Background Reading For Geologists

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Background Reading For Geologists
I.G. Kenyon
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The evidence for the Earth being totally encased
in ice or a combination of ice and
slush between 650 and 800 million years ago Joe
Kirschvink proposed the theory but research by
Paul Hoffman led to the idea being accepted by
many earth scientists today May also help to
explain the evolution of complex life forms
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A highly readable account of the
nature of ice ages throughout the Earths
history Outlines the evolution of scientific
understanding of ice ages since the
introduction of the term by Louis Agassiz in the
1830s Includes possible causes of
ice ages with reference to
Milankovitch cycles and reconstructing past
climates using ice core evidence
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This book outlines the evolution of plants
through geological time and their effect on the
Earths atmosphere and biosphere It
explains how fossil plants can be used to
reconstruct climates and the gaseous composition
of the atmosphere back through geological
time If you think plants are not that exciting
or significant, this book will seriously change
your views for ever
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This book uses coral as a vehicle to explore a
variety of scientific themes and issues in a
readable and informative manner Includes
reference to evolution, symbiosis, atoll
formation, atomic bomb tests, climate change and
fluctuating sea levels
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This book outlines the quest to find
evidence for life in the rocks before
the Cambrian Explosion A fascinating account of
early life including reference to trace fossils,
the Ediacaran Fauna and the Burgess Shale New
evidence from the rocks of Siberia to Outer
Mongolia reveal details of early life Darwin
only theorized about
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The story of the greatest and most catastrophic
volcanic eruption of the 20th Century Mount
Pelee on the island of
Martinique erupted on May 8th
1902 The town of Saint-Pierre was wiped out by a
pyroclastic flow which killed almost all of the
27,000 inhabitants
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The story of the quest to accurately determine
the absolute age of planet Earth The age was
constantly revised upwards from 4004 BC to 4,567
Million years The man who finally established
the true age of the Earth
was Arthur Holmes
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This book examines the extraordinary
story of mankinds quest to
uncover the history of the Earth It examines the
contributions of important geologists that have
paved the way to our current
understanding of Earth system processes
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The story of James Hutton and his discovery of
the concept of deep time and the formulation of
his Theory of the Earth Huttons simple
observations led him to a conclusion
that gave Darwin the spark to fully develop his
own theory of Evolution
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Ted Nield tells the story of how the world has
been made and re-made over the last four
billion years It explains the evidence for the
supercontinent cycle and describes the formation
and break up of the Earths major
supercontinents through geological time
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This book examines the importance of the
Northern Scottish Highlands in our understanding
of geological processes and
landforms It focuses on the rocks, the important
localities, the famous researchers and the
theories that have been inspired by
the Highlands
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An account of the 1993 eruption of
Galeras in Columbia Author Stanley
Williams was almost killed by the unexpected
eruption Williams returned after recovering to
do more research on the volcano
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A tale of intrigue and deception, burning
ambition and failed dreams Documents the bitter
clashes between the men who dominated
19th Century Geology Includes reference
to Mary Anning, Gideon Mantell, William Buckland,
Thomas Huxley and Charles Darwin
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Story of the discovery and interpretation of
Archaeopteryx a fossil that has both avian and
reptilian characteristics One of Darwins
missing links or an elaborate fake? An amazing
account of rivalry, jealousy and skullduggery
just like a good crime novel
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The story of the A.D. 79 eruption
of Mount Vesuvius Told
through the eyes of Marius Attilius Primus,
an engineer in charge of a large aqueduct that
supplies Pompeii and eight other cities
nearby Powerful, chilling and convincing in
every detail
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An account of the impact of James Huttons
revolutionary concept of deep time
and his Theory of the Earth Baxter, a leading
science writer, employs his storytelling skills
to lucid effect in a highly readable biography of
a fascinating, neglected figure
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An account of the eruption of Krakatoa, West of
Java on 27th August 1883 Includes anecdotes,
eyewitness accounts and an interesting cast of
characters Also looks at the much wider global
impact of the event
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An insight into the work of volcanologists by
