Carboniferous Giants And Mass Extinction

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Carboniferous Giants and Mass Extinction

Author : George R. McGhee Jr.
Publisher : Columbia University Press
ISBN 13 : 0231543387
Total Pages : 279 pages
Book Rating : 4.2/5 (315 download)

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Book Synopsis Carboniferous Giants and Mass Extinction by : George R. McGhee Jr.

Download or read book Carboniferous Giants and Mass Extinction written by George R. McGhee Jr. and published by Columbia University Press. This book was released on 2018-08-07 with total page 279 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Picture a world of dog-sized scorpions and millipedes as long as a car; tropical rainforests with trees towering over 150 feet into the sky and a giant polar continent five times larger than Antarctica. That world was not imaginary; it was the earth more than 300 million years ago in the Carboniferous period of the Paleozoic era. In Carboniferous Giants and Mass Extinction, George R. McGhee Jr. explores that ancient world, explaining its origins; its downfall in the end-Permian mass extinction, the greatest biodiversity crisis to occur since the evolution of animal life on Earth; and how its legacies still affect us today. McGhee investigates the consequences of the Late Paleozoic ice age in this comprehensive portrait of the effects of ancient climate change on global ecology. Carboniferous Giants and Mass Extinction examines the climatic conditions that allowed for the evolution of gigantic animals and the formation of the largest tropical rainforests ever to exist, which in time turned into the coal that made the industrial revolution possible—and fuels the engine of contemporary anthropogenic climate change. Exploring the strange and fascinating flora and fauna of the Late Paleozoic ice age world, McGhee focuses his analysis on the forces that brought this world to an abrupt and violent end. Synthesizing decades of research and new discoveries, this comprehensive book provides a wealth of insights into past and present extinction events and climate change.

Carboniferous Giants and Mass Extinction

Author : George R. McGhee
Publisher :
ISBN 13 : 9780231180979
Total Pages : 304 pages
Book Rating : 4.1/5 (89 download)

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Book Synopsis Carboniferous Giants and Mass Extinction by : George R. McGhee

Download or read book Carboniferous Giants and Mass Extinction written by George R. McGhee and published by . This book was released on 2017-09 with total page 304 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Harbingers of the Late Paleozoic Ice Age -- The big chill -- The Late Carboniferous ice world -- Giants in the earth -- The end of the Late Paleozoic Ice Age -- The end of the Paleozoic world -- The legacy of the Late Paleozoic Ice Age

When the Invasion of Land Failed

Author : George R. McGhee Jr.
Publisher : Columbia University Press
ISBN 13 : 0231536364
Total Pages : 345 pages
Book Rating : 4.2/5 (315 download)

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Book Synopsis When the Invasion of Land Failed by : George R. McGhee Jr.

Download or read book When the Invasion of Land Failed written by George R. McGhee Jr. and published by Columbia University Press. This book was released on 2013-10-22 with total page 345 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The invasion of land by ocean-dwelling plants and animals was one of the most revolutionary events in the evolution of life on Earth, yet the animal invasion almost failed—twice—because of the twin mass extinctions of the Late Devonian Epoch. Some 359 to 375 million years ago, these catastrophic events dealt our ancestors a blow that almost drove them back into the sea. If those extinctions had been just a bit more severe, spiders and insects—instead of vertebrates—might have become the ecologically dominant forms of animal life on land. This book examines the profound evolutionary consequences of the Late Devonian extinctions and the various theories proposed to explain their occurrence. Only one group of four-limbed vertebrates exists on Earth, while other tetrapod-like fishes are extinct. This gap is why the idea of "fish with feet" seems so peculiar to us, yet such animals were once a vital part of our world, and if the Devonian extinctions had not happened, members of these species, like the famous Acanthostega and Ichthyostega, might have continued to live in our rivers and lakes. Synthesizing decades of research and including a wealth of new discoveries, this accessible, comprehensive text explores the causes of the Devonian extinctions, the reasons vertebrates were so severely affected, and the potential evolution of the modern world if the extinctions had never taken place.

