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Books > Earth & environment > Earth sciences > Palaeontology > General
This book brings together for the first time the published information on the Quaternary cold stage flora of over eighty sites in Britain and Ireland to present a factual cold stage flora from the fossil record. The data provides a basis for an interpretation of the flora, vegetation, and environments of some of the most extraordinary periods in the earth's most recent history, now only seen in the imperfect mirror of today's Arctic. This important study aims to reveal the nature of an environment, relatively stable, but completely different to that of today. As such, it will be significant to those interested in the Quaternary and also to a wider audience of those studying the present flora, fauna and environment, including climate and climatic change. A CD-ROM with a database of the cold stage flora in searchable format is included.
It is difficult for today's students of archaeology to imagine an era when chronometric dating methods were unavailable. However, even a casual perusal of the large body of literature that arose during the first half of the twentieth century reveals a battery of clever methods used to determine the relative ages of archaeological phenomena, often with considerable precision. Stratigraphic excavation is perhaps the best known of the various relative-dating methods used by prehistorians. Although there are several techniques of using artifacts from superposed strata to measure time, these are rarely if ever differentiated. Rather, common practice is to categorize them under the heading `stratigraphic excavation'. This text distinguishes among the several techniques and argues that stratigraphic excavation tends to result in discontinuous measures of time - a point little appreciated by modern archaeologists. Although not as well known as stratigraphic excavation, two other methods of relative dating have figured important in Americanist archaeology: seriation and the use of index fossils. The latter (like stratigraphic excavation) measures time discontinuously, while the former - in various guises - measures time continuously. Perhaps no other method used in archaeology is as misunderstood as seriation, and the authors provide detailed descriptions and examples of each of its three different techniques. Each method and technique of relative dating is placed in historical perspective, with particular focus on developments in North America, an approach that allows a more complete understanding of the methods described, both in terms of analytical technique and disciplinary history. This text will appeal to all archaeologists, from graduate students to seasoned professionals, who want to learn more about the backbone of archaeological dating.
A. C. Seward (1863 1941) was an eminent English geologist and botanist who pioneered the study of palaeobotany. After graduating from St John's College, Cambridge, in 1886 Seward was appointed a University Lecturer in Botany in 1890. In 1898 he was elected a Fellow of the Royal Society, and was appointed Professor of Botany in 1906. These volumes, published to great acclaim between 1898 and 1919, provide a detailed discussion and study of an emerging science. In the early nineteenth century, research and critical literature concerning palaeobotany was scattered across disciplines. In these volumes Seward synthesised and revised this research and also included a substantial amount of new material. Furnished with concise descriptions of fossil plants, detailed figures and extensive bibliographies these volumes became the standard reference for palaeobotany well into the twentieth century. Volume 1, published in 1898, contains an overview of palaeobotany with systematic descriptions of fossil plants.
A. C. Seward (1863 1941) was an eminent English geologist and botanist who pioneered the study of palaeobotany. After graduating from St John's College, Cambridge, in 1886 Seward was appointed a University Lecturer in Botany in 1890. In 1898 he was elected a Fellow of the Royal Society, and was appointed Professor of Botany in 1906. These volumes, published to great acclaim between 1898 and 1919, provide a detailed discussion and study of an emerging science. In the early nineteenth century, research and critical literature concerning palaeobotany was scattered across disciplines. In these volumes Seward synthesised and revised this research and also included a substantial amount of new material. Furnished with concise descriptions of fossil plants, detailed figures and extensive bibliographies these volumes became the standard reference for palaeobotany well into the twentieth century. Volume 2, first published in 1910, contains systematic descriptions of fossil ferns.
A. C. Seward (1863 1941) was an eminent English geologist and botanist who pioneered the study of palaeobotany. After graduating from St John's College, Cambridge, in 1886 Seward was appointed a University Lecturer in Botany in 1890. In 1898 he was elected a Fellow of the Royal Society, and was appointed Professor of Botany in 1906. These volumes, published to great acclaim between 1898 and 1919, provide a detailed discussion and study of an emerging science. In the early nineteenth century, research and critical literature concerning palaeobotany was scattered across disciplines. In these volumes Seward synthesised and revised this research and also included a substantial amount of new material. Furnished with concise descriptions of fossil plants, detailed figures and extensive bibliographies these volumes became the standard reference for palaeobotany well into the twentieth century. Volume 3, first published in 1917, contains systematic descriptions of fossil seed plants.
