Volume 1 focuses on the evolution of Central Europe from the Precambrian to the Permian, a dynamic period which traces the formation of Central Europe from a series of microcontinents that separated from Gondwana through to the creation of Pangaea. Separate summary chapters on the Cadomian, Caledonian and Variscan orogenic events as well as on Palaeozoic magmatism provide an overview of the tectonic and magmatic evolution of the region. These descriptions sometimes extend beyond the borders of Central Europe to take in the Scottish and Irish Caledonides as well as the Palaeozoic successions in the Baltic region.
These papers show how new research in the classic areas and Germany, but particularly in Eastern Europe, is radically altering views of the stratigraphy and palaeocology of the early-middle Pleistocene period, showing that major glaciations did not begin only in the late- middle Pleistocene.
Nothing new from the Ice Age? Far from it! Barely ten years have passed since the first edition of this book was published, but in that time researchers around the world have developed new methods and published their findings in scientific journals. Consequently, ideas about the course of the Ice Age have changed dramatically. The sequence of the individual ice advances, the direction of ice movement and the direction of meltwater drainage are only partially known, but they can be reconstructed. This book offers in-depth information about the state of the investigations. Ice ages are the periods of the earth's history in which at least one polar region is glaciated or covered by sea ice. Thus, we are currently living in an Ice Age. The present Ice Age is also the period in which humans started to intervene in the shaping of the earth. The results are obvious. Aerial and satellite images can be used to trace the melting of glaciers, but also the decay of the Arctic permafrost, and the clearing of the Brazilian rainforest. This book is a translation of the original German 2nd edition Das Eiszeitalter by Juergen Ehlers, published by Springer-Verlag GmbH Germany, part of Springer Nature, in 2020. The translation was done with the help of artificial intelligence (machine translation by DeepL.com). A subsequent human revision was done primarily in terms of content, so that the book will read stylistically differently from a conventional translation. Springer Nature works continuously to further the development of tools for the production of books and promotes technologies to support the authors.
Volume 2 provides an overview of the Mesozoic and Cenozoic evolution of Central Europe. This period commenced with the destruction of Pangaea and ended with the formation of the Alps and Carpathians and the subsequent Ice Ages. Separate summary chapters on the Permian to Cretaceous tectonics and the Alpine evolution are also included. The final chapter provides an overview of the fossils fuels, ore and industrial minerals in the region.
Historically, climate fluctuations, such as the Little Ice Age, show that interglacial climate chage in not entirely stable, but responds to even subtle changes in radiative forcing. Through research, it has been made clear that even an abrupt change of climate within years is not just a theoretical possibility but has in fact happened in the prehistoric past. It is therefore clear that in principal it could happen again. Human civilaization has exploded under the mild and relatively stable climatic conditions that have prevailed over the last 11,000 years. This book focuses on revisiting the past and to study climate and environment in a suite of experiments where boundary conditions are similar but not identical to today so we can learn about the climate-environment system, its sensitivity, thresholds and feedback. The palaeoclimate community holds an important key to scientific information on climate change that provides a basis for appropriate adaptation and mitigation strategies. The authors of this book have taken up this challenge and summarize their results in this special volume. It presents state-of-the-art science on new reconstructions from all spheres of the Earth System and on their synthesis, on methodological advances, and on the current ability of numerical models to simulate low and high frequency changes of climate, environment, and chemical cycling related to interglacials.* Summarizes important information on climate change, providing a basis for appropriate adaptation and mitigation strategies for human civilization* Reports on new reconstuctions on methodological advances, numerical models simulating low and high frequence changes, and chemical cycling related to interglacials* Incorporates palaeovegetaion and numerical modeling of climate and environmental and geochemical parameters to address regional feedback to global change with successful data-models
A distinguished team of Western European scholars has written an advanced, full-length physical geography designed to be a state-of -the-art evaluation of the physical environment of Western Europe, being both retrospective and prospective in its perception of environmental change. The unique natural and regional environments of Western Europe are discussed, as well as the physical geographic framework of the region. Particular emphasis is placed on the impact and responses of human society on the physical environment of the region which is characterized by a very high population density. As an enhanced reference work it will be of enduring value.
Sound Images of the Ocean is the first comprehensive overview of acoustic imaging applications in the various fields of marine research, utilization, surveillance, and protection. The book employs 400 sound images of the sea floor and of processes in the sea volume, contributed by more than 120 marine experts from 22 nations.
This book presents a summary of the geology of the Transantarctic Mountains for Earth scientists who may want to work there or who need an overview of the geologic history of this region. In addition, the properties of the East Antarctic ice sheet and of the meteorites that accumulate on its surface are treated in separate chapters. The presentation ends with the Cenozoic glaciation of the Transantarctic Mountains including the limnology and geochemical evolution of the saline lakes in the ice-free valleys. • The subject matter in this book is presented in chronological order starting about 750 million years ago and continuing to the present time. • The chapters can be read selectively because the introduction to each chapter identifies the context that gives relevance to the subject matter to be discussed. • The text is richly illustrated with 330 original line drawings as well as with 182 color maps and photographs. • The book contains indexes of both subject matter and of authors’ names that allow it to be used as an encyclopedia of the Transantarctic Mountains and of the East Antarctic ice sheet. • Most of the chapters are supplemented by Appendices containing data tables, additional explanations of certain phenomena (e.g., the formation and seasonal destruction of stratospheric ozone), and illustrative calculations (e.g., 38Cl dates of meteorites). • The authors have spent a combined total of fourteen field seasons between 1964 and 1995 doing geological research in the Transantarctic Mountains with logistical support by the US Antarctic Program. • Although Antarctica is remote and inaccessible, tens of thousands of scientists of many nationalities and their assistants have worked there and even larger numbers of investigators will work there in the future.