Cambrian Ocean World

Author : John Foster
Publisher : Indiana University Press
ISBN 13 : 0253011884
Total Pages : 457 pages
Book Rating : 4.2/5 (53 download)

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Book Synopsis Cambrian Ocean World by : John Foster

Download or read book Cambrian Ocean World written by John Foster and published by Indiana University Press. This book was released on 2014-06-06 with total page 457 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This volume, aimed at the general reader, presents life and times of the amazing animals that inhabited Earth more than 500 million years ago. The Cambrian Period was a critical time in Earth's history. During this immense span of time nearly every modern group of animals appeared. Although life had been around for more than 2 million millennia, Cambrian rocks preserve the record of the first appearance of complex animals with eyes, protective skeletons, antennae, and complex ecologies. Grazing, predation, and multi-tiered ecosystems with animals living in, on, or above the sea floor became common. The cascade of interaction led to an ever-increasing diversification of animal body types. By the end of the period, the ancestors of sponges, corals, jellyfish, worms, mollusks, brachiopods, arthropods, echinoderms, and vertebrates were all in place. The evidence of this Cambrian "explosion" is preserved in rocks all over the world, including North America, where the seemingly strange animals of the period are preserved in exquisite detail in deposits such as the Burgess Shale in British Columbia. Cambrian Ocean World tells the story of what is, for us, the most important period in our planet's long history.

Earth Before the Dinosaurs

Author : Sébastien Steyer
Publisher : Indiana University Press
ISBN 13 : 0253223806
Total Pages : 202 pages
Book Rating : 4.2/5 (532 download)

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Book Synopsis Earth Before the Dinosaurs by : Sébastien Steyer

Download or read book Earth Before the Dinosaurs written by Sébastien Steyer and published by Indiana University Press. This book was released on 2012-06 with total page 202 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Explores the Earth prior to dinosaurs and examines the creatures that lived here.

A Sea without Fish

Author : David L. Meyer
Publisher : Indiana University Press
ISBN 13 : 0253013496
Total Pages : 383 pages
Book Rating : 4.2/5 (53 download)

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Book Synopsis A Sea without Fish by : David L. Meyer

Download or read book A Sea without Fish written by David L. Meyer and published by Indiana University Press. This book was released on 2009-03-04 with total page 383 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: A “superbly written, richly illustrated” guide to the animals who lived 450 million years ago—in the fossil-rich area where Cincinnati, Ohio now stands (Rocks & Minerals). The region around Cincinnati, Ohio, is known throughout the world for the abundant and beautiful fossils found in limestones and shales that were deposited as sediments on the sea floor during the Ordovician Period, about 450 million years ago—some 250 million years before the dinosaurs lived. In Ordovician time, the shallow sea that covered much of what is now the North American continent teemed with marine life. The Cincinnati area has yielded some of the world’s most abundant and best-preserved fossils of invertebrate animals such as trilobites, bryozoans, brachiopods, molluscs, echinoderms, and graptolites. So famous are the Ordovician fossils and rocks of the Cincinnati region that geologists use the term “Cincinnatian” for strata of the same age all over North America. This book synthesizes more than 150 years of research on this fossil treasure-trove, describing and illustrating the fossils, the life habits of the animals represented, their communities, and living relatives, as well as the nature of the rock strata in which they are found and the environmental conditions of the ancient sea. “A fascinating glimpse of a long-extinct ecosystem.” —Choice

The Late Devonian Mass Extinction

Author : George R. McGhee
Publisher : Columbia University Press
ISBN 13 : 9780231075053
Total Pages : 338 pages
Book Rating : 4.0/5 (75 download)

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Book Synopsis The Late Devonian Mass Extinction by : George R. McGhee

Download or read book The Late Devonian Mass Extinction written by George R. McGhee and published by Columbia University Press. This book was released on 1996 with total page 338 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Based on two decades of research, The Late Devonian Mass Extinction reviews the many theories that have been presented to explain the global mass extinction that struck the earth over 367 million years ago, considering in particular the possibility that the extinction was triggered by multiple impacts of extraterrestrial objects.

Earth History and Palaeogeography

Author : Trond H. Torsvik
Publisher : Cambridge University Press
ISBN 13 : 1107105323
Total Pages : 329 pages
Book Rating : 4.1/5 (71 download)

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Book Synopsis Earth History and Palaeogeography by : Trond H. Torsvik

Download or read book Earth History and Palaeogeography written by Trond H. Torsvik and published by Cambridge University Press. This book was released on 2017 with total page 329 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This book provides a complete Phanerozoic story of palaeogeography, using new and detailed full-colour maps, to link surface and deep-Earth processes.

