This book focuses on the geological evolution of Southwest (SW) Gondwana and presents state-of-the-art insights into its evolution. It addresses the diachronic assembly of continental fragments derived from the break-up of the Rodinia supercontinent later amalgamated to build SW Gondwana during the Neoproterozoic–Cambrian transition, which on a global scale includes parts of present-day South America, Africa and Madagascar. The book presents 24 state-of-the-art reviews including the most crucial controversies. Most experienced scientists about the geology of SW Gondwana from Europe, Africa, South America and Australia present contributions on key areas addressing the interactions between the main cratons and fold belts on both sides of the South Atlantic Ocean. Chapters related to the geology of the major Archean- Paleoproterozoic cratons and Neoproterozoic Brasiliano/Pan-African fold belts enable readers to gain an in-depth understanding of the tectonometamorphic and magmatic evolution of SW Gondwana. The book covers a wide range of issues including metallogenetic, sedimentary, paleobiological and paleoclimatic processes and allows a deep insight into this key period of the Earth’s evolution.

Associating ice masses with the transport and deposition ofsediments has long formed a central theme in glaciology and glacialgeomorphology. The reason for this focus is clear, in that icemasses are responsible for much of the physical landscape whichcharacterizes the Earth's glaciated regions. This association alsoholds at a variety of scales, for example, from the grain-sizecharacteristics of small-scale moraines to the structuralarchitecture of large-scale, glacigenic sedimentary sequences inboth surface and subaqueous environments. This volume brings numerous state-of-the-art research contributionstogether, each relating to a different physical setting, spatialscale, process or investigative technique. The result is a diverseand interesting collection of papers by glaciologists, numericalmodellers and glacial geologists, which are all linked by the themeof investigating the relationships between the behaviour of icemasses and their resulting sedimentary sequences.

This richly illustrated book provides an overview of the Neoproterozoic Pan-African Belt of Egypt (PABE), which represents the northwestern continuation of the Arabian-Nubian Shield (ANS) and the East African Orogen (EAO). The first chapter offers an introduction to the Turin Papyrus Map and the historical background of the PABE, while the second addresses how the PABE is related to the ANS and EAO. Rock succession of the PABE is dealt with in Chapter 3, while Chapter 4 focuses on Sinai Metamorphic Core Complexes and implications on the break-up of Rodinia. Subsequent chapters discuss a broad range of topics, e.g. ophiolite-dominated suprastructural rocks; volcanosedimentary succession, Neoproterozoic volcanism and volcanic rocks in Egypt; enigmatic issues concerning granite, Dokhan and Hammamat sediments; the lithospheric mantle beneath the Northeast African continent and the mantle section of Neoproterozoic ophiolites from the PABE; sutures, megashears and petrogenetic evolution of the Neoproterozoic rocks of Egypt; and metallic and non-metallic mineral deposits in the PABE, which are covered in extensive detail. The book’s closing chapters discuss the application of remote sensing techniques and anisotropy of magnetic susceptibility (AMS) to decipher the tectonic evolution of the PABE, as well as the use of geophysical data to map structural features and hydrothermal alteration zones in the PABE.

Worldwide, Neoproterozoic successions are major hydrocarbon producers. In North Africa, large basins with significant surface outcrops and thick sedimen-tary fills are widespread. These basins are now emerging as potential sources of hydrocarbons and are attracting interest both from geological researchers and the oil and gas industry. This volume focuses on recent developments in the understanding and correla-tion of North African basin fills and explores novel approaches to prospecting for source and reservoir rocks. The papers cover aspects of petroleum prospectivity and age-equivalent global petroleum systems, Neoproterozoic tectonics and pa-laeogeography, sequence stratigraphy, glacial events and global climatic models, faunal and floral evolution and the deposition of early source rocks. The broader aim is to compare with, and learn from, well-studied Neoproterozoic successions globally, including major environmental change, the emergence of life, the global carbon cycle and implications for hydrocarbon exploration.

