Frozen Earth

Frozen Earth PDF Author: Doug Macdougall
Publisher: Univ of California Press
ISBN: 0520954947
Category : Science
Languages : en
Pages : 283

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Book Description
In this engrossing and accessible book, Doug Macdougall explores the causes and effects of ice ages that have gripped our planet throughout its history, from the earliest known glaciation—nearly three billion years ago—to the present. Following the development of scientific ideas about these dramatic events, Macdougall traces the lives of many of the brilliant and intriguing characters who have contributed to the evolving understanding of how ice ages come about. As it explains how the great Pleistocene Ice Age has shaped the earth's landscape and influenced the course of human evolution, Frozen Earth also provides a fascinating look at how science is done, how the excitement of discovery drives scientists to explore and investigate, and how timing and chance play a part in the acceptance of new scientific ideas. Macdougall describes the awesome power of cataclysmic floods that marked the melting of the glaciers of the Pleistocene Ice Age. He probes the chilling evidence for "Snowball Earth," an episode far back in the earth's past that may have seen our planet encased in ice from pole to pole. He discusses the accumulating evidence from deep-sea sediment cores, as well as ice cores from Greenland and the Antarctic, that suggests fast-changing ice age climates may have directly impacted the evolution of our species and the course of human migration and civilization. Frozen Earth also chronicles how the concept of the ice age has gripped the imagination of scientists for almost two centuries. It offers an absorbing consideration of how current studies of Pleistocene climate may help us understand earth's future climate changes, including the question of when the next glacial interval will occur.

Frozen Earth

Frozen Earth PDF Author: Doug Macdougall
Publisher: Univ of California Press
ISBN: 0520954947
Category : Science
Languages : en
Pages : 283

Get Book

Book Description
In this engrossing and accessible book, Doug Macdougall explores the causes and effects of ice ages that have gripped our planet throughout its history, from the earliest known glaciation—nearly three billion years ago—to the present. Following the development of scientific ideas about these dramatic events, Macdougall traces the lives of many of the brilliant and intriguing characters who have contributed to the evolving understanding of how ice ages come about. As it explains how the great Pleistocene Ice Age has shaped the earth's landscape and influenced the course of human evolution, Frozen Earth also provides a fascinating look at how science is done, how the excitement of discovery drives scientists to explore and investigate, and how timing and chance play a part in the acceptance of new scientific ideas. Macdougall describes the awesome power of cataclysmic floods that marked the melting of the glaciers of the Pleistocene Ice Age. He probes the chilling evidence for "Snowball Earth," an episode far back in the earth's past that may have seen our planet encased in ice from pole to pole. He discusses the accumulating evidence from deep-sea sediment cores, as well as ice cores from Greenland and the Antarctic, that suggests fast-changing ice age climates may have directly impacted the evolution of our species and the course of human migration and civilization. Frozen Earth also chronicles how the concept of the ice age has gripped the imagination of scientists for almost two centuries. It offers an absorbing consideration of how current studies of Pleistocene climate may help us understand earth's future climate changes, including the question of when the next glacial interval will occur.

Ice Age

Ice Age PDF Author: John Gribbin
Publisher: Allan Lane
ISBN:
Category : Science
Languages : en
Pages : 120

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Book Description
"John and Mary Gribbin tell the remarkable story of how we came to understand the phenomenon of Ice Ages, focusing on the key personalities obsessed with the search for answers. How frequently do Ice Ages occur? How do astronomical rhythms affect the Earth's climate? Have there always been two polar ice caps? Is it true that tiny changes in the heat balance of the Earth could plunge us back into full Ice Age conditions? With startling new material on how the last major Ice Epoch could have hastened human evolution, Ice Age explains why the Earth was once covered in ice - and how that made us human."--BOOK JACKET.