A. C. Seward (1863 1941) was an eminent English geologist and botanist who pioneered the study of palaeobotany. After graduating from St John's College, Cambridge, in 1886 Seward was appointed a University Lecturer in Botany in 1890. In 1898 he was elected a Fellow of the Royal Society, and was appointed Professor of Botany in 1906. These volumes, published to great acclaim between 1898 and 1919, provide a detailed discussion and study of an emerging science. In the early nineteenth century, research and critical literature concerning palaeobotany was scattered across disciplines. In these volumes Seward synthesised and revised this research and also included a substantial amount of new material. Furnished with concise descriptions of fossil plants, detailed figures and extensive bibliographies these volumes became the standard reference for palaeobotany well into the twentieth century. Volume 4, first published in 1919, contains systematic descriptions of fossil ginkgoales and coniferales.
This volume 1 and its companion volume 2 present the results of new investigations into the geology, paleontology and paleoecology of the early hominin site of Laetoli in northern Tanzania. The site is one of the most important paleontological and paleoanthropological sites in Africa, worldrenowned for the discovery of fossils of the early hominin Australopithecus afarensis, as well as remarkable trails of its footprints. The first volume provides new evidence on the geology, geochronology, ecology, ecomorphology and taphonomy of the site. The second volume describes newly discovered fossil hominins from Laetoli, belonging to Australopithecus afarensis and Paranthropus aethiopicus, and presents detailed information on the systematics and paleobiology of the diverse associated fauna. Together, these contributions provide one of the most comprehensive accounts of a fossil hominin site, and they offer important new insights into the early stages of human evolution and its context.
This 1971 volume presents the proceedings of a Symposium of Micropalaeontology of Marine Bottom Sediments held in Cambridge, England, in September 1967. The collection and paleontological interpretations of deep-sea sediments had only been carried out intensively for the twenty years preceding the book's publication, and it provides a summary of the state of knowledge in this field as it stood. Beginning with a consideration of the organisms in relation to the water in which they live, successive chapters deal with the descent of the skeletons to the sea floor, their entombment in the sediments and their interpretation to elucidate the history of the oceans. It is written by many of the specialists responsible for the development of this field and includes numerous Russian contributions. This book became the definitive compendium for students and workers in oceanography and palaeontology, and is still a useful resource today.
On the basis of extensive material in the form of letters, pamphlets and the recollections of friends and contemporaries, Jules Marcou (1824-1898) tells the story of the life and work of Louis Agassiz in this two-volume work of 1896. The Swiss-born palaeontologist, glaciologist and zoologist (1807-1873) is regarded as one of the founding fathers of the modern American scientific tradition. Marcou, a fellow countryman and collaborator of Agassiz, does not attempt to conceal his high regard for the subject of his biography but does have 'in view the truth'. In a chronological narrative, Volume 1 traces the childhood and early professional success of Agassiz, including his charming of the great von Humboldt. It describes Agassiz' time as professor in Switzerland and his marriage, ending with the arrival of Agassiz in America and his first attempts at forging a university career there.
On the basis of extensive material in the form of letters, pamphlets and the recollections of friends and contemporaries, Jules Marcou (1824-1898) tells the story of the life and work of Louis Agassiz in this two-volume work of 1896. The Swiss-born palaeontologist, glaciologist and zoologist (1807-1873) is regarded as one of the founding fathers of the modern American scientific tradition. Marcou, a fellow countryman and collaborator of Agassiz, does not attempt to conceal his high regard for the subject of his biography but does have 'in view the truth'. In a chronological narrative, Volume 2 tells of Agassiz' professorship at Harvard and the founding in 1859 of the Museum of Contemporary Zoology, where he remained as director until his death. Although Darwin believed the Swiss scientist's theory on parallelisms provided evidence for evolution, Agassiz was no evolutionist but saw the plan of God everywhere in nature.
Taphonomic bias is a pervasive feature of the fossil record. A pressing concern, however, is the extent to which taphonomic processes have varied through the ages. It is one thing to work with a biased data set and quite another to work with a bias that has changed with time. This book includes work from both new and established researchers who are using laboratory, field and data-base techniques to characterise and quantify the temporal and spatial variation in taphonomic bias. It may not provide all the answers but it will at least shed light on the right questions.
