附註:Title from title screen.
Includes bibliographical references and index.
Oxygen and Proterozoic evolution : an update / Andrew H. Knoll and Heinrich D. Holland -- Impact of late Ordovician glaciation-deglaciation on marine life / W.B.N. Berry, M.S. Quinby-Hunt, and P. Wilde -- Global change leading to biodiversity crisis in a greenhouse world : the Cenomanian-Turonian (Cretaceous) mass extinction / Earle G. Kauffman -- Cretaceous-Tertiary (K/T) mass extinction : effect of global change on Calcareous microplankton / Gerta Keller and Katharina v. Salis Perch-Nielsen -- Terminal Paleocene mass extinction in the deep sea : association with global warming / James P. Kennett and Lowell D. Stott -- Tropical climate stability and implications for the distribution of life / Eric J. Barron -- Neogene ice age in the North Atlantic region : climatic changes, biotic effects, and forcing factors / Steven M. Stanley and William F. Ruddiman -- The response of hierarchically structured ecosystems to long-term climatic change : a case study using tropical peat swamps of Pennsylvanian age / William A. DiMichele and Tom L. Phillips -- The late Cretaceous and Cenozoic history of vegetation and climate at northern and southern high latitudes : a comparison / Rosemary A. Askin and Robert A. Spicer -- The impact of climatic changes on the development of the Australian flora / David C. Christophel -- Global climatic influence on Cenozoic land mammal faunas / S. David Webb and Neil D. Opdyke -- Biotic responses to temperature and salinity changes during last deglaciation, Gulf of Mexico / Benjamin P. Flower and James P. Kennett -- Pollen records of late Quaternary vegetation change : plant community rearrangements and evolutionary implications / Thompson Webb III -- Climatic forcing and the origin of the human genus / Steven M. Stanley.
摘要:What can we expect as global change progresses? Will there be thresholds that trigger sudden shifts in environmental conditions--or that cause catastrophic destruction of life? Effects of Past Global Change on Life explores what earth scientists are learning about the impact of large-scale environmental changes on ancient life--and how these findings may help us resolve today's environmental controversies. Leading authorities discuss historical climate trends and what can be learned from the mass extinctions and other critical periods about the rise and fall of plant and animal species in response to global change. The volume develops a picture of how environmental change has closed some evolutionary doors while opening others--including profound effects on the early members of the human family. An expert panel offers specific recommendations on expanding research and improving investigative tools--and targets historical periods and geological and biological patterns with the most promise of shedding light on future developments. This readable and informative book will be of special interest to professionals in the earth sciences and the environmental community as well as concerned policymakers.
