Using newly declassified documents, this book explores why U.S. military leaders after World War II sought to monitor the far north and understand the physical environment of Greenland, a crucial territory of Denmark. It reveals a fascinating yet little-known realm of Cold War intrigue and a delicate diplomatic duet between a smaller state and a superpower amid a time of intense global pressures. Written by scholars in Denmark and the United States, this book explores many compelling topics. What led to the creation of the U.S. Thule Air Base in Greenland, one of the world's largest, and why did the U.S. build a nuclear-powered city under Greenland's ice cap? How did Danish concern about sovereignty shape scientific research programs in Greenland? Also explored here: why did Denmark's most famous scientist, Inge Lehmann, became involved in research in Greenland, and what international reverberations resulted from the crash of a U.S. B-52 bomber carrying four nuclear weapons near Thule in January 1968?

Scientific disciplines have their own view on catastrophes. Here, natural scientists, engineers, physicians as well as historians and social scientists define and discuss geo-hazards and associated technical disasters, natural disasters as a business case, medicine and its catastrophes. After war aspects of the Shoah are described with Gershom Sholems Concept of Jewish Totality, and the situation of Displaced Persons in Germany as well as the Nakba for Palestinians related to the happiness of Jews celebrating their new State of Israel. The book also reminds of Hamburg's Flood Disaster in 1962, the Great East Japan Earthquake in 2011 and other historical catastrophes in Japan, the Lisbon earthquake in 1755 and the Age of Enlightenment, and the eruption of the Tambora in 1815 followed by the "year without summer".

Using a series of case studies, the book demonstrates the power of dynamic analysis as applied to the fossil record. The book considers how we think about certain types of paleontological questions and shows how to answer them. The analytical tools presented here will have wide application to other fields of knowledge; as such the book represents a major contribution to the deployment of modern scientific method as it builds on author's previous book, Dynamic Paleontology. Students and seasoned professionals alike will find this book to be of great utility for refining their approach to their ongoing and future research projects.

'Full of wonder and forensic intelligence' Isabella Tree, author of Wilding A moving account of Madagascar told by a researcher who has spent over fifty years investigating the mysteries of this remarkable island. Madagascar is a place of change. A biodiversity hotspot and the fourth largest island on the planet, it has been home to a spectacular parade of animals, from giant flightless birds and giant tortoises on the ground, to agile lemurs leaping through the treetops. Some species live on; many have vanished in the distant or recent past. Over vast stretches of time, Madagascar's forests have expanded and contracted in response to shifting climates, and the hand of people is clear in changes during the last thousand years or so. Today, Madagascar is a microcosm of global trends. What happens there in the decades ahead can, perhaps, suggest ways to help turn the tide on the environmental crisis now sweeping the world. The Sloth Lemur's Song is a far-reaching account of Madagascar's past and present, led by an expert guide who has immersed herself in research and conservation activities with village communities on the island for nearly fifty years. Alison Richard accompanies the reader on a journey through space and time-from Madagascar's ancient origins as a landlocked region of Gondwana and its emergence as an island to the modern-day developments that make the survival of its array of plants and animals increasingly uncertain. Weaving together scientific evidence with Richard's own experiences and exploring the power of stories to shape our understanding of events, this book captures the magic as well as the tensions that swirl around this island nation.

This book presents the study of limnogeomorphology, in which past proxy data such as lacustrine sediments with information on landform development can be linked to modern observed data acquired by instruments, including hydro-geomorphological and sedimentary data. Traditionally, in the field of earth sciences, it has been thought that geophysical studies dealing mainly with the present process were not smoothly linked to geological studies that originated from historical studies. Although such earth-surface process studies are closely related to those on historical landform development in the field of geomorphology, they have been studied separately. Those two geomorphology studies correspond to process geomorphology (dynamic geomorphology) and historical geomorphology. There have been some attempts to combine them; however, they lacked past quantitative records available for further analyses. In the study of limnogeomorphology, proxy data can be converted to quantitative information to be utilized in future environmental discussions. This book also covers information not only on large lake-catchment systems, but on small systems. Those include long-term and short-term and large-scale and small-scale environmental changes in east Eurasia such as Lake Baikal, Lake Khuvsgul, Lake Biwa, and small lakes in Japan, Mongolia, China, and Korea.