Originally published by Cambridge in 1991, this book is a translation of a unique Russian study of fossil plant distributions in the Jurassic and Cretaceous world. The core of the work is the description and assessment of floras of the USSR, China and Japan. Information on the floras of this extensive and productive area had hitherto been available only in scattered and sometimes obscure Russian journals. Vakhrameev also summarises the more familiar Western work and divides the continents into regions and provinces illustrating the palaeolatitudinal climatic arrangement of floras. The work deals first with megafossil plants and with land plant palynomorphs. The time covered from 200 to 65 million years ago ranges both before and immediately after the main angiosperm radiation from about 130 to 100 million years ago. Vakhrameev's work represents a vast source of data, which will be of interest to any student of Mesozoic seed plants.
The Mjolnir impact structure was recognized in 1993 and included in the Earth Impact Database in 1996, based on the discoveries of unequivocal meteorite impact indicators such as shocked quartz, Ir-enrichments, possible glass remnants, fragments of nickel-rich iron oxides, in addition to the convincing complex crater shape of the structure. This book presents the geological and geophysical history of the Barents Sea region along with the discovery of the Mjolnir impact crater. We place the Mjolnir event into the geological framework of the region and present elaborative numerical models of its formation and associated tsunami generation. The book represents an update and synthesis as well as the complete compilation of the Mjolnir crater studies. "
One of the most intriguing paleobiogeographical phenomena involving the origins and gradual sundering of Gondwana concerns the close similarities and, in most cases, inferred sister-group relationships of a number of terrestrial and freshwater vertebrate taxa, e.g., dinosaurs, flying birds, mammals, etc., recovered from uppermost Cretaceous/ Paleogene deposits of West Antarctica, South America, and NewZealand/Australia. For some twenty five extensive and productive investigations in the field of vertebrate paleontology has been carried out in latest Cretaceous and Paleogene deposits in the James Ross Basin, northeast of the Antarctic Peninsula (AP), West Antarctica, on the exposed sequences on James Ross, Vega, Seymour (=Marambio) and Snow Hill islands respectively. The available geological, geophysical and marine faunistic evidence indicates that the peninsular (AP) part of West Antarctica and the western part of the tip of South America (Magallanic Region, southern Chile) were positioned very close in the latest Cretaceous and early Paleogene favoring the "Overlapping" model of South America-Antarctic Peninsula paleogeographic reconstruction. Late Cretaceous deposits from Vega, James Ross, Seymour and Snow Hill islands have produced a discrete number of dinosaur taxa and a number of advanced birds together with four mosasaur and three plesiosaur taxa, and a few shark and teleostean taxa.
The Quaternary has been a period of major climatic and environmental oscillations, and our knowledge of these past variations is important for our understanding of the possible impact of human activity on the present-day environment. First published in 1999, Quaternary Climates, Environments and Magnetism presents an account of the rich variety of uses of magnetic measurements in the environmental geosciences. Ten chapters by leading world authorities describe the highlights of environmental magnetic work during the last decade and identify directions for future research. Emphasis is placed on a multidisciplinary approach to achieve a more thorough understanding of the environmental processes involved. This volume will be of interest to research scientists from a wide range of disciplines working on Quaternary environments, including earth and environmental sciences, physical geology, geography and palaeoclimatology. It will also be valuable as a supplementary text for graduates and advanced undergraduates.
Invertebrate pathology, like medical and veterinary pathology, for many years has been spearheaded by practical applications al though in more recent times many investigators have elected to focus their attention on basic mechanisms and the elucidation of basic phenomena. Although Elie Metachnikoff and Louis Pasteur may be considered the forerunners of invertebrate pathology, in modern times the late Edward A. Steinhaus and the late Arthur M. Heimpel, among others, must be considered the principal disciples. Con sequently, in recent years several symposia have been organized in honor of the memory of Steinhaus and Heimpel. When the proceedings of these occasions were examined and reviewed, it was decided that these could naturally be considered chapters of a single volume of Comparative Pathobiology under the subtitle selected. We wish to note that the chapters devoted to various aspects of Bacillus thuringiensis were originally presented at the thirteenth annual meeting of the Society for Invertebrate Pathology held in Seattle, Washington, on July 26 - August 2, 1980, under the title of the "Edward A. Steinhaus Memorial Symposium". This includes the contribution by Dr. Robert M. Faust on the professional contributions of Dr. Arthur M. Heimpel. Art, as he was known to his friends, was a founding member of the Society and later served as its president. The circle of his professional associates was international.
