Historical Geology: Understanding Our Planet's Past (living Earth)

Historical Geology Understanding our planet ’s past Jon erickson Foreword by Peter D. Moore, PH.D. HISTORICAL GEOLOGY Understanding Our Planet’s Past Copyright © 2002 by Jon Erickson All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced or utilized in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, or by any information storage or retrieval systems, without permission in writing from the publisher. For information contact: Facts On File, Inc. 132 West 31st Street New York NY 10001 Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data Erickson, Jon, 1948– Historical geology : understanding our planet’s past / Jon Erickson ; foreword by Peter D. Moore. p. cm.—(The living earth) Includes bibliographical references and index. ISBN 0-8160-4726-X (acid-free paper) 1. Historical geology. I.Title. QE28.3.E73 2002 551.7—dc21 2001023055 Facts On File books are available at special discounts when purchased in bulk quantities for businesses, associations, institutions, or sales promotions. Please call our Special Sales Department in New York at 212/967-8800 or 800/322-8755. You can find Facts On File on the World Wide Web at http://www.factsonfile.com Text design by Cathy Rincon Cover design by Nora Wertz Illustrations by Jeremy Eagle and Dale Dyer © Facts On File Printed in the United States of America VB Hermitage 10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1 This book is printed on acid-free paper. CONTENTS Tables Acknowledgments Foreword Introduction vi vii ix xi 1 PLANET EARTH: ORIGIN OF LAND AND LIFE The Solar System ■ The Protoearth ■ The Moon ■ The Atmosphere ■ The Ocean ■ The Emergence of Life 2 ARCHEAN ALGAE: THE AGE OF EARLY LIFE The Age of Algae ■ The Protozoans ■ Photosynthesis Greenstone Belts ■ Archean Cratons 3 PROTEROZOIC METAZOANS: THE AGE OF COMPLEX ORGANISMS The Age of Worms ■ The Ediacaran Fauna ■ Banded Iron Formations ■ Precambrian Glaciation The Continental Crust 1 ■ 23 ■ 45 4 CAMBRIAN INVERTEBRATES: THE AGE OF SHELLY FAUNAS The Cambrian Explosion ■ The Age of Trilobites ■ Cambrian Paleontology ■ The Burgess Shale Fauna ■ Gondwana 5 ORDOVICIAN VERTEBRATES: THE AGE OF SPINAL LIFE-FORMS The Jawless Fish ■ Fauna and Flora ■ The Ordovician Ice Age The Iapetus Sea ■ The Caledonian Orogeny 6 SILURIAN PLANTS: THE AGE OF TERRESTRIAL FLORAS The Age of Seaweed ■ The Reef Builders ■ The Land Invasion ■ Laurasia 66 ■ 85 104 7 DEVONIAN FISH: THE AGE OF MARINE ANIMALS The Age of Fish ■ Marine Invertebrates ■ Terrestrial Vertebrates ■ The Old Red Sandstone 123 8 CARBONIFEROUS AMPHIBIANS: THE AGE OF FOREST DENIZENS The Amphibian Era ■ The Great Coal Forests ■ Fossil Fuels ■ Carboniferous Glaciation ■ Pangaea 142 9 PERMIAN REPTILES: THE AGE OF DESERT INHABITANTS The Reptilian Era ■ Mammal-like Reptiles ■ The Appalachian Orogeny ■ Late Paleozoic Glaciation ■ Mass Extinction 159 10 TRIASSIC DINOSAURS: THE AGE OF BIG BEASTS The Dinosaur Era ■ The Tethyan Fauna ■ The New Red Sandstone ■ Triassic Basalts 11 JURASSIC BIRDS: THE AGE OF FLYING CREATURES The Early Birds ■ The Pterosaurs ■ The Giant Dinosaurs ■ The Breakup of Pangaea ■ Marine Transgression 177 196 12 CRETACEOUS CORALS: THE AGE OF TROPICAL BIOTA The Ammonite Era ■ The Angiosperms ■ The Laramide Orogeny ■ Cretaceous Warming ■ The Inland Seas ■ An Asteroid Impact 215 13 TERTIARY MAMMALS: THE AGE OF ADVANCED SPECIES The Mammalian Era ■ Marine Mammals ■ Tertiary Volcanics ■ Cenozoic Mountain Building ■ Tertiary Tectonics ■ Closing of the Tethys 234 14 QUATERNARY GLACIATION: THE AGE OF MODERN LIFE The Human Era ■