The Mesozoic Era begins with the approximately 50-million-year-long Triassic Period, a major juncture in Earth history when the vast Pangaean supercontinent completed its assembly and began its fragmentation, and the global biota diversified and modern-ized after the end-Permian mass extinction, the most extensive biotic decimation of the Phanerozoic. The temporal ordering of geological and biotic events during Triassic time thus is critical to the interpretation of some unique and pivotal events in Earth his-tory. This temporal ordering is mostly based on the Triassic time-scale, which has been developed and refined for nearly two centu-ries. This book reviews the state of the art of the Triassic timescale and includes comprehensive analyses of Triassic radio-isotopic ages, magnetostratigraphy, isotope-based and cyclostratigraphic correlations and timescale -relevant marine and non-marine bio-stratigraphy.

This volume presents the latest science on all significant geological and paleontological aspects of the Earth during the Late Triassic Period. Rather than presenting a collection of narrowly focused research papers, the volume consists of a series of peer-reviewed chapters on specific aspects of the Late Triassic world (e.g., tectonics, magmatism, paleobotany, climate, etc.), all authored by experts in the subject of their respective chapters. Each chapter reviews and summarizes the latest findings in these fields and also includes a review of the pertinent literature. The author list is very broadly international and forms a veritable who’s who of expertise in these fields. The book is loosely organized to present the physical aspects of Earth during the Late Triassic at the outset, followed by the paleontological aspects. The latter section is further organized to present the record of the marine environment first before moving onto land, with fauna followed by flora. The volume closes with a review of the end-Triassic extinctions.

The Geologic Time Scale 2012, winner of a 2012 PROSE Award Honorable Mention for Best Multi-volume Reference in Science from the Association of American Publishers, is the framework for deciphering the history of our planet Earth. The authors have been at the forefront of chronostratigraphic research and initiatives to create an international geologic time scale for many years, and the charts in this book present the most up-to-date, international standard, as ratified by the International Commission on Stratigraphy and the International Union of Geological Sciences. This 2012 geologic time scale is an enhanced, improved and expanded version of the GTS2004, including chapters on planetary scales, the Cryogenian-Ediacaran periods/systems, a prehistory scale of human development, a survey of sequence stratigraphy, and an extensive compilation of stable-isotope chemostratigraphy. This book is an essential reference for all geoscientists, including researchers, students, and petroleum and mining professionals. The presentation is non-technical and illustrated with numerous colour charts, maps and photographs. The book also includes a detachable wall chart of the complete time scale for use as a handy reference in the office, laboratory or field. - The most detailed international geologic time scale available that contextualizes information in one single reference for quick desktop access - Gives insights in the construction, strengths, and limitations of the geological time scale that greatly enhances its function and its utility - Aids understanding by combining with the mathematical and statistical methods to scaled composites of global succession of events - Meets the needs of a range of users at various points in the workflow (researchers extracting linear time from rock records, students recognizing the geologic stage by their content)

This volume brings together state-of-the-art reviews of the non-biostratigraphic and biostratigraphic data that are used to define and correlate Permian time intervals. It includes analyses of Permian radio-isotopic ages, magnetostratigraphy, isotope-based stratigraphy and timescale-relevant biostratigraphy. It is the first book devoted to this subject and represents the cutting edge of Permian time-scale research.

A Concise Geologic Time Scale: 2016 presents a summary of Earth's history over the past 4.5 billion years, as well as a brief overview of contemporaneous events on the Moon, Mars, and Venus. The authors have been at the forefront of chronostratigraphic research and initiatives to create an international geologic time scale for many years, and the charts in this book present the most up-to-date international standard, as ratified by the International Commission on Stratigraphy and the International Union of Geological Sciences. This book is an essential reference for all geoscientists, including researchers, students, and petroleum and mining professionals. The presentation is non-technical and illustrated with numerous colour charts, maps and photographs. - Presents a summary of Earth's history over the past 4.5 billion years - Includes a brief overview of contemporaneous events on the Moon, Mars, and Venus - Includes full-color figures including charts, stratigraphic profiles, and photographs to enhance understanding of each geologic period - Correlates regional geologic stages to the standard definitions approved by the International Commission on Stratigraphy - Offers an explanation of the methods used to create the time scale - 2017 PROSE Award Finalist in Earth Science

This book provides a complete Phanerozoic story of palaeogeography, using new and detailed full-colour maps, to link surface and deep-Earth processes.

The Geologic Time Scale 2012, winner of a 2012 PROSE Award Honorable Mention for Best Multi-volume Reference in Science from the Association of American Publishers, is the framework for deciphering the history of our planet Earth. The authors have been at the forefront of chronostratigraphic research and initiatives to create an international geologic time scale for many years, and the charts in this book present the most up-to-date, international standard, as ratified by the International Commission on Stratigraphy and the International Union of Geological Sciences. This 2012 geologic time scale is an enhanced, improved and expanded version of the GTS2004, including chapters on planetary scales, the Cryogenian-Ediacaran periods/systems, a prehistory scale of human development, a survey of sequence stratigraphy, and an extensive compilation of stable-isotope chemostratigraphy. This book is an essential reference for all geoscientists, including researchers, students, and petroleum and mining professionals. The presentation is non-technical and illustrated with numerous colour charts, maps and photographs. The book also includes a detachable wall chart of the complete time scale for use as a handy reference in the office, laboratory or field. The most detailed international geologic time scale available that contextualizes information in one single reference for quick desktop access Gives insights in the construction, strengths, and limitations of the geological time scale that greatly enhances its function and its utility Aids understanding by combining with the mathematical and statistical methods to scaled composites of global succession of events Meets the needs of a range of users at various points in the workflow (researchers extracting linear time from rock records, students recognizing the geologic stage by their content)

The fossil history of plant life in Antarctica is central to our understanding of the evolution of vegetation through geological time and also plays a key role in reconstructing past configurations of the continents and associated climatic conditions. This book provides the only detailed overview of the development of Antarctic vegetation from the Devonian period to the present day, presenting Earth scientists with valuable insights into the break up of the ancient supercontinent of Gondwana. Details of specific floras and ecosystems are provided within the context of changing geological, geographical and environmental conditions, alongside comparisons with contemporaneous and modern ecosystems. The authors demonstrate how palaeobotany contributes to our understanding of the paleoenvironmental changes in the southern hemisphere during this period of Earth history. The book is a complete and up-to-date reference for researchers and students in Antarctic paleobotany and terrestrial paleoecology.

A concentrated review of the time scales used in geology in order to date stratigraphic sequences and to define geological epochs. It is the planned successor to "A Geologic Timescale" and adopts the same style and employs similar methods.