Mallorca - the island of Robert Graves, Joan Miro, and Archduke Ludwig Salvador - has become the most popular holiday destination in the Mediterranean, with nearly 10 million visitors a year. Few, however, are aware of the 5,000 year history of Mallorca and its resulting landscape featuring late Bronze Age navetes and talayots, Roman cities, and a major medieval trading port with one of Europe's largest cathedrals. Mallorca's landscape has been formed with a pattern of country houses and enclosed fields, and the relics of major 19th-century industries, including textiles and shoe-making workshops. 120 years of tourism, latterly on a massive scale, endangers much of what has gone before. This pioneering work, based on more than 10 years of local research, describes and analyzes all these elements that together form the contemporary landscape. Written in an accessible style and well-illustrated with maps and photographs, this book will appeal to student and concerned reader alike and should be read by all who are inquisitive about what they see around them when they visit the island. *** ..".a must for anyone curious about this lesser sung story of history, making 'Mallorca' a fine and quite recommended read, not to be missed." - The Midwest Book Review, Library Bookwatch, April 2013, The World History Shelf *** "Buswell's latest book has no peer in English....he draws on various epistemological perspectives to portray the landscape as a cultural artifact that is unique due to changing human settlement and exploitation, but also is a palimpsest bearing telltale signs of sequent occupancy never completely erased." - The AAG Review of Books, Fall 2013

The region of the Sao Francisco river valley in eastern Brazil encompasses two main components of the geologic framework of the South American continent: the Sao Francisco craton and its marginal orogenic belts. Cratons, as the oldest, differentiated and relatively stable pieces of the continental lithosphere, preserve a substantial part of the Earth's memory. Orogenic belts, on the other hand, record collisional processes that occurred during a limited time span. Because of their topographic relief, mountain belts developed along craton margins provide however access to rock successions not exposed in the low lands of the adjacent cratons. The combination of geologic information obtained in cratonic domains and their marginal orogenic belts thus form the basis for deciphering substantial periods of Earth's history. Corresponding to the most intensively studied portion of the Precambrian nucleus of the South American plate, the Sao Francisco craton and its margins host a rock record that spans from the Paleoarchean to the Cenozoic. Precambrian sedimentary successions that witness ancient Earth processes - many of them of global significance - are especially well preserved and exposed in this region. With all these attributes the Sao Francisco craton together with its fringing orogenic belts can be viewed as a 'continent within a continent' or a 'continent in miniature'.

This unique book provides a concise account of Indian Paleogene and presents a unified view of the Paleogene sequences of India. The Paleogene, comprising the early part of the Cenozoic Era, was the most dynamic period in the Earth's history with profound changes in the biosphere and geosphere. The period spans ~42 million years, beginning from post- K/T mass extinction event at ~65 Ma and ending at ~23 Ma, when the first Antarctic ice sheet appeared in the Southern Hemisphere. The early Paleogene (Paleocene-Eocene) has been considered a globally warm period, superimposed on which were several transient hyperthermal events of extreme warmth. Of these, the Palaeocene Eocene Thermal Maxima (PETM) boundary interval is the most prominent extreme warming episode, lasting 200 Ka. PETM is characterized by 2-60/00 global negative carbon isotope excursion. The event coincided with the Benthic Extinction Event (BEE) in deep sea and Larger Foraminifera Turnover (LFT) in shallow seas. Rapid ~60-80 warming of high latitudinal regions led to major faunal and floral turnovers in continental, shallow-marine and deep-marine areas. The emergence and dispersal of mammals with modern characteristics, including Artiodactyls, Perissodactyls and Primates (APP), and the evolution and expansion of tropical vegetation are some of the significant features of the Paleogene warm world. In the Indian subcontinent, the beginning and end of the Paleogene was marked by various events that shaped the various physiographic features of the Indian subcontinent. The subcontinent lay within the equatorial zone during the earliest part of the Paleogene. Carbonaceous shale, coal and lignite deposits of early Eocene age (~55.5-52 Ma) on the western and north-eastern margins of the Indian subcontinent are rich in fossils and provide information on climate as well as the evolution and paleobiogeography of tropical biota. Indian Paleogene deposits in the India-Asia collision zone also provide information pertaining to the paleogeography and timing of collision. Indian Paleogene rocks are exposed in the Himalayan and Arakan mountains; Assam and the shelf basins of Kutch-Saurashtra, Western Rajasthan; Tiruchirappalli-Pondicherry and Andaman and, though aerially limited, these rocks bear geological evidence of immense importance.

