| Description |
xix, 698 pages : color illustrations, color maps ; 28 cm |
| Bibliography |
Includes bibliographical references and index. |
| Contents |
Note continued: 14.4.2.Vertebrates -- 14.5.Diversification of the Terrestrial Biosphere -- 14.5.1.Plants -- 14.5.2.Early evolution and diversification of mammals -- 14.5.3.Archaic mammals -- 14.5.4.Climate change and mammals -- 14.5.5.Diversification of modern mammals -- 14.5.6.Birds -- 14.6.Extinction: Glaciers, Volcanoes, and Impacts -- 14.7.Summary -- Sources and Further Reading -- Key Terms -- Review Questions -- Food for Thought -- ch. 15 The Neogene: The Iceman Cometh -- 15.1.Introduction to the Neogene -- 15.2.Tectonics and Sedimentation -- 15.2.1.Europe, Asia, and Africa -- 15.2.2.Central and South America -- 15.2.3.Atlantic and Gulf Coasts of North America -- 15.2.4.Western North America -- 15.2.5.West Coast of North America -- 15.2.6.Evolution of the San Andreas Fault system -- 15.3.How Was the West Widened? Evolution of the Basin and Range -- 15.3.1.Background -- 15.3.2.Hypotheses for the formation of the Basin and Range -- 15.4.Climate, Ocean Circulation, and Chemistry -- 15.5.The "Ice Ages": Evolution of a Theory -- 15.5.1.Background -- 15.5.2.The eccentricity of James Croll -- 15.5.3.Precession of the equinoxes -- 15.5.4.Milutin Milankovitch and obliquity -- 15.5.5.Planktonic foraminifera and the oxygen isotope curve -- 15.6.Neogene Life -- 15.6.1.Marine life -- 15.6.2.Land plants -- 15.6.3.Terrestrial vertebrates -- 15.6.4.Evolution of humans -- 15.7.Extinction -- 15.8.Summary -- Sources and Further Reading -- Key Terms -- Review Questions -- Food for Thought -- pt. IV Humans and the Environment -- ch. 16 Rapid Climate Change During the Holocene -- 16.1.Introduction to the Holocene -- 16.2.Beginning of the Holocene -- 16.2.1.Sea-level rise -- 16.2.2.Younger Dryas -- 16.3.Rapid Climate Change on Millennial Time Scales -- 16.3.1.Rapid climate change involving the oceans -- 16.3.2.Rapid climate change on land -- 16.4.Rapid Climate Change on Centennial Time Scales -- 16.5.Rapid Climate Change on Interdecadal to Multidecadal Time Scales -- 16.6.Climatic Modes and Climatic Irreversibility -- 16.7.Summary -- Sources and Further Reading -- Key Terms -- Review Questions -- Food for Thought -- ch. 17 Humans and Earth Systems: Past, Present, and Future -- 17.1.Introduction -- 17.2.Examples of Human-Climate Interactions During the Last Millennium -- 17.3.Brief History of the Growing Dependence on Fossil Fuels -- 17.4.Alternative Energy Sources and Technologies -- 17.4.1.Wind, geothermal, and solar energy -- 17.4.2.Hydroelectric power -- 17.4.3.Nuclear energy -- 17.4.4.Methane gas hydrates -- 17.4.5.Biofuels -- 17.4.6.Automobiles -- 17.5.Consequences of Anthropogenic Warming -- 17.5.1.Temperature change -- 17.5.2.Sea-level rise -- 17.5.3.Storms -- 17.5.4.Fisheries -- 17.5.5.Precipitation patterns -- 17.5.6.Disease -- 17.6.Biodiversity and Extinction -- 17.7.Closer to Home -- 17.8.Why Should We Care and What Can Be Done? -- 17.9.Summary -- Sources and Further Reading -- Key Terms -- Review Questions -- Food for Thought -- ch. 18 Days of Future Past: Science, Society, and the Nature of Nature -- 18.1.Ockham's Razor -- 18.2.Experimental and Historical Sciences -- 18.2.1.Hypothesis testing -- 18.2.2.Cause and effect -- 18.2.3.Laws and history -- 18.3.Nature of Earth Systems -- 18.3.1.Deep time -- 18.3.2.Scale, process, and measurement -- 18.3.3.Directionality and evolution -- 18.3.4.General characteristics of Earth's systems -- 18.4.Notion of Progress -- 18.5.Science and Society -- 18.6.Summary -- Sources and Further Reading -- Key Terms -- Review Questions. |
| Subject |
Earth (Planet) -- History.
|
|
Geodynamics -- History.
|
| ISBN |
9780763780012 |
|
0763780014 |
|
1449648908 |
|
9781449648909 |
|
