The United States Geological Survey (USGS) is a scientific organization created in 1879, and is part of the U.S. government. Their scientists explore our environment and ecosystems, to determine the natural dangers we are facing. The agency has over 10,000 employees that collect, monitor, and analyze data so that they have a better understanding of our problems. The USGS is dedicated to provide reliable, investigated information to enhance and protect our quality of life. This is one of their reports.

Antarctica is the center from which all surrounding continental bodies separated millions of years ago. Antarctica: A Keystone in a Changing World, reinforces the importance of continual changes in the country's history and the impact of these changes on global systems. The book also places emphasis on deciphering the climate records in ice cores, geologic cores, rock outcrops and those inferred from climate models. New technologies for the coming decades of geoscience data collection are also highlighted. Antarctica: A Keystone in a Changing World is a collection of papers that were presented by keynote speakers at the 10th International Symposium on Antarctic Earth Sciences. It is of interest to policy makers, researchers and scientific institutions. Table of Contents Front Matter Summary and Highlights of the 10th International Symposium on Antarctic Earth Sciences--T. J. Wilson, R. E. Bell, P. Fitzgerald, S. B. Mukasa, R. D. Powell, and C. Finn Antarctic Earth System Science in the International Polar Year 2007-2008--R. E. Bell 100 Million Years of Antarctic Climate Evolution: Evidence from Fossil Plants--J. E. Francis, A. Ashworth, D. J. Cantrill, J. A. Crame, J. Howe, R. Stephens, A.-M. Tosolini, and V. Thorn Antarctica's Continent-Ocean Transitions: Consequences for Tectonic Reconstructions--K. Gohl Landscape Evolution of Antarctica--S. S. R. Jamieson and D. E. Sugden A View of Antarctic Ice-Sheet Evolution from Sea-Level and Deep-Sea Isotope Changes During the Late Cretaceous-Cenozoic--K. G. Miller, J. D. Wright, M. E. Katz, J. V. Browning, B. S. Cramer, B. S. Wade, and S. F. Mizintseva Late Cenozoic Climate History of the Ross Embayment from the AND-1B Drill Hole: Culmination of Three Decades of Antarctic Margin Drilling--T. R. Naish, R. D. Powell, P. J. Barrett, R. H. Levy, S. Henrys, G. S. Wilson, L. A. Krissek, F. Niessen, M. Pompilio, J. Ross, R. Scherer, F. Talarico, A. Pyne, and the ANDRILL-MIS Science team A Pan-Precambrian Link Between Deglaciation and Environmental Oxidation--T. D. Raub and J. L. Kirschvink Tectonics of the West Antarctic Rift System: New Light on the History and Dynamics of Distributed Intracontinental Extension--C. S. Siddoway The Significance of Antarctica for Studies of Global Geodynamics--R. Sutherland Antarctica and Global Paleogeography: From Rodinia, Through Gondwanaland and Pangea, to the Birth of the Southern Ocean and the Opening of Gateways--T. H. Torsvik, C. Gaina, and T. F. Redfield DVD Contents