title: The effect on Earth's surface temperature from variations in rotation rate, continent formation, solar luminosity, and carbon dioxide.
abstract: Proposed evolutionary histories of solar luminosity, atmospheric carbon dioxide amounts, Earth rotation rate, and continent formation have been used to generate a time evolution of Earth's surface temperature.  While speculative because of uncertainties in the input parameters, such a study does help to prioritize the areas of most concern to paleoclimatic research while illustrating the relationships and mutual dependencies.  The mean temperature averages about 5 K higher than today over most of geologic time; the overall variation is less than 15 K.  The evolution of Earth's rotation rate makes a significant contribution to the surface temperature distribution as late as 0.5 b.y. ago.  While there is little change in equatorial temperatures, polar temperatures decrease, being some 15 K lower 3.5 b.y. ago than with present day rotation.  The effect of continent growth on albedo is of secondary importance.
authors.affiliation: Department of Atmospheric, Oceanic, and Space Sciences, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, USA.
authors.forename: W R
authors.initials: WR
authors.lastname: Kuhn
authors.forename: J C
authors.initials: JC
authors.lastname: Walker
authors.forename: H G
authors.initials: HG
authors.lastname: Marshall
mesh_terms: D001272:Atmosphere; D002245:Carbon Dioxide / Q000032:analysis*; D002980:Climate; D018534:Earth, Planet; D019419:Evolution, Planetary; D055593:Geological Phenomena; D005844:Geology; D008962:Models, Theoretical; D012399:Rotation; D013472:Sunlight; D013696:Temperature
chemical_list: D002245:Carbon Dioxide