The Cambrian radiation was the explosive evolution of marine life that started 550,000,000 years ago. It ranks as one of the most important episodes in Earth history. This key event in the history of life on our planet changed the marine biosphere and its sedimentary environment forever, requiring a complex interplay of wide-ranging biologic and nonbiologic processes.

The Ecology of the Cambrian Radiation offers a comprehensive and surprising picture of the Earth at that ancient time. The book contains contributions from thirty-three authors hailing from ten countries and will be...

Theoretical morphology--which seeks to sketch the range of forms that biological entities could take, with the ultimate goal of discovering why certain forms exist but others do not--is among paleontology's most significant contributions to the understanding of evolution. Today, with the aid of computers in developing conceivable morphologies, the discipline has been able to advance into a remarkable tool for the study of evolution. Yet despite these advances, the field remains largely untapped and ripe with research potential. In this volume, paleontologist George McGhee presents the first...

Greenhouse gases, global warming, thinning ozone layers--understanding the Earth's climatic changes is one of today's most pressing international concerns. How fast has the climate changed? Where and why is it changing? What is the impact of climate change on our ecosystems, coastal regions, glaciers, forests, and lakes, and even on the evolution of our own species?

This introduction to the rapidly emerging field of paleoclimatology explains the patterns and processes in the history of the Earth's climate to answer such essential questions. Using the geologic records of ocean and lake...