Cataclysms: A New Geology for the Twenty-First Century
| Author | : | |
| Rating | : | 4.73 (564 Votes) |
| Asin | : | 0231177801 |
| Format Type | : | paperback |
| Number of Pages | : | 224 Pages |
| Publish Date | : | 2015-09-12 |
| Language | : | English |
DESCRIPTION:
(Dan Fagin, author of the Pulitzer Prize-winning Toms River: A Story of Science and Salvation) . But if there is one lesson from the history of geology, it is that we should listen to those like Rampino who think outside the boxor even outside the solar system. Cataclysms takes us far out, indeed. (Dennis Kent, Rutgers University)In this fast-moving, eminently readable first-hand narrative, Rampino paints a stark contrast between conventional gradualist interpretations of earth history and a new fusion of earth science and astronomy in which powerful forces shape our planet's history with periodic catastrophes from above and within. Cataclysms is the most useful, well-written, and not overly technical summary of neocatastrophism since the Alvarez team published their initial work in the early 1980s. Highly controversial, Rampino persuasively ties together seemingly unrelated empirical geological discoveries and astr
Scientists found evidence for this theory in a “crater of doom” on the Yucatán Peninsula, showing that our planet had once been a target in a galactic shooting gallery. Rampino builds on the latest findings from leading geoscientists to take “neocatastrophism” a step further, toward a richer understanding of the science behind major planetary upheavals and extinction events.Rampino recounts his conversion to the impact hypothesis, describing his visits to meteor-strike sites and his review of the existing geological record. This new geology sees Earth’s position in our solar system and galaxy as the keys to understanding our planet’s geology and history of life. In Cataclysms, Michael R. Rampino offers a cosmic context for Earth’s geologic evolution, in which cataclysms from above in the form of comet and asteroid impacts and from below in the form of huge outpourings of lava in flood-basalt eruptions have led to severe and even catastrophic changes to the Earth’s surface. The new geology he outlines explicitly rejects nineteenth-century “uniformitarianism,” which casts planetary change as gradual and driven by processes we can see at work today. In 1980, the science world was stunned when a mave
Michael R. He has been a consultant for NASA and is the editor of Climate: History, Periodicity, and Predictability (1988) and coauthor of Origins of Life in the Universe (2008). He has been a consultant for NASA and is the editor of Climate: History, Periodicity, and Predictability (1988) and coauthor of Origins of Life in the Universe (2008).Michael R. Rampino is a professor of biology and environmental studies at New York University. . R