Opis: The Worst of Times - Paul Wignall

Two hundred and sixty million years ago, life on Earth suffered wave after wave of cataclysmic extinctions, with the worst-the end-Permian extinction-wiping out nearly every species on the planet. The Worst of Times delves into the mystery behind these extinctions and sheds light on the fateful role the primeval supercontinent, known as Pangea, may have played in causing these global catastrophes. Drawing on the latest discoveries as well as his own firsthand experiences conducting field expeditions to remote corners of the world, Paul Wignall reveals what scientists are only now beginning to understand about the most prolonged and calamitous period of environmental crisis in Earth's history. He describes how a series of unprecedented extinction events swept across the planet in a span of eighty million years, rapidly killing marine and terrestrial life on a scale more devastating than the dinosaur extinctions that would come later. Wignall shows how these extinctions-some of which have only recently been discovered-all coincided with gigantic volcanic eruptions of basalt lavas that occurred when the world's landmasses were united into a single vast expanse. Unraveling one of the great enigmas of ancient Earth, The Worst of Times also explains how the splitting apart of Pangea into the continents we know today ushered in a new age of vibrant and more resilient life on our planet. "[Wignall] presents a sound examination of an 80-million-year span, which began nearly 260 million years ago, that is considered by scientists to have been the most extreme extinction event in the Earth's history... [A] great example of scientific sleuthing."--Publishers Weekly "[An] excellent introduction to the latest thinking about this key period in Earth's history... Wignall's book is enthralling."--Matthew Cobb, New Scientist "In this scholarly but accessible analysis, geologist Wignall explores the perfect storm of cataclysms, plate tectonics and other forces that led to 'The Great Dying'--and the rebound of life in its aftermath."--Gemma Tarlach, Discover magazineILLUSTRATIONS ix ACKNOWLEDGMENTS xi PROLOGUE xv CHAPTER 1 A TIME OF DYING 1 CHAPTER 2 EXTINCTION IN THE SHADOWS 12 CHAPTER 3 THE KILLING SEAS 39 CHAPTER 4 TROUBLED TIMES IN THE TRIASSIC 89 CHAPTER 5 TRIASSIC DOWNFALL 117 CHAPTER 6 PANGEA'S FINAL BLOW 137 CHAPTER 7 PANGEA'S DEATH AND THE RISE OF RESILIENCE 154 NOTES 177 REFERENCES 179 INDEX 191

Szczegóły: The Worst of Times - Paul Wignall

Tytuł: The Worst of Times
Autor: Paul Wignall
Wydawnictwo: Princeton University Press
ISBN: 9780691142098
Rok wydania: 2015
Ilość stron: 224
Oprawa: Twarda
Waga: 0.46 kg

Recenzje: The Worst of Times - Paul Wignall