Fires of Life

Author : Barry Gordon Lovegrove
Publisher : Yale University Press
ISBN 13 : 0300227167
Total Pages : 381 pages
Book Rating : 4.3/5 (2 download)

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Book Synopsis Fires of Life by : Barry Gordon Lovegrove

Download or read book Fires of Life written by Barry Gordon Lovegrove and published by Yale University Press. This book was released on 2019-01-01 with total page 381 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: A groundbreaking argument on how endothermy--arguably the most important innovation in vertebrate evolution--developed in birds and mammals "Vividly narrated and illustrated. . . . Provocative and fascinating for specialists and lay readers alike."--Southeastern Naturalist This pioneering work investigates why endothermy, or "warm-bloodedness," evolved in birds and mammals, despite its enormous energetic costs. Arguing that single-cause hypotheses to explain the origins of endothermy have stalled research since the 1970s, Barry Gordon Lovegrove advances a novel conceptual framework that considers multiple potential causes and integrates data from the southern as well as the northern hemisphere. Drawing on paleontological data; research on extant species in places like the Karoo, Namaqualand, Madagascar, and Borneo; and novel physiological models, Lovegrove builds a compelling new explanation for the evolution of endothermy. Vividly narrated and illustrated, this book stages a groundbreaking argument that should prove provocative and fascinating for specialists and lay readers alike.

Kicking the Carbon Habit

Author : William Sweet
Publisher : Columbia University Press
ISBN 13 : 9780231137119
Total Pages : 276 pages
Book Rating : 4.1/5 (371 download)

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Book Synopsis Kicking the Carbon Habit by : William Sweet

Download or read book Kicking the Carbon Habit written by William Sweet and published by Columbia University Press. This book was released on 2006 with total page 276 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: With glaciers melting, oceans growing more acidic, species dying out, and catastrophic events like Hurricane Katrina ever more probable, strong steps must be taken now to slow global warming. Further warming threatens entire regional economies and the well being of whole populations, and in this century alone, it could create a global cataclysm. Synthesizing information from leading scientists and the most up-to-date research, science journalist William Sweet examines what the United States can do to help prevent climate devastation. Rather than focusing on cutting oil consumption, which Sweet argues is expensive and unrealistic, the United States should concentrate on drastically reducing its use of coal. Coal-fired plants, which currently produce more than half of the electricity in the United States, account for two fifths of the country's greenhouse gas emissions of carbon dioxide into the atmosphere. Sweet believes a mixture of more environmentally sound technologies-wind turbines, natural gas, and nuclear reactors-can effectively replace coal plants, especially since dramatic improvements in technology have made nuclear power cleaner, safer, and more efficient. Sweet cuts through all the confusion and controversies. He explores dramatic advances made by climate scientists over the past twenty years and addresses the various political and economic issues associated with global warming, including the practicality of reducing emissions from automobiles, the efficacy of taxing energy consumption, and the responsibility of the United States to its citizens and the international community to reduce greenhouse gases. Timely and provocative, Kicking the Carbon Habit is essential reading for anyone interested in environmental science, economics, and the future of the planet.

Origins

Author : Lewis Dartnell
Publisher : Basic Books
ISBN 13 : 1541617894
Total Pages : 348 pages
Book Rating : 4.5/5 (416 download)

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Book Synopsis Origins by : Lewis Dartnell

Download or read book Origins written by Lewis Dartnell and published by Basic Books. This book was released on 2019-05-14 with total page 348 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: A New York Times-bestselling author explains how the physical world shaped the history of our species When we talk about human history, we often focus on great leaders, population forces, and decisive wars. But how has the earth itself determined our destiny? Our planet wobbles, driving changes in climate that forced the transition from nomadism to farming. Mountainous terrain led to the development of democracy in Greece. Atmospheric circulation patterns later on shaped the progression of global exploration, colonization, and trade. Even today, voting behavior in the south-east United States ultimately follows the underlying pattern of 75 million-year-old sediments from an ancient sea. Everywhere is the deep imprint of the planetary on the human. From the cultivation of the first crops to the founding of modern states, Origins reveals the breathtaking impact of the earth beneath our feet on the shape of our human civilizations.