John William Salter (1820 1869) was an English naturalist and geologist, best known for his work as palaeontologist to the Geological Survey of Great Britain. This is a complete catalogue of the Cambrian and Silurian fossils in the Geological Museum at the University of Cambridge. Preceded by a detailed introductory section on the Pal ozoic system, the catalogue is arranged by geological strata, covering the various groups of Cambrian and Silurian fossils. The entries include detailed illustrations, along with references to the location of each fossil in the collection, its name and details of its place of origin. Revised by staff of the University and published posthumously in 1873, the catalogue also contains a substantial preface by Adam Sedgwick, famous for his role in the development of modern geology, which provides fascinating insights into the geological advances of the Victorian era.
Published in 1931 to complement Seward's magisterial four-volume textbook Fossil Plants, this book is a digest of his earlier detailed study, written for a non-specialist audience as an introduction to the field of palaeobotany. Seward begins by describing the basics of geology and palaeobotany in order to explain how the interpretation of fossilised plant remains found in rocks can shed light on the natural world of prehistoric times. He then covers geological periods in chronological sequence, from the Pre-Cambrian to the Quaternary. Throughout, he emphasises the fragmentary nature of the evidence and the difficulties in extrapolating from the surviving fossil record, but he also explains the great discoveries made in the field and how they came about. The accompanying drawings give an impression of the likely combinations of plants found in each period, allowing the reader to visualise the different landscapes evoked in Seward's engaging prose.
The collections of fossils housed in this museum, now known as the Sedgwick Museum of Earth Sciences, are of international importance. The original collection was begun in 1728, and grew rapidly. This catalogue by Henry Woods (1868 1952), a graduate of the University of Cambridge who undertook curatorial work in the museum between his graduation in 1890 and his appointment as a Demonstrator in Paleobotany in 1892, was first published in 1891. It contains the specific names, classes and orders of 558 specimens in the museum which are 'type specimens' for particular species, and was primarily intended for scholars searching for the location of those specimens. Woods also included the names of individuals who had described each specimen, the name of the collection it was in and references for the specimen. His book provides a valuable record of important fossils in the collection at the time of publication.
I see a man's life is a tedious one. Cymbeline, Act III, Sc. 6. It is well known that the best way to learn a subject is to teach it! Along the same lines one might also say that a pleasant way of learning a subject and at the same time getting to know quite a few of the workers active in it, is to arrange and to attend an Advanced Study Institute (ASI) or a workshop lasting about two weeks. This was and is the wisdom behind the NA TO-ASI programme and much as people fear that a fortnight may be too long, before it is over everyone feels that it was too short, especially if the weather had cooperated. Organising this ASI which resulted in this volume has been a very good learning experience. I started my career in research with invertebrates and retained an interest in them over the years due to my teaching a course and working sporadically on various aspects of photoreception in Polychaetes, Crustaceans and Insects. Thus, the thought of organising an ASI on photoreception and vision in invertebrates had been brewing in my mind for the past half a dozen years or so. It was felt that it will be desirable to do a bit of stock taking and discuss possible new approaches to the study of this matter.
Gideon Mantell (1790 1852) was an English physician and geologist best known for pioneering the scientific study of dinosaurs. After an apprenticeship to a local surgeon in Sussex, Mantell became a member of the Royal College of Surgeons in 1811. He developed an interest in fossils, and in 1822 his discovery of fossil teeth which he later identified as belonging to an iguana-like creature he named Iguanadon spurred research into ancient reptiles. These volumes, first published in 1838, contain a series of eight lectures which describe and explain early principles of geology, stratification and fossil plants and animals to a non-scientific audience. These detailed volumes became Mantell's most popular work, and provide a fascinating view of the study of geology and palaeontology during the early nineteenth century. Volume 1 contains lectures 1 4, discussing the formation and composition of rock strata, chalk formations and fossil animals.