former Time magazine correspondent Dick
Thompson Examines in detail the events of Mount
St. Helens, Mount Pinatubo and Nevado Del Ruiz
volcanoes from the notes of field geologists
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An account of the many possible causes of the
greatest mass extinction of all time 251 million
years ago at the end of the Permian 95 of all
life died out Mike Benton of Bristol University
combines a good story with valuable reference
material
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Jan Zalasiewicz of Leicester University ponders
what the Earth will be like in 100 million years
from now What record will be left in the rocks
of mans existence on planet Earth? Will there be
any evidence of our urban stratum? Original,
thought-provoking and challenging
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The story of canal engineer William Smith and his
quest to publish the first geological map of
England and Wales An exciting tale of success
against the odds and one that all students of
Geology seriously need to read
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Detailed account of the importance of the Burgess
Shale in British Columbia Dated at 530 million
years old it is one of the oldest lagerstatten
found to date Gould explains its evolutionary
importance in a highly readable and informative
manner
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A comprehensive guide to the causes of mass
extinctions throughout Earths history Hallam
focuses on the Big Five mass
extinctions Includes reference to
extra-terrestrial impacts, flood basalt
eruptions, ocean anoxia and sea level changes
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An account of the history of planet Earth over
its 12 billion year life history Explains
clearly the processes that account for why Earth
is as it is today Projects forward to the end of
the planet when the sun turns into a red giant
and how the Earth will change as time elapses
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An account of the 1906 earthquake in San
Francisco, California A detailed analysis of
the causes and consequences of the magnitude 7.9
event An illuminating analysis of how western
cities cope (or not) with geological hazards
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Geological Hazards such as meteorite impacts,
flood basalts, glaciations, tsunamis and
hurricanes threaten planet Earth Bill McGuire
guides us through the latest approaches being
researched to prevent global catastrophes or at
least minimise their effects
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Another book on the importance of the Burgess
Shale in British Columbia Morris paints a vivid
picture of the critical period which saw the
diversification of all the major animal groups
and takes a controversial stance on current
evolutionary theories
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Nick Lane reconstructs the history of life by
describing the ten greatest inventions of
evolution He considers how DNA, photosynthesis,
sex, sight, movement, hot blood and other
inventions have transformed life and planet
Earth itself
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The questions that need addressing with respect
to future climate change Global warming,
carbon dioxide emissions, sea level rises,
melting ice sheets, extinction rates Can we
cope with the consequences ? Is there political
will to act before it is too late?
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Bill Mc Guire outlines a variety of possible
causes of mass extinctions Meteorite impacts,
global warming, glaciations, flood basalt
eruptions, megaquakes and tsunamis The frequency
and magnitude of each event is assessed and
their impact on the Earth is estimated
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An account of the importance and effect that
oxygen has had on the evolution of life How and
why oxygen levels have varied through geological
time Lane employs a multi-disciplinary approach
to explain the complex roles of this unique gas
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The story of human evolution from 6 to 7 million
years ago to the present day The main
fossil sites are described as are the key
discoveries and the basic facts about each
species Physique, diet, tools, cave paintings
and geographical dispersal
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Detailed account of the asteroid impact on Earth
65 million years ago Evidence is presented from
the Chixulub crater itself, the iridium rich K-T
boundary layer, tektites and tsunami
deposits The impact wiped out the dinosaurs
around 70 of all life on Earth l
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Climate change during the medieval period
Between the 16th and 19th centuries the Earths
climate was considerably cooler than today This
book examines the possible causes of the Little
Ice Age and outlines its impact on the
environment and society
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Palaeontological mystery story that provides an
overview of the evidence for and against a range
of hypotheses to explain the greatest mass
extinction on the Earth to date Told from the
point of a forensic scientist trying
to piece together a quarter of a billion year old
crime scene
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The rocks of the UK contain the story of distant
geological events Richard Fortey travels
throughout the British Isles examining the rocks
to deuce past landforms, climates and oceans in
chronological order from the Precambrian up to
the present day
