>The rich fossil record of the Atlantic and Gulf coastal plains of the United States is a gold mine for interested scientists. The last thirty million years of Earth history are superbly chronicled by a succession of fossil assemblages extending from the St. Lawrence River to Florida. Marine scientists, paleontologists, and systematic biologists al

Northeast Pacific Ocean sediments were analyzed to determine the past relationship between northeast Pacific sea surface conditions and the climate on the adjacent continent, the Pacific Northwest of North America. Studies of modern ocean-atmosphere interactions demonstrate the significant effect sea surface conditions and atmospheric circulation in the Northeast Pacific Ocean has on the climate of the west coast of North America. Thus, it is likely that past continental climate change can be correlated to changes in sea surface temperature in the northeast Pacific Ocean. We analyzed radiolaria from twelve sediment cores, ranging from 33.62°N to 54.42°N latitude along the west coast of North America to reconstruct past sea surface conditions. Relationships between modern radiolaria and mean annual sea surface temperature calibrate equations used to estimate sea surface conditions for the past 20,000 years. Chronology is controlled by radiocarbon ages from planktonic foraminifera and bulk organic carbon. The reconstructions of sea surface conditions from changes in radiolaria assemblages indicate that the upwelling center off the west coast of North America was further south 15,000 years ago than it is today, and reached its present location 13,000 years ago. We infer that the West Wind Drift and Transition Zone were further south in the latest Pleistocene as a result of a more southerly North Pacific High pressure cell prior to 13,000 years ago. Two Pacific Northwest continental records of paleotemperature are well correlated to the sea surface temperature record the northeast Pacific around 48N latitude, with temperatures increasing over the past 20,000 years. Significant temperature minima and glacial expansions occurred at 13,000 and 4,000 years ago in the records examined, as did a minor minimum at 16,000 years ago. We conclude that changes in the past latitudinal position of the West Wind Drift played a significant role in controlling continental climate immediately to its east, as it does in the present day environment.

Shallow water marine molluscan faunas are distributed in a pattern of distinct, geographically definable areas. This makes mollusks ideal for studying the distribution of organisms in the marine environment and the processes and patterns that control their evolution. Biogeography and Biodiversity of Western Atlantic Mollusks is the first book to us

The authors have done an outstanding job of compiling decades of data collected by their own field reconnaissance and other geoscientists... This represents a significant contribution to the understanding of the development of the Florida carbonate platform, and it will assist other disciplines as they strive for better understanding of our groundwater resources, aquifer characterizations, paleoenvironmental interpretations, and historical/educational geology programs. Walt Schmidt, Florida State Geologist & Chief, Florida Geological Survey, USA (praise for the first edition) Painting a complete picture of the history of the Everglades, Ancient Seas of Southern Florida: The Geology and Paleontology of the Everglades Region, Second Edition provides an overview of the geology, paleontology, and paleoceanography of the region. It emphasizes the upper 300m of the geologic framework of the area and gives insight into the local stratigraphy, geomorphology, lithology, and historical geology. Designed to be a field guide as well as a reference, the book is illustrated in full color with brand new photographs of exposed geologic sections, stratotype localities, collection sites, and details of interesting fossil beds. In this book, the authors illustrate almost 800 of the most important and diagnostic stratigraphic index fossils found in these beds, including over 50 species of corals and almost 700 species of mollusks, along with echinoderms, crustaceans, echinoids, petrified wood, and aquatic vertebrates. A new edition of The Geology of the Everglades and Adjacent Areas, it contains larger images of fossil shells, corals, and echinoderms and includes new updated geological data and concepts, as well as an expanded iconography of stratigraphic index fossils. Based on the data gleaned from these fossils, it also offers a series of geomorphological visualizations, showing the possible appearances of the Florida Peninsula during the times when it was covered by tropical seas, from the Oligocene to the late Pleistocene. This second edition provides a new perspective on both the historical geology of southern Florida and the evolution of one of America’s most beautiful natural treasures, the Everglades.

Marine biogeography, the study of the spatial distribution of organisms in the world’s oceans, is one of the most fascinating branches of oceanography. This book continues the pioneering research into the distributions of molluscan faunas, first studied by biologists over 160 years ago. It illustrates 1778 species of gastropods in full color, many of which are extremely rare and poorly known endemic species that are illustrated for the first time outside of their original descriptions. The spatial arrangements of malacofaunas shown in this book can be considered proxies for worldwide oceanic conditions and used as tools for determining patterns of global climate change. The book's documentation of evolutionary "hot spots" and geographically restricted endemic faunas can also be used as a base line for future studies on patterns of environmental deterioration and extinction in the marine biosphere. Documenting the evolution of the amazingly rich worldwide gastropod fauna, this book will appeal to physical and chemical oceanographers, systematic and evolutionary biologists, historical geologists, paleontologists, climatologists, geomorphologists, and physical geographers. The authors incorporate aspects of all of these disciplines into a new classification system for the nomenclature of biogeographical spatial units found in tropical, subtropical, and warm temperate seas.