Deciphering Earth's History: the Practice of Stratigraphy

Deciphering Earth's History: the Practice of Stratigraphy
Author: Angela Coe
Publisher: Geological Society of London
Total Pages: 71
Release: 2022-11-08
Genre: Science
ISBN: 1786205742

Stratigraphy allows us to establish and communicate the timings for the course of Earth history and provides the means to determine the duration and rates of Earth processes. Deciphering Earth’s History: the Practice of Stratigraphy focuses on how to apply the wide spectrum of stratigraphical techniques. It also explains how these techniques can be integrated and details their individual strengths and limitations. Chapters are laid out in a step-by-step style, guiding the reader through a recommended approach and explaining the factors to be considered. The methods are illustrated with flow charts, marginal top tips, checklists, worked examples and over 200 figures. Authors from academia, research centres and industry have contributed to ensure a wide range of perspectives are included. In addition to chapters on each of the stratigraphical techniques there is also material on accounting for stratigraphical incompleteness, constructing geological timescales, handling and archiving stratigraphical data and the application of stratigraphy to space exploration and other disciplines. This book is designed for a wide audience ranging from advanced level undergraduates to professional practitioners wishing to use other stratigraphical techniques or understand the advantages and weaknesses of particular techniques.

Geologic Time Scale 2020

Geologic Time Scale 2020
Author: Felix Gradstein
Publisher: Elsevier
Total Pages: 1393
Release: 2020-10-30
Genre: Science
ISBN: 0128243619

Geologic Time Scale 2020 (2 volume set) contains contributions from 80+ leading scientists who present syntheses in an easy-to-understand format that includes numerous color charts, maps and photographs. In addition to detailed overviews of chronostratigraphy, evolution, geochemistry, sequence stratigraphy and planetary geology, the GTS2020 volumes have separate chapters on each geologic period with compilations of the history of divisions, the current GSSPs (global boundary stratotypes), detailed bio-geochem-sequence correlation charts, and derivation of the age models. The authors are on the forefront of chronostratigraphic research and initiatives surrounding the creation of an international geologic time scale. The included charts display the most up-to-date, international standard as ratified by the International Commission on Stratigraphy and the International Union of Geological Sciences. As the framework for deciphering the history of our planet Earth, this book is essential for practicing Earth Scientists and academics. - Completely updated geologic time scale - Provides the most detailed integrated geologic time scale available that compiles and synthesize information in one reference - Gives insights on the construction, strengths and limitations of the geological time scale that greatly enhances its function and its utility

The Terrestrial Eocene-Oligocene Transition in North America

The Terrestrial Eocene-Oligocene Transition in North America
Author: Donald R. Prothero
Publisher: Cambridge University Press
Total Pages: 708
Release: 1996-06-13
Genre: Science
ISBN: 0521433878

Provides the latest information in dating and correlation of the strata of late middle Eocene through early Oligocene age in North America.

From Greenhouse to Icehouse

From Greenhouse to Icehouse
Author: Donald R. Prothero
Publisher: Columbia University Press
Total Pages: 564
Release: 2003
Genre: Nature
ISBN: 9780231127165

The marine Eocene-Oligocene transition of 34 million years ago was a critical turning point in Earth's climatic history, when the warm, high-diversity "greenhouse" world of the early Eocene ceded to the glacial, "icehouse" conditions of the early Oligocene. This book surveys the advances in stratigraphic and paleontological research and isotopic analysis made since 1989 in regard to marine deposits around the world. In particular, it summarizes the high-resolution details of the so-called doubthouse interval (roughly 45 to 34 million years ago), which is critical to testing climatic and evolutionary hypotheses about the Eocene deterioration. The authors' goals are to discuss the latest information concerning climatic and oceanographic change associated with this transition and to examine geographic and taxonomic patterns in biotic turnover that provide clues about where, when, and how fast these environmental changes happened. They address a range of topics, including the tectonic and paleogeographic setting of the Paleogene; specific issues related to the stratigraphy of shelf deposits; advances in recognizing and correlating boundary sections; trends in the expression of climate change; and patterns of faunal and floral turnover. In the process, they produce a valuable synthesis of patterns of change by latitude and environment.

Polar Environments and Global Change

Polar Environments and Global Change
Author: Roger G. Barry
Publisher: Cambridge University Press
Total Pages: 445
Release: 2018-08-09
Genre: History
ISBN: 1108423167

Surveys atmospheric, oceanic and cryospheric processes, present and past conditions, and changes in polar environments.

Biotic Response to Global Change

Biotic Response to Global Change
Author: Stephen J. Culver
Publisher: Cambridge University Press
Total Pages: 519
Release: 2006-12-14
Genre: Science
ISBN: 1139426737

Concern about the effects of global change on our planet's future has driven much research into the last few thousand years of earth history. In contrast, this volume takes a much longer viewpoint to provide a historical perspective to recent and future global change. Over 40 international specialists investigate the reaction of life to global environmental changes, from Cretaceous times to the turn of the century. During this time earth's climate has changed from a very warm, 'greenhouse' phase with no significant ice sheets to today's 'ice-house' world. A wide spectrum of animal, plant and protistan life is discussed, encompassing terrestrial, shallow-marine and deep-marine realms. Each chapter considers a particular taxonomic group, looking first at the general picture and then focusing on more specialized aspects such as extinctions, diversity and biogeography. This volume will form an invaluable reference for researchers and graduate students in paleontology, geology, biology, oceanography and climatology.

The Anthropocene as a Geological Time Unit

The Anthropocene as a Geological Time Unit
Author: Jan Zalasiewicz
Publisher: Cambridge University Press
Total Pages: 385
Release: 2019-03-07
Genre: Medical
ISBN: 110847523X

Reviews the evidence underpinning the Anthropocene as a geological epoch written by the Anthropocene Working Group investigating it. The book discusses ongoing changes to the Earth system within the context of deep geological time, allowing a comparison between the global transition taking place today with major transitions in Earth history.

The Geological Record of Ecological Dynamics

The Geological Record of Ecological Dynamics
Author: National Research Council
Publisher: National Academies Press
Total Pages: 215
Release: 2005-02-13
Genre: Science
ISBN: 0309095808

In order to answer important questions about ecosystems and biodiversity, scientists can look to the past geological recordâ€"which includes fossils, sediment and ice cores, and tree rings. Because of recent advances in earth scientists' ability to analyze biological and environmental information from geological data, the National Science Foundation and the U.S. Geological Survey asked a National Research Council (NRC) committee to assess the scientific opportunities provided by the geologic record and recommend how scientists can take advantage of these opportunities for the nation's benefit. The committee identified three initiatives for future research to be developed over the next decade: (1) use the geological record as a "natural laboratory" to explore changes in living things under a range of past conditions, (2) use the record to better predict the response of biological systems to climate change, and (3) use geologic information to evaluate the effects of human and non-human factors on ecosystems. The committee also offered suggestions for improving the field through better training, improved databases, and additional funding.