John K. DeLaski, M.D. practiced medicine in the Penobscot Bay region of Maine and, in addition, was a naturalist with keen powers of observation. His study of the landscape led to the conclusion that a thick glacier had overtopped the highest hills, flooded all of Penobscot Bay, extended far to the east and west and probably was part of a greater continental glacier. He published these very critical field observations and inferences in numerous articles in local newspapers and magazines, and in the American Journal of Science in 1864. His work put him on the "team" of Benjamin Silliman, James D. Dana and Louis Agassiz as an advocate for glaciation as the regional land shaping force opposed to that of the Biblical Deluge, a major scientific conflict of the day both in North America and Europe. He remained a shadowy player, in the background, but clearly contributed critical observations to the argument through personal interactions with Agassiz and other prominent naturalists. They incorporated DeLaski's observations into their own presentations, often without giving him credit. John DeLaski's summary work, a 400 page handwritten manuscript for the book, "The Ancient Great Glacier of North America", was dated 1869. He died in 1874 and the book was not published. The historic significance of DeLaski's unpublished book is based upon its startling contribution to one of the major scientific questions of the day of whether the surficial geology of northern U.S. and Canada was caused by the actions of the Biblical Flood or by continental glaciation. If published, this would have been the first book on this continent, at least, to present a holistic discussion of the controversy in which he presented his critical observations of the surficial geology in Maine, southern New England and New Brunswick, Canada and concluded that these depositional and erosional features must be of glacial origin. DeLaski then incorporated other evidence into the book for glaciation reported by others from the region during a decade or two, and from the mid and far west and Canada to advocate that the entire region was covered by an ice sheet that was at least 5,000 feet and probably much thicker over interior northern U.S. and Canada and which terminated along a glacial margin which extended from southern new England as far westward along the courses of the Ohio, and Missouri Rivers. All this was done while most "naturalists" still advocated the Biblical Flood to explain the major components of the surficial geology in North America and abroad. DeLaski's book containing his critical observations of clearly so many landscape features of glacial origin, if published would have been a pivotal document that would have strongly supported those arguing for glaciations in the glaciations vs. flood international argument.

This book examines old and new data on some of the 18th and 19th century earthquakes that either occurred or were clearly felt in southern regions of Poland. Particular emphasis is put on a detailed study and reinterpretation of the unusually severe Outer Western Carpathians earthquake on December 3, 1786 (7 I0, 5.3 Mw, 35 km depth), which was the last in a series of seismic events in the years 1785 and 1786. An assessment is also made of what we presently know about the seismicity of the Western Carpathians in Poland based on to instrumental data. The book also presents material relating to earthquakes of 6-9 I0 that affected south Poland and the surrounding regions: Zilina in Slovakia (1858), Gera in Thuringia (1872), the Sudetes on the Czech-Polish border (1883, 1901), and Lower Silesia, Poland (1895). These are analyzed and illustrated by 17 contemporary macroseismic intensity maps, some of which are considered to be remarkable for those times. A new seismic catalog for Poland is provided with amendments and updates up to the end of 2014. Noteworthy is the data on two unforeseen events: one about 60 km NE of the Polish border in 2004 and one in central Poland in 2012. It shows how important it is, not least for practical engineering purposes, to perform seismic monitoring even in seemingly aseismic regions.

