Catastrophic Episodes in Earth History (Topics in the Earth Sciences) - Softcover

Albritton, Claude

Softcover

ISBN 10: 940109148X ISBN 13: 9789401091480

Publisher: Springer, 2013

Synopsis

Year by year the Earth sciences grow more diverse, with an inevitable increase in the degree to which rampant specialization isolates the practitioners of an ever larger number of subfields. An increasing emphasis on sophisticated mathematics, physics and chemistry as well as the use of advanced technology have set up barriers often impenetrable to the uninitiated. Ironically, the potential value of many specialities for other, often non-contiguous ones has also increased. What is at the present time quiet, unseen work in a remote corner of our discipline, may tomorrow enhance, even revitalize some entirely different area. The rising flood of research reports has drastically cut the time we have available for free reading. The enormous proliferation of journals expressly aimed at small, select audiences has raised the threshold of access to a large part of the literature so much that many of us are unable to cross it. This, most would agree, is not only unfortunate but downright dangerous, limiting by sheer bulk of paper or difficulty of compre­ hension, the flow of information across the Earth sciences because, after all it is just one earth that we all study, and cross fertilization is the key to progress. If one knows where to obtain much needed data or inspiration, no effort is too great. It is when we remain unaware of its existence (perhaps even in the office next door) that stagnation soon sets in.

About this title

Review

...Here is a lucid, up-to-date survey of these heated issues [the new catastrophism of meteorite impacts and the 'resulting' mass extinctions and other catastrophe scenarios], aimed at undergraduates and the many others who are equally bewildered...Albritton finally puts the new catastrophism into proper perspective and explains recent ideas which led to it and to dinosaurmania. He takes a sensible, on the fence stance as to possible causes of mass extinctions. - Nature; His smoothly written and tellingly illustrated text is a cheerful, open account of the history of certain ideas of geological change...A fairer and simpler account you will not find. - Scientific American; The book under review makes fascinating reading. It is recommended as a remarkably good and readable summary of a vast amount of recent research on catastrophism and its role in mass extinction - Journal Geological Society of India

Edition details

• Publisher: Springer
• Publication date: 2013
• Language: English
• ISBN 10: 940109148X
• ISBN 13: 9789401091480
• Binding: Paperback
• Number of pages: 238