Scotland’s history of climate conditions and weather has been charted for the first time in a new book by a University of Aberdeen academic.

Professor Alastair Dawson from the University’s School of Geosciences outlines the dramatic changes in weather and climate which have played an important role in shaping Scotland's history to the present day, in his book So Foul and Fair a Day.

From the middle of the last Ice Age and the arrival of Scotland's first settlers around 9,000 years ago, the book traces the often dramatic changes in weather and climate that have taken place in Scotland.

The key lessons to be learned from the past, pointers to the future and new meanings to the terms ‘climate change’ and ‘global warming’ are also highlighted in the book which is published by Birlinn.

Professor Dawson is Assistant Director of the University of Aberdeen Institute for Coastal Science and Management.

He is the author of several critically acclaimed publications on climate change, including Ice Age Earth.

The publication of So Foul and Fair a Day coincides with the Copenhagen Summit on global climate change.

So Foul and Fair a Day is available from Birlinn Publishers, Edinburgh, and is available in most bookshops.