Gideon Mantell (1790 1852) was an English physician and geologist best known for pioneering the scientific study of dinosaurs. After an apprenticeship to a local surgeon in Sussex, Mantell became a member of the Royal College of Surgeons in 1811. He developed an interest in fossils, and in 1822 his discovery of fossil teeth which he later identified as belonging to an iguana-like creature he named Iguanadon spurred research into ancient reptiles. These volumes, first published in 1838, contain a series of eight lectures which describe and explain early principles of geology, stratification and fossil plants and animals to a non-scientific audience. These detailed volumes became Mantell's most popular work, and provide a fascinating view of the study of geology and palaeontology during the early nineteenth century. Volume 2 contains lectures 5 8, discussing marine fossils including animals and corals, fossil plants and volcanic rocks.
This volume is one outcome of the 6th International Conference on Paleoceano graphy (ICP VI). The conference was held August 23-28, 1998 in Lisbon, Portugal. The meeting followed the traditional format of a small number of invited oral presentations complemented by a large number ofcontributed posters. Over 550 participants attended, representing thirty countries and nearly 450 posters were presented. The invited speakers addressed the main themes of the 5oral sessions. The session topics were: Polar-Tropical and Interhemisphere Linkages; Does the Ocean Cause, or Respond to, Abrupt Climatic Changes?; Biotic Responses to Major Paleoceanographic Changes; Past Warm Climates; and Innovations In Monitoring Ocean History. This is the first time in ICP history that the Conference Proceedings are published. The aim of the organisers with the publication of this book is two-fold: to provide a useful review of the field and to document the ideas/controversies raised during the con ference that may stimulate future work. The book reflects the initial intentions of the conference, but it is not a conven tional conference proceedings, given that the papers have been reviewed by formal exter nal referees. Each of the conference topics is introduced by a review article designed to summarize the state of the art in each theme followed by articles prepared by the invited speakers. As with most conference proceedings, each theme is covered heterogenously. Some topics have all the expected contributions, others are less well covered."
A top priority in climate research is obtaining broad-extent and long-term data to support analyses of historical patterns and trends, and for model development and evaluation. Along with directly measured climate data from the present and recent past, it is important to obtain estimates of long past climate variations spanning multiple centuries and millennia. These longer time perspectives are needed for assessing the unusualness of recent climate changes, as well as for providing insight on the range, variation and overall dynamics of the climate system over time spans exceeding available records from instruments, such as rain gauges and thermometers. Tree rings have become increasingly valuable in providing this long-term information because extensive data networks have been developed in temperate and boreal zones of the Earth, and quantitative methods for analyzing these data have advanced. Tree rings are among the most useful paleoclimate information sources available because they provide a high degree of chronological accuracy, high replication, and extensive spatial coverage spanning recent centuries. With the expansion and extension of tree-ring data and analytical capacity new climatic insights from tree rings are being used in a variety of applications, including for interpretation of past changes in ecosystems and human societies. This volume presents an overview of the current state of dendroclimatology, its contributions over the last 30 years, and its future potential. The material included is useful not only to those who generate tree-ring records of past climate-dendroclimatologists, but also to users of their results-climatologists, hydrologists, ecologists and archeologists. 'With the pressing climatic questions of the 21st century demanding a deeper understanding of the climate system and our impact upon it, this thoughtful volume comes at critical moment. It will be of fundamental importance in not only guiding researchers, but in educating scientists and the interested lay person on the both incredible power and potential pitfalls of reconstructing climate using tree-ring analysis.', Glen M. MacDonald, UCLA Institute of the Environment, CA, USA 'This is an up-to-date treatment of all branches of tree-ring science, by the world's experts in the field, reminding us that tree rings are the most important source of proxy data on climate change. Should be read by all budding dendrochronology scientists.', Alan Robock, Rutgers University, NJ, USA
Microfossils are ideally suited to environmental studies because their short generation times allow them to respond rapidly to environmental change. This book represents an assessment of the progress made in environmental micropalaeontology and sets out future research directions. The taxa studied are mainly foraminifera, but include arcellaceans, diatoms, dinoflagellates, and ostracodes. The papers themselves range from reviews of applications of particular taxa to specific case studies. |
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