This uniquely interdisciplinary textbook explores the exciting and complex relationship between Earth’s geological history and the biodiversity of life. Its innovative design provides a seamless learning experience, clarifying major concepts step by step with detailed textual explanations complemented by detailed figures, diagrams and vibrant pictures. Thanks to its layout, the respective concepts can be studied individually, as part of the broader framework of each chapter, or as they relate to the book as a whole. It provides in-depth coverage of: - Earth’s formation and subsequent geological history, including patterns of climate change and atmospheric evolution; - The early stages of life, from microbial ‘primordial soup’ theories to the fossil record’s most valuable contributions; - Mechanisms of mutual influence between living organisms and the environment: how life changed Earth’s history whilst, at the same time, environmental pressures continue to shape the evolution of species; - Basic ideas in biodiversity studies: species concepts, measurement techniques, and global distribution patterns; - Biological systematics, from their historical origins in Greek philosophy and Biblical stories to Darwinian evolution by natural selection, and to phylogenetics based on cutting-edge molecular techniques. This book’s four major sections offer a fresh cross-disciplinary overview of biodiversity and the Earth’s history. Among many other concepts, they reveal the massive diversity of eukaryotes, explain the geological processes behind fossilisation, and provide an eye-opening account of the relatively short period of human evolution in the context of Earth’s 4.6 billion-year history. Employing a combination of proven didactic tools, the book is simultaneously a reading reference, illustrated guide, and encyclopaedia of organismal biology and geology. It is aimed at school- and university-level students, as well as members of the public fascinated by the intricate interrelationship of living organisms and their environment.

This book analyzes the Early Cretaceous volcanic processes in Misiones Province and in Sierra Chica de Cordoba (Argentina). The volcanism in Misiones is tholeiitic and belongs to the Parana Magmatic Province (PMP), which extends throughout South America. In contrast, the volcanism in Cordoba is geographically restricted and of alkaline nature, representing a potassic locality peripheral to the PMP. To understand the causes of and geodynamic processes involved in these volcanisms, a new 40Ar /39Ar of 129.6 +/- 1 Ma of a trachyte from Sierra Chica de Cordoba is presented. This dating points out that the volcanism in Sierra Chica de Cordoba slightly postdates PMP lavas. Moreover, complementary geochemical analyses from Misiones Province are presented and compared with those from the whole PMP in order to characterize its source

The story of the destruction of Sodom, Gomorrah, and Jericho--three cities situated along a major fault line extending 1,100 kilometers from the Red Sea to Turkey--is the oldest such description in human history. In this book, noted geologists K.O. Emery and David Neev have revisited that story to shed light on what happened there some 4,350 years ago. With all the benefits of modern geological and forensic science techniques at their disposal, the authors explore an area where earthquakes, volcanic activity, variations in the Dead Sea's level, and oscillations between arid and wet climates have affected life there for over 10,000 years. In reviewing the geology, biblical paleogeography, and limnology of the region, the authors have produced fascinating insights into the tectonic and climatic changes that have occurred in the region over the last 6,000 years and how those changes have affected cultural life in the Middle East. The Destruction of Sodom, Gomorrah, and Jericho is the first book to combine modern science and biblical archaeology to produce an authoritative account of the of these three great cities. It will fascinate students and researchers in geology, geophysics, and archaeology alike.

