The Story of the Earth in 25 Rocks: Tales of Important Geological Puzzles and the People Who Solved Them

Donald R. Prothero

Published by Columbia University Press 2018

The Story of the Earth in 25 Rocks

Tales of Important Geological Puzzles and the People Who Solved Them

Donald R. Prothero

https://doi.org/10.7312/prot18260

Overview
Contents

About this book

Every rock is a tangible trace of the earth’s past. This book tells the fascinating stories behind the discoveries that shook the foundations of geology. In twenty-five chapters—each about a particular rock, outcrop, or geologic phenomenon—Donald R. Prothero recounts the scientific detective work that shaped our understanding of geology.

Author information

Prothero Donald R. :

Donald R. Prothero has taught paleontology and geology for almost four decades. He is adjunct professor of geological sciences at California State Polytechnic University in Pomona, adjunct professor of astronomy and earth sciences at Mt. San Antonio College, and research associate in vertebrate paleontology at the Natural History Museum of Los Angeles County. His Columbia University Press books include Bringing Fossils to Life: An Introduction to Paleobiology (third edition, 2013); The Story of Life in 25 Fossils: Tales of Intrepid Fossil Hunters and the Wonders of Evolution (2015); and Evolution: What the Fossils Say and Why It Matters (second edition, 2017).Donald R. Prothero has taught paleontology and geology for almost four decades. He is adjunct professor of geological sciences at California State Polytechnic University in Pomona, adjunct professor of geology at Pierce College, and research associate in vertebrate paleontology at the Natural History Museum of Los Angeles County. His Columbia University Press books include Bringing Fossils to Life: An Introduction to Paleobiology (third edition, 2013); The Story of Life in 25 Fossils: Tales of Intrepid Fossil Hunters and the Wonders of Evolution (2015); and Evolution: What the Fossils Say and Why It Matters (second edition, 2017).

Reviews

In 25 short and enjoyable chapters, [Prothero] explores issues that have been at the center of geology since long before geology was a science... Prothero provides thought-provoking historical context for each subject and presents information about the individuals responsible for advancing geological knowledge—including James Hutton, Charles Lyell, and Alfred Wegener—while explaining the underlying science in an accessible manner.

Marcia Bjornerud, author of Reading the Rocks: The Autobiography of Earth:
The Story of the Earth in 25 Rocks provides twenty-five well-lit doorways into the sometimes dark and imposing edifice of the geologic past. Colorful characters welcome the reader in, revealing the very human nature of scientific inquiry and our long and complicated relationship with rocks.

A natural follow-up to the author’s The Story of Life in 25 Fossils . . . [A] useful introduction to geology.

Topics

Frontmatter Publicly Available Download PDF	i
CONTENTS Publicly Available Download PDF	vii
PREFACE Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	ix
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	xi
Volcanic Tuff Vulcan’s Wrath: The Eruption of Vesuvius Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	1
Native Copper. The Iceman and the Island of Copper Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	11
Cassiterite. The “Isles of Tin” and the Bronze Age Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	23
Angular Unconformity. “No Vestige of a Beginning”: The Immensity of Geologic Time Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	35
Igneous Dikes. The “Earth’s Great Heat Engine”: The Origin of Magmas Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	47
Coal. The Rock That Burns Fires the Industrial Revolution Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	56
Jurassic WORLD. The Map That Changed the World: William Smith and the Rocks of Britain Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	67
Radioactive Uranium. CLOCKS IN ROCKs: Arthur Holmes and the Age of the Earth Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	79
Chondritic Meteorites. Messengers From Space: The Origin of the Solar System Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	89
Iron-Nickel Meteorites. The Cores of Other Planets Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	98
Moon Rocks. Green Cheese or Anorthosite? The Origin of the Moon Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	112
ZIRCONS. Early Oceans and Life? Evidence in a Grain of Sand Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	124
Stromatolites. Microbial Condos: Cyanobacteria and the Oldest Life Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	134
Banded Iron Formation. Mountains of Iron: The Earth’s Early Atmosphere Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	144
Turbidites. Archean Sediments and Submarine Landslides Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	154
Diamictites. Tropical Glaciers and the Snowball Earth Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	166
Exotic Terranes. Paradox in Rocks: Wandering Fossils and Traveling Landmasses Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	180
Jigsaw-Puzzle Bedrock. Alfred Wegener and Continental Drift Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	194
Chalk. The Cretaceous Seaway and the Greenhouse Planet Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	208
The Iridium Layer. The Death of the Dinosaurs Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	216
Lodestones. How Paleomagic Launched Plate Tectonics Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	229
Blueschists. The Puzzle of Subduction Zones Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	249
Transform Faults. Earthquake! The San Andreas Fault Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	271
Glacial Erratics. A POET, A PROFESSOR, A POLITICIAN, A JANITOR, AND THE DISCOVERY OF THE ICE AGES Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	316
Index Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	339

Language: English
Publisher: Columbia University Press
Audience: Professional and scholarly;
Illustrations
- Other: <B>B&W Illus.: </B>160,

eBook

Published: July 9, 2018
ISBN: 9780231544276