The Cave Bear Story

Author : Björn Kurtén
Publisher : Columbia University Press
ISBN 13 : 9780231103619
Total Pages : 180 pages
Book Rating : 4.1/5 (36 download)

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Book Synopsis The Cave Bear Story by : Björn Kurtén

Download or read book The Cave Bear Story written by Björn Kurtén and published by Columbia University Press. This book was released on 1995 with total page 180 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The Cave Bear story conveys the facts about these largest of bears, including the habits and society of Cave Bears, their ice age environment, biological variations, and extinction. Kurten also details the relationship between man and bear - namely, the theories surrounding bear-hunting and Cave Bear cults.

Evolving Eden

Author : Alan Turner
Publisher : Columbia University Press
ISBN 13 : 9780231119443
Total Pages : 324 pages
Book Rating : 4.1/5 (194 download)

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Book Synopsis Evolving Eden by : Alan Turner

Download or read book Evolving Eden written by Alan Turner and published by Columbia University Press. This book was released on 2004 with total page 324 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The Garden of Eden as the ideal and untouched site of life's creation persists in popular thought, even as we have uncovered a lengthy fossil record and developed a scientific understanding of evolution. The continent of Africa is a good candidate for Eden: its generally warm climate, rich vegetation, and variety of animal species lend themselves easily to such a comparison. Yet in the time since the first primates appeared millions of years ago, Africa has undergone profound alterations in physical geography, climate, and biota. Linking the evidence of the past with that of the present, this exquisitely illustrated guide examines the evolution of the mammalian fauna of Africa within the context of dramatic changes over the course of more than 30 million years of primate presence. The book covers such topics as dating, continental drift, and global climate change and the likely motors of evolution as well as the physical evolution of the African continent, including present and past climates, and the major determinants of plant and mammal distributions. The authors discuss human evolution as a part of the larger pattern of mammalian evolution while responding to the unique interest that we have in our own past. The meticulous reconstructions of fossil mammals in this book are the result of detailed anatomical research. Restorations of mammalian musculature and appearance take into account the affinities between fossil forms and extant species in order to make well-founded inferences about unpreserved animal attributes. Environmental reconstructions benefit from the authors' visits to more than a dozen wildlife preserves in five African countries as well as the use of an extensive database of published studies on the evolution of landscapes on the continent. A fascinating read and a visual feast, Evolving Eden lays the foundation for a deeper appreciation of contemporary African wildlife.

Paleoclimates

Author : Thomas M. Cronin
Publisher : Columbia University Press
ISBN 13 : 0231516363
Total Pages : 465 pages
Book Rating : 4.2/5 (315 download)

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Book Synopsis Paleoclimates by : Thomas M. Cronin

Download or read book Paleoclimates written by Thomas M. Cronin and published by Columbia University Press. This book was released on 2009-11-09 with total page 465 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The field of paleoclimatology relies on physical, chemical, and biological proxies of past climate changes that have been preserved in natural archives such as glacial ice, tree rings, sediments, corals, and speleothems. Paleoclimate archives obtained through field investigations, ocean sediment coring expeditions, ice sheet coring programs, and other projects allow scientists to reconstruct climate change over much of earth's history. When combined with computer model simulations, paleoclimatic reconstructions are used to test hypotheses about the causes of climatic change, such as greenhouse gases, solar variability, earth's orbital variations, and hydrological, oceanic, and tectonic processes. This book is a comprehensive, state-of-the art synthesis of paleoclimate research covering all geological timescales, emphasizing topics that shed light on modern trends in the earth's climate. Thomas M. Cronin discusses recent discoveries about past periods of global warmth, changes in atmospheric greenhouse gas concentrations, abrupt climate and sea-level change, natural temperature variability, and other topics directly relevant to controversies over the causes and impacts of climate change. This text is geared toward advanced undergraduate and graduate students and researchers in geology, geography, biology, glaciology, oceanography, atmospheric sciences, and climate modeling, fields that contribute to paleoclimatology. This volume can also serve as a reference for those requiring a general background on natural climate variability.