This publication is devoted to the natural feature - the Black Sea and its littoral states. At the same time the Azov Sea is also considered here. This region is the focus of many geopolitical, economic, social and environmental issues that involve not only the countries coming out to the Black and Azov Seas, but other world countries, too. This publication contains over 1500 articles and terms providing descriptions of geographical and oceanographic features, cities, ports, transport routes, marine biological resources, international treaties, national and international programs, research institutions, historical and archaeological monuments, activities of prominent scientists, researchers, travelers, military commanders, etc. who had relation to the Black Sea. It includes a multi-century chronology of the events that became the outstanding milestones in the history of development of the Black Sea - Azov Sea region.

This book presents a balanced combination of practical and theoretical aspects of geoarchaeology. To do so, it gathers all the components of a natural framework (geology, relief, hydrography, climate, soils, flora and fauna), which have been analyzed from an archaeological perspective. While globally this is a highly developed and researched area, unfortunately in Romania it is still a largely neglected field of study, as limited funds are available. However, the country has a huge potential and international researchers have applied geoarchaeological methods and techniques and published results in numerous journals. This area is important because traces of the Chalcolithic population (Cucuteni culture) have been discovered here. The culture is considered to be the oldest one in Europe, and is highly significant for Romanian as well as European archaeology. The degradation of these settlements is the main core of the work, with illustrative case studies offering insights into the natural and, in some cases, anthropic effects on the sites.

A study on the Bellingwe Greenstone Belt, presenting the stratigraphy of the belt, its structure and tectonic setting, the sedimentology of what may be a rift basin, the geochemistry of the freshest Archaean komatiites yet found, and models of the evolution of the region.
Contents: Stratigraphy of the Belingwe Greenstone Belt: Complexity of the tectonic setting; Structure and metamorphism of the Belingwe Greenstone Belt and adjacent granite-gneiss terrain: The tectonic evolution of an Archaean craton; The Mtchinge Group in the West: Andesite, basalts, komatiites and sediments of the Ilokonui, Bend and Koodoovale Formations; Sedimentology of the Brooklands Formation, Zimbabwe: Development of an Archaean greenstone belt in a rapidly rifted graben;

This abundantly illustrated book provides a concise overview of our understanding of the entire mantle, its evolution since early differentiation and the consequences of superplumes for earth surface processes. The book's balanced authorship has produced a state-of-the-science report on the emerging concept of superplumes. This presents a new concept to explain catastrophic events on Earth through geologic time.

STRUCTURE OF THE VOLUME AND TERMINOLOGY USED This book contains scientific descriptions of 63 localities (Figure A) of at least national importance for Quaternary geology, geomorphology and environmental change in South-West England. These sites were selected by the Geological Conservation Review and are accordingly designated 'GCR' sites. Chapter 1 provides an introduction to the Quaternary. Chapter 2 synthesizes the geomorphological development and Quaternary history of the region, and outlines the principles involved in site selection. The individual GCR site descriptions form the core of the book. In the following chapters, sites are arranged and described in broad geographic areas and by research topic. This is necessitated by the widely disparate nature of the field evidence in Soutb West England: sites demonstrating the full range of Quaternary and geomorphological features are not evenly and conveniently dispersed throughout the region, and some areas have significant gaps. Neither do the individual chapters contain sites that neces sarily equate with particular site selection networks. Rather, the chosen chapter headings provide the least repetitive means of describing the sites and background material. Where possible, a chronological approach, from oldest to youngest, has been used to describe sites within a given chapter. Again, this approach is not always possi ble, and a group of sites may show variations on landform or Stratigraphie evidence broadly within one major time interval or chronostratigraphic stage; inevitably there are many overlaps."

