyem@aswu.edu.eg
© Springer Nature Switzerland AG 2020
E.-S. E. Omran and A. M. Negm (eds.), Climate Change Impacts on Agriculture and Food
Security in Egypt, Springer Water, https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-41629-4_2
21
in Egypt
Hassan Khozyem
Abstract In this chapter, we discuss the global paleoclimatic and paleoenvironmental changes focusing on their causes and consequences. Two main processes can yield
the climatic changes; the earth’s internal processes and the extraterrestrial impacts.
Both of them have a strong effect on the earth’s system. The paleoclimatic change
is well preserved in the earth’s sedimentary record and can be reviled by using multidisciplinary studies including mineralogy, geochemistry, and the fossil contents.
Egypt is a key area of one of the most pronounced climatic changes that occurred in
the earth’s geologic history; the Paleocene Eocene thermal maximum (PETM) that
used recently as analog for the current warming.
Keywords Paleoclimate · Paleoenvironment · Mass extinction events ·
Hyperthermal events · PETM · Current warming
1 Introduction
Earth is superorganism, the oceans are the heart of Earth’s global system, and the forests are
the lungs …. James Hutton (1785)
The earth’s climate is defined between two climatic end members; polar climate
and tropical wet climate. Between icy poles and the steamy tropics, wide variety
of climatic conditions are occurring and contribute to Earth’s geologic history and
consequently effect on biodiversity and geologic heritage. In 1985; James Lovelock;
proposed the Gaia Hypothesis to explain the environmental changes that occurred on
the Earth’s surface. The Gaia Hypothesis discuss five main aspects, which are: (1)
Earth is an Organism; (2) Life significantly affects Earth’s environment; (3) Different
life sorts modify the environment to reach to its betterment of life; (4) the deliberately
and/or consciously of life can control the global environment; and (5) Studying of
the Gaia hypothesis needs to activate the interdisciplinary thinking.
H. Khozyem (B)
Geology Department, Faculty of Sciences, Aswan University, Aswan 81528, Egypt
e-mail: H.M.Khozyem@aswu.edu.eg
© Springer Nature Switzerland AG 2020
E.-S. E. Omran and A. M. Negm (eds.), Climate Change Impacts on Agriculture and Food
Security in Egypt, Springer Water, https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-41629-4_2
21