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Geologist and creationist Caldwell attempts to
put geological features and events into context
with what is written in the bible A short but
interesting read, however the author fails to
convince on every level
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Gripping account of the Great Lisbon Earthquake
of 1755, the largest and most notable in
history 3 main tremors occurred with the
magnitudes being estimated at 8.75 to 9.0,
intensities of IX to XI were given based on
eyewitness observation of the damage 15 minutes
later the city of Lisbon lay in ruins
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Novel centred around a couples holiday to
Sorrento Mount Vesuvius erupts during their
vacation and results in the most remarkable
holiday that they have ever had As the death
toll mounts, the holiday couple are given the
opportunity to help in the crisis
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Account of the possible events leading to the
extinction of the dinosaurs 65 million years
ago Nemesis is the companion star to our sun
which comes close enough to the sun every 26
million years to bombard our solar system with
millions or even billions of comets
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The story of the closure of the Tethys
Ocean Tethys stretched across four-fifths of the
Earth Tethys teemed with life but also
experienced devastating extinctions Existed
from100 million years ago to 5.5 million years
ago
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A scientific whodunnit to find the cause of
the mass extinction that occurred at the end of
the Cretaceous period Asteroid impact, flood
basalt eruptions or a combination of the two?
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The story of Elizabeth Philpot and Mary Anning,
two very important female palaeontologists Set
in the early 19th century in Lyme Regis it is a
combination of historical novel and science
writing Chevaliers chief aim of this book was
to make the study of fossils sexy!
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25 separate chapters with each one devoted to an
important episode in the making of Geology The
stories move from documentary accounts to
fictional recreations of historical events Based
on the geological highlights of Yorkshire
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The unexpected story of how one
creatures journey out of the water made the
human body what it is today! Why is it that fish
teeth are similar to human breasts? Why do we
hiccup? The answer is in the way that
fish breathe
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Author Jerry Coyne outlines what evolution
is and the claims that it
makes, and draws together the astonishing range
of modern evidence that supports the theory An
important update on Darwins original ideas
presented in a highly readable style
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Humans share around 98 of their DNA
with chimpanzees What is it about the 2
difference in DNA that sets us so far apart? Why
have humans evolved so rapidly in the last 160,00
years whilst the apes have remained more or less
the same?
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A guide to the scientific exploration of the
oceans Explains the origin and role of the
oceans in terms of plate tectonics, climate and
evolution through the work of oceanographers both
past and present
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A valuable insight into the background behind the
key concepts we use in geology today Outlines
the historical contexts in which ideas such as
catastrophism, plutonism, neptunism, creationism
and uniformitarianism were developed
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A comprehensive yet clearly focused account of
the history and philosophy of the periodic
table Essential background reading for all
students with serious interests in both
mineralogy and geochemistry
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The story of Nicolaus Steno, probably the worlds
first geologist! In the 17th Century he claimed
the Earths past was documented in
its layers of rock and
questioned the authority of the bible Amazingly
he ended his life as a Catholic bishop!
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A novel based on the worlds
biggest earthquake since 1755 Seismologists had
predicted the disaster but no one had
listened The quake at 8.9 on the Richter scale
hits New Madrid in Missouri
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Using a pebble of slate from a beach in Wales
Jan Zalasiewicz attempts to unlock the Earth s
unique geological history Long dead stars,
vanished continents, extinct creatures and quiet
ocean beds feature in this amazing story of an
apparently simple pebble
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A novel set in Italy at the
beginning of the 20th
Century An earthquake strikes in
the mountains and
devastates a remote
village Strange things happened in the week
before the earthquake!
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The debate over the age of
the Earth has been going on for
over 2000 years This book investigates the many
novel ideas used in the search for the true age
of the Earth over the past 350 years
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The first biography of one of the most
important scientists of the 20th
Century The story of Charles Richter, the
scientist responsible for developing the
magnitude scale for measuring earthquakes
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Thats All Folks!