To this day, there is a great amount of controversy about where, when and how the so-called supercontinents--Pangea, Godwana, Rodinia, and Columbia--were made and broken. Continents and Supercontinents frames that controversy by giving all the necessary background on how continental crust is formed, modified, and destroyed, and what forces move plates. It also discusses how these processes affect the composition of seawater, climate, and the evolution of life. Rogers and Santosh begin with a survey of plate tectonics, and go on to describe the composition, production, and destruction of continental and oceanic crust, and show that cratons or assemblies of cratons became the first true continents, approximately one billion years after the earliest continental crust evolved. The middle part of the book concentrates on supercontinents, beginning with a discussion of types of orogenic belts, distinguishing those that formed by closure of an ocean basin within the belt and those that formed by intracontinental deformation caused by stresses generated elsewhere. This information permits discrimination between models of supercontinent formation by accretion of numerous small terranes and by reorganization of large old continental blocks. This background leads to a description of the assembly and fragmentation of supercontinents throughout earth history. The record is most difficult to interpret for the oldest supercontinent, Columbia, and also controversial for Rodinia, the next youngest supercontinent. The configurations and pattern of breakup of Gondwana and Pangea are well known, but some aspects of their assembly are unclear. The book also briefly describes the histories of continents after the breakup of Pangea, and discusses how changes in the composition of seawater, climate, and life may have been affected by the sizes and locations of continents and supercontinents.

This unusual encyclopedia brings together in-depth information on more than 450 natural geographic features from around the world and offers an array of creative tools to promote critical thinking and classroom discussion. With Earth undergoing rapid environmental change, students and the general public alike should be knowledgeable about the world's geographic features. This authoritative, two-volume reference enables readers do just that. It describes continents and oceans; individual mountains, islands, caves, and rivers; and ecological entities such as wildlife refuges and national parks. Each entry provides a geographic overview of the feature's significance, location, description, geologic history, biota, protected areas, and environmental issues. But the coverage goes even deeper so that entries also discuss the cultural importance of each natural place, covering everything from indigenous beliefs to traditional folklore to contemporary legends. The encyclopedia stands apart from other works not only in the depth of its coverage but also in its range. It discusses lesser known as well as prominent geographical features and offers critical thinking aids that will help students see how the natural world relates to their daily lives. Teaching and learning tools include an appendix called "Opposing Viewpoints" that allows students to understand landforms involved in current conflicts and disputes as well as an "Activities/Discussion Questions" appendix.

The Ordovician was one of the longest of the geological periods, characterized by major magmatic and tectonic activity, an immense biodiversification, swings in climate and sea levels and the first Phanerozoic mass extinction. ‘A Global Synthesis of the Ordovician System’ is presented in two volumes in The Geological Society, Special Publications. This first volume (SP532) charts the history of the Ordovician System and explores significant advances in our understanding of its biostratigraphy, including more precise calibration of its timescale with tephra chronology and regional alignments using astrochronology and cyclostratigraphy. Changes in the world’s oceans, their shifting currents and sea levels, the biogeography of their biotas and the ambient climate are described and discussed against a background of changing palaeogeography. This first volume also includes syntheses of the Ordovician geology for most European countries, including historical key areas, such as Great Britain, Baltoscandia and Bohemia. The second volume (SP533) provides synthetic aspects of the Ordovician geology of most other parts of the world.

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 of interest to paleontologists, geologists, biologists, and other researchers interested in the global Earth-life system.

Paleomagnetism is the study of the fossil magnetism in rocks. It has been paramount in determining that the continents have drifted over the surface of the Earth throughout geological time. The fossil magnetism preserved in the ocean floor has demonstrated how continental drift takes place through the process of sea-floor spreading. The methods and techniques used in paleomagnetic studies of continental rocks and of the ocean floor are described and then applied to determining horizontal movements of the Earth's crust over geological time. An up-to-date review of global paleomagnetic data enables 1000 million years of Earth history to be summarized in terms of the drift of the major crustal blocks over the surface of the Earth. The first edition of McElhinny's book was heralded as a "classic and definitive text." It thoroughly discussed the theory of geomagnetism, the geologic reversals of the Earth's magnetic field, and the shifting of magnetic poles. In the 25 years since the highly successful first edition of Palaeomagnetism and Plate Tectonics (Cambridge, 1973) the many advances in the concepts, methodology, and insights into paleomagnetism warrant this new treatment. This completely updated and revised edition of Paleomagnetism: Continents and Oceans will be a welcome resource for a broad audience of earth scientists as well as laypeople curious about magnetism, paleogeography, geology, and plate tectonics. Because the book is intended for a wide audience of geologists, geophysicists, and oceanographers, it balances the mathematical and descriptive aspects of each topic. - Details the theory and methodology of rock magnetism, with particular emphasis on intrepreting crustal movements from continental and oceanic measurements - Outlines Earth history for the past 1000 million years, from the Rodinia super-continent through its breakup and the formation of Gondwana to the formation and breakup of Pangea and the amalgamation of Eurasia - Provides a comprehensive treatment of oceanic paleomagnetism - Provides a set of color pateogeographic maps covering the past 250 million years - Written by two internationally recognized experts in the field