This is a book about the petrology of kimberlites. It is not about upper mantle xenoliths, diamonds, or prospecting for kimberlites. The object of the book is to provide a comprehensive survey and critique of the advances which have been made in kimberlite studies over the last twenty-five years. Kimberlites are rare rock types; however, their relative obscurity is overriden by their economic and petrological importance to a degree which is not shared with the commoner varieties of igneous rocks. Kimberlites are consequently of interest to a diverse group of earth scientists, ranging from isotope g ochemists concerned with the evolution of the mantle, to volcanologists pondering the origins of diatremes, to exploration geologists seeking new occurrences of the diamondiferous varieties. A common factor essential to all of these activities is a thorough understanding of the characteristics of kimberlites. For the petrologist, kimberlites are exciting and challenging objects for study. Their petrographic diversity, complex mineralogy and geochemistry, and unusual style of intrusion provide endless opportunities for stimulating hypothesis and conjecture concerning their origin and evolution. Kimberlites are a part of a wide spectrum of continental intra-cratonic magmatism. Only by understanding all of the parts of this activity in detail may we make progress in our understanding of the whole.

This volume provides a detailed description of a wide range of numerical, statistical or modeling techniques and novel instrumentation separated into individual chapters written by paleontologists with expertise in the given methodology. Each chapter outlines the strengths and limitations of specific numerical or technological approaches, and ultimately applies the chosen method to a real fossil dataset or sample type. A unifying theme throughout the book is the evaluation of fossils during the prologue and epilogue of one of the most exciting events in Earth History: the Cambrian radiation.

The primary goal here is to present a treatise on the significance and value of coarse clastic carbonate sediments (i.e. large coral boulders) on tropical coastlines for understanding both modern and pre-historical (Holocene) high-magnitude marine inundation events. There has been a rapid groundswell of interest in large carbonate blocks on tropical coasts over the last decade, yet it is not widely appreciated that such features were observed and recorded back in the early explorations of Matthew Flinders on the Great Barrier Reef in the 1800s. This book will illuminate how various characteristics of datable carbonate blocks torn up from coral reefs and deposited on reef platforms yield importance evidence about the storms and tsunamis that emplaced them over decadal and centennial timescales. No comprehensive review has so far been published. A need now exists for a 'definitive reference' on coral boulder research, which details the earliest observations, changing terminology, sedimentology, and relevance for coastal hazard research in the tropics. A wide range of examples will be incorporated from across Asia, Australia, the Pacific and the Americas, as well as a full up-to-date review of the existing literature.

Carbonate depositional systems in the Paleozoic geologic time represent fewer studies in paleoecological interactions than the siliciclastic systems. To evaluate this difference, the paleontology of the Middle Devonian Dundee Formation in Ohio has been explored. This geologic formation represents an important environment in the Michigan Basin of North America. Understanding biotic relationships such as mutualism, commensalism, parasitism and predation in an ecological community is important in unraveling the mystery of the fossil record. This research has contributed a large field collection which will be useful in documenting the fossil content of this unit for future workers. Rituparna Bose used new microscopic and imaging techniques in qualitatively analyzing the biotic interactions in small invertebrate shells. More importantly, she solved complex hypotheses in newly emerging problems in the field of geology and paleontology, such as the biodiversity crisis. Her study involved exploring the Devonian geology and paleontology of a geologic formation of a new unexplored quarry in Ohio, namely the Whitehouse Quarry in Lucas County, Ohio. She identified Devonian brachiopods to the genus level based on their morphology, and diagnosed paleoecological entities on host brachiopods and further measured episkeletobiont traces on hosts to understand the effects of environment and evolution on extinct species. Such studies have implications in predicting future biodiversity, ecosystem conservation and climate change. This research will also assist future workers to compare the ecology of brachiopod hosts of the Dundee Limestone with that of other Devonian brachiopods, from both carbonate and siliciclastic settings.

