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

During the period from the Neoproterozoic to the early Paleozoic, numerous continental fragments in the Southern Hemisphere consolidated along a series of interconnected orogenic belts to form the supercontinent Gondwanaland. The Ross orogen of the Transantarctic Mountains is the part of the orogenic system that formed at the Pacific continental margin of present-day Antarctica. According to one hypothesis, which is perhaps among the most significant recent developments in regional tectonics, this continental margin was created by the rifting and subsequent drift of Laurentia from Gondwanaland. With an unparalled breadth and depth of information, this book provides a detailed synthesis of the history of the Ross orogen, which commenced in the Neoproterozoic with passive margin sedimentation and progressed through a series of tectonic events that culminated in the Ross orogeny approximately 500 million years ago. In doing so, it incorporates classical studies with discussions of the most recent and controversial research from the international community. The book also includes a comprehensive bibliography and a historical chronology of all expeditions that have worked on the Ross orogen, from the first sightings by Ross in 1840 to the present. This review will be valuable to all geologists interested in these episodes in the earth's history and to researchers of the geology of Antarctica.