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The Gulf of California is one of the most beautiful places in the
world, but it is also important to earth and marine scientists who
work far beyond the area. In text and an accompanying CD-ROM with
stunning satellite images, this atlas captures the dynamics of
natural cycles in the fertility of the Gulf of California that have
been in near-continuous operation for more than five million years.
The book is designed to answer key questions that link the health
of coastal ecosystems with the region's evolutionary history: What
was the richness of "fossil" ecosystems in the Gulf of California?
How has it changed over time? Which ecosystems are most amenable to
conservation?
With an emphasis on the intricate workings of the Gulf, a team of
scientists led by Markes E. Johnson and Jorge Ledesma-Vazquez
explores how marine invertebrates such as corals and bivalves, as
well as certain algae, contribute to the operation of a vast
"organic engine" that acts as a significant carbon trap. "The Atlas
"reveals that the role of these organisms in the ecology of the
Gulf was greatly underestimated in the past. The organisms that
live in these environments (or provide the sediments for beaches
and dunes) are mass producers of calcium carbonate. Until now, no
book has considered the centrality of calcium carbonate production
as it functions today across multiple ecosystems and how it has
evolved over time.
An important work of scholarship that also evokes the region's
natural splendor, the "Atlas" will be of interest to a wide range
of scientists, including geologists, paleontologists, marine
biologists, ecologists, and conservation biologists.
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