The 12thInternational BasementTectonicsConferencewas hostedbythe Schoolof Geologyand Geophysics and theOklahoma Geological Survey inthe SarkeysEnergy Centeronthe campusoftheUniversityofOklahoma, Norman, Oklahoma, U. S. A. , from May 21stthroughMay 26th, 1995. Atotal of52 individualswere in attendance, 9 ofwhichwereattendingfrom 6differentforeign countries. Fourdaysoforal and posterpresentationswere divided intofour technical sessions withthefollowing themes: I)FractureDevelopment, Reactivation, andMineralization, organizedbyM. 1. Bartholomewand S. Marshak; 2)EvolutionoftheBasementofthe North American Plate (with special emphasison its southern margin), organizedby R E. Denisonand E. G. Lidiak; 3)ProbingofBasement: Geophysical and Geochemical Methods,organizedbyR A. Youngand G. R Keller; and 4)ResponseofCoverRocks toBasementDeformation, organized by P. Berendsenand M. P. Carlson. Seventy-five presentationswere made during thecourseofthe meeting, which wasorganizedby Program Chairman M. Charles Gilbertandprofessionally managedbySaraMoody. Precedingthe meeting wasatwo dayfield trip toexaminethe modeand kinematics ofterraneaccretion duringclosureofan oceanbasin, as preserved in thePrecambrian geologyoftheeasternLlano Uplift, Texas, U. S. A. Thefield trip leaders Sharon Mosher, MarkHelper, Don Barker, and Robert Reed providedan excellentand comprehensive guidebook, and shared theirconsiderable expertise in manydiscussions at one spectacularexposures afteranother. All registrants participatedinthe mid-conferencefield tripguidedby R E. Denison, E. G. Lidiak, M. C. Gilbert, and John P. Hogan to examinethePrecambrianand Cambrianbasementterranesexposed in the ArbuckleMountainsupliftin southernOklahoma, U. S. A. Evidencefor apossible continental arc settingfor the southern margin ofthe-1. 4 Ga Granite-Rhyolite Terrane, theopeningofthe Cambrian Southern Oklahoma Aulacogenasevidencedby aspectacularexposureofadiabasedike swarm, and the roleofearliertectonicfabrics in thedevelopmentofyoungerstructureswere someofthe topicsofdiscussion. Thetwo day postconferencefield trip to the WichitaMountains uplift, southwestern Oklahoma, U. S. A. was ledby M. Charles Gilbert, and John P. Hogan. Thistrip highlightedthe Cambrian SouthernOklahoma Aulacogen.

Palaeobiogeography is a complex subject which processes information provided by both Biology and Earth Sciences. It is conceptually and philosophically equivalent to neobiogeography. Nevertheless, its methods are somewhat different, since it is limited by the incompleteness of the fossil record. On the other hand, it has direct access to the time dimension, a key ingredient of organic evolution. Mesozoic benthonic mollusks, and especially bivalves, have a great potential for palaeobiogeographical analysis due to their commonly good preservation, abundance, diversity and high dispersion potential at the larval stage. From a merely descriptive point of view, the analysis of their distribution shows latitudinal gradients and distributional patterns, both at regional and global scales, which are the basis for the recognition of biochoremas or palaeobiogeographical units of different ranks. Moving forward towards a causal
palaeobiogeography, these organisms also provide interesting insight into particular biogeographical questions, such as bipolarity and its origin. The evolution in time of the
recognized biochoremas can be discussed in relation to palaeoclimas and extinction events. Finally, some of the results obtained from the analysis of the distribution of past
bivalve biotas were even used to propose and discuss the development of marine corridors and argue about the distribution of continents in the past.

This book is devoted to the Anthropocene, the period of unprecedented human impacts on Earth's environmental systems, and illustrates how Geographers envision the concept of the Anthropocene. This edited volume illustrates that geographers have a diverse perspective on what the Anthropocene is and represents. The chapters also show that geographers do not feel it necessary to identify only one starting point for the temporal onset of the Anthropocene. Several starting points are suggested, and some authors support the concept of a time-transgressive Anthropocene. Chapters in this book are organized into six sections, but many of them transcend easy categorization and could have fit into two or even three different sections. Geographers embrace the concept of the Anthropocene while defining it and studying it in a variety of ways that clearly show the breadth and diversity of the discipline. This book will be of great value to scholars, researchers, and students interested in geography, environmental humanities, environmental studies, and anthropology. The chapters in this book were originally published as a special issue of the journal Annals of the American Association of Geographers.