The Big Golden Book of Dinosaurs

Author : Robert T. Bakker
Publisher : Golden Books
ISBN 13 : 0375859586
Total Pages : 65 pages
Book Rating : 4.3/5 (758 download)

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Book Synopsis The Big Golden Book of Dinosaurs by : Robert T. Bakker

Download or read book The Big Golden Book of Dinosaurs written by Robert T. Bakker and published by Golden Books. This book was released on 2013 with total page 65 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Renowned paleontologist Robert T. Bakker and award-winning paleoartist Luis V. Rey combine forces in this oversized picture book about the evolution of dinosaurs. From the conquest of land by dino ancestor Acanthostega during the Devonian Period, through the mass die-off of dinosaurs at the end of the Cretaceous Period, Bakker and Rey take readers on a safari through time while paying subtle homage to the 1960 Giant Golden Book Dinosaurs and Other Prehistoric Reptiles that inspired them both as young dinophiles. With stops along the way to look at monster bugs, ferocious fin-backs, fluffy dinosaurs, sea monsters and the 12-year-old girl who discovered them, dinosaur orchestras, tickling tyrannosaurs, and much, much more, this is a journey readers will never forget. It's a perfect gift for young dinosaur lovers as well as adult fans of Dr. Bakker and Luis Rey!"

Greenhouse of the Dinosaurs

Author : Donald R. Prothero
Publisher : Columbia University Press
ISBN 13 : 0231518323
Total Pages : 464 pages
Book Rating : 4.2/5 (315 download)

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Book Synopsis Greenhouse of the Dinosaurs by : Donald R. Prothero

Download or read book Greenhouse of the Dinosaurs written by Donald R. Prothero and published by Columbia University Press. This book was released on 2009-07-01 with total page 464 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Donald R. Prothero's science books combine leading research with first-person narratives of discovery, injecting warmth and familiarity into a profession that has much to offer nonspecialists. Bringing his trademark style and wit to an increasingly relevant subject of concern, Prothero links the climate changes that have occurred over the past 200 million years to their effects on plants and animals. In particular, he contrasts the extinctions that ended the Cretaceous period, which wiped out the dinosaurs, with those of the later Eocene and Oligocene epochs. Prothero begins with the "greenhouse of the dinosaurs," the global-warming episode that dominated the Age of Dinosaurs and the early Age of Mammals. He describes the remarkable creatures that once populated the earth and draws on his experiences collecting fossils in the Big Badlands of South Dakota to sketch their world. Prothero then discusses the growth of the first Antarctic glaciers, which marked the Eocene-Oligocene transition, and shares his own anecdotes of excavations and controversies among colleagues that have shaped our understanding of the contemporary and prehistoric world. The volume concludes with observations about Nisqually Glacier and other locations that show how global warming is happening much quicker than previously predicted, irrevocably changing the balance of the earth's thermostat. Engaging scientists and general readers alike, Greenhouse of the Dinosaurs connects events across thousands of millennia to make clear the human threat to natural climate change.

On the Prowl

Author : Mark Hallett
Publisher : Columbia University Press
ISBN 13 : 0231545525
Total Pages : 434 pages
Book Rating : 4.2/5 (315 download)

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Book Synopsis On the Prowl by : Mark Hallett

Download or read book On the Prowl written by Mark Hallett and published by Columbia University Press. This book was released on 2020-06-02 with total page 434 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Big cats such as lions, tigers, leopards, and jaguars fascinate us like few other creatures. They are enduring symbols of natural majesty and power. Yet despite the magnetic appeal of the big cats, their origins and evolutionary history remain poorly understood—and human activity threatens to put an end to the big cats’ glory. On the Prowl is a fully illustrated and approachable guide to the evolution of the big cats and what it portends for their conservation today. Mark Hallett and John M. Harris trace the origins of these iconic carnivores, venturing down the evolutionary pathways that produced the diversity of big cat species that have walked the earth. They place the evolution and paleobiology of these species in the context of ancient ecosystems and climates, explaining what made big cats such efficient predators and analyzing their competition with other animals. Hallett and Harris pay close attention to human impact, from the evidence of cave paintings and analysis of ancient extinctions up to present-day crises. Their engaging and carefully documented account is brought to life through Hallett’s detailed, vivid illustrations, based on the most recent research by leading paleontologists. Offering a fresh look at the rise of these majestic animals, On the Prowl also makes a powerful case for renewed efforts to protect big cats and their habitats before it is too late.