During the Quaternary period, the geological epoch covering the last 1.8 million years, major climatic fluctuations and widespread glaciation had a marked impact on soil characteristics and distribution patterns in the northern hemisphere. This handbook summarizes the evidence for climatic change derived from deposits of land areas and from deep ocean sediments. The author considers soil patterns in eastern England, the midwestern United States, the Netherlands, Belgium, and northern France, examines the main Quaternary processes influencing soil patterns, and outlines their effects at various scales.

On the effects of Quaternary processes of erosion, deposition, soil development, and recognition and interpretation. Methods of classifying, correlating, mapping and dating are described, and the useful interrelations with other disciplines involved in Quaternary studies are explored. The wide range of analytical laboratory techniques applicable to Quaternary deposits are not described in detail, but their uses and limitations are discussed so that the field geologist can decide when it is worth calling upon the services of an expert analyst. Annotation copyrighted by Book News, Inc., Portland, OR

Quaternary of the Levant presents up-to-date research achievements from a region that displays unique interactions between the climate, the environment and human evolution. Focusing on southeast Turkey, Lebanon, Syria, Jordan and Israel, it brings together over eighty contributions from leading researchers to review 2.5 million years of environmental change and human cultural evolution. Information from prehistoric sites and palaeoanthropological studies contributing to our understanding of 'out of Africa' migrations, Neanderthals, cultures of modern humans, and the origins of agriculture are assessed within the context of glacial-interglacial cycles, marine isotope cycles, plate tectonics, geochronology, geomorphology, palaeoecology and genetics. Complemented by overview summaries that draw together the findings of each chapter, the resulting coverage is wide-ranging and cohesive. The cross-disciplinary nature of the volume makes it an invaluable resource for academics and advanced students of Quaternary science and human prehistory, as well as being an important reference for archaeologists working in the region.

The Nile Basin contains a record of human activities spanning the last million years. However, the interactions between prehistoric humans and environmental changes in this area are complex and often poorly understood. This comprehensive book explains in clear, non-technical terms how prehistoric environments can be reconstructed, with examples drawn from every part of the Nile Basin. Adopting a source-to-sink approach, the book integrates events in the Nile headwaters with the record from marine sediment cores in the Nile Delta and offshore. It provides a detailed record of past environmental changes throughout the Nile Basin and concludes with a review of the causes and consequences of plant and animal domestication in this region and of the various prehistoric migrations out of Africa into Eurasia and beyond. A comprehensive overview, this book is ideal for researchers in geomorphology, climatology and archaeology.

The quaternary sciences constitute a dynamic, multidisciplinary field of research that has been growing in scientific and societal importance in recent years. This branch of the Earth sciences links ancient prehistory to modern environments. Quaternary terrestrial sediments contain the fossil remains of existing species of flora and fauna, and their immediate predecessors. Quaternary science plays an integral part in such important issues for modern society as groundwater resources and contamination, sea level change, geologic hazards (earthquakes, volcanic eruptions, tsunamis), and soil erosion. With over 360 articles and 2,600 pages, many in full-color, the Encyclopedia of Quaternary Science provides broad ranging, up-to-date articles on all of the major topics in the field. Written by a team of leading experts and under the guidance of an international editorial board, the articles are at a level that allows undergraduate students to understand the material, while providing active researchers with the latest information in the field. Also available online via ScienceDirect (2006) – featuring extensive browsing, searching, and internal cross-referencing between articles in the work, plus dynamic linking to journal articles and abstract databases, making navigation flexible and easy. For more information, pricing options and availability visit www.info.sciencedirect.com. 360 individual articles written by prominent international authorities, encompassing all important aspects of quaternary science Each entry provides comprehensive, in-depth treatment of an overview topic and presented in a functional, clear and uniform layout Reference section provides guidence for further research on the topic Article text supported by full-color photos, drawings, tables, and other visual material Writing level is suited to both the expert and non-expert