In this 1981 substantial work, M. J. Hambrey and W. B. Harland have assembled essays by leaders in the field of pre-Pleistocene glacial research. The work's various chapters review in depth the glacial records of Africa, Antarctica, Asia, Australasia, Europe, and North and South America.

This book discusses glacial or glacially-controlled sequences as markers of the Earth's geodynamic and climatic history.

In 1980, the science world was stunned when a maverick team of researchers proposed that a massive meteor strike had wiped the dinosaurs and other fauna from the Earth 66 million years ago. Scientists found evidence for this theory in a “crater of doom” on the Yucatán Peninsula, showing that our planet had once been a target in a galactic shooting gallery. In Cataclysms, Michael R. Rampino builds on the latest findings from leading geoscientists to take “neocatastrophism” a step further, toward a richer understanding of the science behind major planetary upheavals and extinction events. Rampino recounts his conversion to the impact hypothesis, describing his visits to meteor-strike sites and his review of the existing geological record. The new geology he outlines explicitly rejects nineteenth-century “uniformitarianism,” which casts planetary change as gradual and driven by processes we can see at work today. Rampino offers a cosmic context for Earth’s geologic evolution, in which cataclysms from above in the form of comet and asteroid impacts and from below in the form of huge outpourings of lava in flood-basalt eruptions have led to severe and even catastrophic changes to the Earth’s surface. This new geology sees Earth’s position in our solar system and galaxy as the keys to understanding our planet’s geology and history of life. Rampino concludes with a controversial consideration of dark matter’s potential as a triggering mechanism, exploring its role in heating Earth’s core and spurring massive volcanism throughout geologic time.

This volume of 18 papers describes the glacial-marine sedimentary environment in a variety of temporal and spatial settings. The volume's primary emphasis is the characteri zation of Quaternary glacial-marine sedimentation to show (1) the significant differences that exist between glacial marine environments in different geographic settings and (2) their resulting glacial-marine deposits and facies. Addi tionally, papers describing ancient glacial-marine environ ments are also presented to illustrate lithified analogs of the Quaternary deposits. With the Doctrine of Uniformitarianism in mind (the present is the key to the past), it is hoped that this volume will serve to expand the horizons of geologists working on the rock record, especially those whose primary criteria for recognition of ancient glacial-marine environments is the presence of dropstones in a finer-grained matrix. As the papers presented here show, diamictite is only one of many types of deposits that form in the glacial-marine sedimentary environment. Papers presented in this volume examine the Quaternary glacia1-marine sedimentary picture in subarctic Alaska, Antarctica, the Arctic Ocean, the Kane Basin, Baffin Island, the Puget-Fraser Lowland of Washington and British Columbia, and the North Atlantic Ocean. Ancient glacia1-marine depos its described are the Neogene Yakataga Formation of southern Alaska, the Late Paleozoic Dwyka Formation of the Karoo Basin of South Africa, and the Precambrian Mineral Fork Formation of Utah. For continuity, a paper summar1z1ng the temporal and spatial occurrences of glacial-marine deposits is also presented.

In the extensive field of earth sciences, with its many subdisciplines, the trans fer of knowledge is primarily established via personal communication, during meetings, by reading journal articles, or by consulting books. Because more information is available than can be assimilated, it is necessary for the individual to search selectively. Books take more time from the inception of an idea until publication than any of the other means of communication men tioned. As a consequence, their function is somewhat different. Many good books are a compilation of up to date knowledge and serve as reference or instruction manuals. Some books are a collection of previously published papers dealing with a certain topic, while others may basically provide large sets of data or examples. The Frontiers in Sedimentary Geology series was established both for stu dents and practicing earth scientists who wish to either stay abreast of the most recent ideas or developments or to become familiar with an important topic in the field of sedimentary geology. The series attempts to deal with sub jects that are in the forefront of both scientific and economic interest. The treatment of a subject in an individual volume should be a combination of topi cal, regional, and interdisciplinary approaches. Although these three terms can be defined separately, in reality they should flow into each other. A topical treatment should relate to a major category of sedimentary geology.

Ancient ice ages are revealed by distinctive stratal facies that tell us much about the times of coolness and how the climate system works. Several strong ice ages were recorded in the late Paleozic time and during transitions from the Devonian in to the Carboniferous and from the Ordovician in to the Silurian. In Precambrian time, several are documented for both the late and early Proterozoic age. This title explores findings on the pre-Mesozoic ice ages, examining climate in relation to tectonobiogeochemical activities rooted in the changing earth-air-ocean system.

The motivation for this volume came from the idea that thePrecambrian is the key, both to the present, and to theunderstanding of the Earth as a whole. The Precambrian constitutesabout 85% of Earth's history, and of that, about 3.75 billion yearsof Precambrian time, represented by rocks, are accessible togeoscientists. Ancient atmospheric and environmental conditions canbe traced back to the time when the Earth was only about 250million years old. Precambrian rocks supply almost 75% of importantmineral resources such as Fe, Mn, Au, Pt and Cr. Many of theseelements are associated with sedimentary rocks and some importanthydrocarbon, coal and graphite deposits are also hosted byPrecambrian rocks. This volume is aimed at geoscientists interested in Precambriansedimentary rocks and at students of Earth history. It containsreview articles discussing Precambrian conditions and case studiesfrom Precambrian shields and successions of North and SouthAmerica, Australia, Africa, Europe, Asia and India. Theintroductory papers, written by experts on Precambrianenvironments, treat comprehensively the application of actualism tothe Precambrian, the evolution and influence of life on thesedimentary rock record, the genesis of Banded Iron Formations, thePrecambrian sulphur cycle and the significance of Precambrianchemical carbonate precipitates. The case studies includedepositional settings and processes in Archean terranes, inPaleoproterozoic sequences, with some emphasis on the lack ofvegetation and weathering, and in late Proterozoic sequences, withsome emphasis on glacial deposits. The contributions demonstratethat Precambrian sedimentary deposits are commonly similar to theirPhanerozoic counterparts in terms of composition, sedimentaryprocesses, and depositional setting, but may differ significantlyas a result of lack of vegetation, climatic and biologicalconstraints, composition and circulation of seawater, and thesecular involvement of continental crust. Contains review articles discussing Precambrian conditions andcase studies from Precambrian shields and successions of North andSouth America, Australia, Africa, Europe, Asia and India. The introductory papers, written by experts on Precambrianenvironments, treat comprehensively the application of actualism tothe Precambrian, the evolution and influence of life on thesedimentary rock record, the genesis of Banded Iron Formations, thePrecambrian sulphur cycle and the significance of Precambrianchemical carbonate precipitates. Detailed case studies include depositional settings andprocesses in Archean terranes, in Paleoproterozoic sequences, withsome emphasis on the lack of vegetation and weathering, and in lateProterozoic sequences, with some emphasis on glacialdeposits. Written for geoscientists interested in Precambrian sedimentaryrocks and students of Earth history. If you are a member of the International Association ofSedimentologists (IAS), for purchasing details, please see:http://www.iasnet.org/publications/details.asp?code=SP33