Ziegler (geology, U. of Basel, Switzerland) provides an overview of the late Palaeozoic evolution of North America, Europe, the Arctic and North Africa in a plate tectonics framework. The late Palaeozoic evolution of Laurussia is illustrated by a set of ten interpretive palaeotectonic palaeogeograph

This book provides a complete Phanerozoic story of palaeogeography, using new and detailed full-colour maps, to link surface and deep-Earth processes.

Plate Tectonic Evolution of the Southern Margin of Laurussia in the Paleozoic.

Geological evolution of middle to late Paleozoic rocks in the Avalon terrane of northern mainland Nova Scotia, Canadian Appalachians: a record of tectonothermal activity along the northern margin of the Rheic Ocean in the Appalachian-Caledonide orogen.

Ancient Supercontinents and the Paleogeography of Earth offers a systematic examination of Precambrian cratons and supercontinents. Through detailed maps of drift histories and paleogeography of each continent, this book examines topics related to Earth's tectonic evolution prior to Pangea, including plate kinematics, orogenic development, and paleoenvironments. Additionally, this book discusses the methodologies used, principally paleomagnetism and tectonostratigraphy, and addresses geophysical topics of mantle dynamics and geodynamo evolution over billions of years. Structured clearly with consistent coverage for Precambrian cratons, this book combines state-of-the-art paleomagnetic and geochronologic data to reconstruct the paleogeography of the Earth in the context of major climatic events such as global glaciations. It is an ideal, up-to-date reference for geoscientists and geographers looking for answers to questions surrounding the tectonic evolution of Earth. - Provides robust paleogeographies of Precambrian cratons based on high-quality paleomagnetic and geochronologic data and critically tested by global geological datasets - Includes links to updated databases for the Precambrian such as PALEOMAGIA and the Global Paleomagnetic Database (GPMDB) - Presents full-color maps of the drift histories of each continent as well as their paleogeographies - Discusses key questions regarding continental drift, the supercontinent cycle, and the geomagnetic dipole hypothesis and analyzes palaeography in the context of Earth's holistic evolution

In recent years there have been rapid strides in our understanding of plate-tectonic processes, many developments in methods of basin analysis, and the accumulation of much new surface and subsurface geological and geophysical data. Projects such as COCORP (in the United States) and Lithoprobe (in Canada) have provided essential insights into the deep crustal structure of the continent. Synthesis of all the available information about North America's geological regions has not been attempted systematically since the "Decade of North American Geology project undertaken by the Geological Society of America and the Geological Survey of Canada nearly twenty years ago. The book commences with a summary of the Phanerozoic geological history of the United States and Canada, illustrated with a suite of new paleogeographic maps, and tying in each of the subsequent regional chapters by the inclusion of numerous cross-references. This followed by a set of fifteen regional syntheses of the principal tectonic regions of the United States and Canada, focusing on the stratigraphic and tectonic history of the major sedimentary basins. Most of these chapters have been contributed by specialists, drawing on their own research, and providing interpretive summaries of a type not previously attempted. - Up-to-date synthesis of the sedimentary/tectonic history of the major areas of the United States and Canada - Up-to-date references - Many new color maps

Accompanying CD-ROM contains ... "the full paper [version] for all 30 chapters as .pdf files."--Page 4 of cover.