The Little Ice Age

The Little Ice Age PDF Author: Brian Fagan
Publisher: Basic Books
ISBN: 1541618572
Category : Science
Languages : en
Pages : 284

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Book Description
Only in the last decade have climatologists developed an accurate picture of yearly climate conditions in historical times. This development confirmed a long-standing suspicion: that the world endured a 500-year cold snap -- The Little Ice Age -- that lasted roughly from A.D. 1300 until 1850. The Little Ice Age tells the story of the turbulent, unpredictable and often very cold years of modern European history, how climate altered historical events, and what they mean in the context of today's global warming. With its basis in cutting-edge science, The Little Ice Age offers a new perspective on familiar events. Renowned archaeologist Brian Fagan shows how the increasing cold affected Norse exploration; how changing sea temperatures caused English and Basque fishermen to follow vast shoals of cod all the way to the New World; how a generations-long subsistence crisis in France contributed to social disintegration and ultimately revolution; and how English efforts to improve farm productivity in the face of a deteriorating climate helped pave the way for the Industrial Revolution and hence for global warming. This is a fascinating, original book for anyone interested in history, climate, or the new subject of how they interact.

Ice Ages

Ice Ages PDF Author: John Imbrie
Publisher: Palgrave
ISBN: 9781349047017
Category :
Languages : en
Pages : 228

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Book Description


Earth Under Fire

Earth Under Fire PDF Author: Paul A. LaViolette
Publisher: Inner Traditions / Bear & Co
ISBN: 9781591430520
Category : Nature
Languages : en
Pages : 452

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Book Description
In "Earth Under Fire, " Paul LaViolette investigates the connection between ancient world catastrophe myths and modern scientific evidence of a galactic destruction cycle, demonstrating how past civilizations accurately recorded the causes of these cataclysmic events, knowledge of which may be crucial for the human race to survive the next catastrophic superwave cycle.

What Was the Ice Age?

What Was the Ice Age? PDF Author: Nico Medina
Publisher: Penguin
ISBN: 0399543902
Category : Juvenile Nonfiction
Languages : en
Pages : 130

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Book Description
A mesmerizing overview of the world as it was when glaciers covered the earth and long-extinct creatures like the woolly mammoths and saber-toothed cats battled to survive. Go back 20,000 years ago to a time of much colder global temperatures when glaciers and extensive sheets of ice covered much of our planet. As these sheets traveled, they caused enormous changes in the Earth's landscape and climate, leading to the evolution of creatures such as giant armadillos, saber-toothed cats, and woolly mammoths as well as club-wielding Neanderthals and later the cleverer modern humans. Nico Medina re-creates this harsh ancient world in a vivid and easy-to-read narrative.

Children of the Ice Age

Children of the Ice Age PDF Author: Steven M. Stanley
Publisher: W. H. Freeman
ISBN: 9780716731986
Category : Science
Languages : en
Pages : 278

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Book Description
A richly informed and inspired description of our evolution from Australopithecus to the Homo Sapiens we are today.

After the Ice Age

After the Ice Age PDF Author: E.C. Pielou
Publisher: University of Chicago Press
ISBN: 0226668096
Category : Science
Languages : en
Pages : 380

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Book Description
The fascinating story of how a harsh terrain that resembled modern Antarctica has been transformed gradually into the forests, grasslands, and wetlands we know today.

Global Catastrophes

Global Catastrophes PDF Author: Bill McGuire
Publisher: Oxford University Press, USA
ISBN: 0198715935
Category : Nature
Languages : en
Pages : 153

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Book Description
"Life on Earth will come to an end. It's simply a matter of when and how. From the likely consequences of climate change to the inevitable destruction of the earth in the far future, this 'Very Short Introduction' covers a range of 'end of the world scenarios', including Greenhouse Earth, another Ice Age, asteroid and coment impact, supervocanoes, and mega-tsunami. Exploring the potential catastrophes that face the planet, Bill McGuire assesses both the probability of these events and our chances of survival. This new edition brings our understanding of global disasters and risk research up-to-date, by using recent case studies from around the world, and incorporating recent research on climate change and threats from space"--Cover flap.

Journey to the Ice Age

Journey to the Ice Age PDF Author: Peter L. Storck
Publisher: UBC Press
ISBN: 0774841273
Category : Social Science
Languages : en
Pages : 376

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Book Description
At the end of the Ice Age, small groups of hunter-gatherers crossed from Siberia to Alaska and began the last chapter in the human settlement of the earth. Many left little or no trace. But one group, the Early Paleo-Indians, exploded onto the archaeological record about 11,500 radiocarbon years ago and expanded rapidly throughout North America, sending splinter groups into Central and perhaps South America as well. Journey to the Ice Age explores the challenges faced by the Early Paleo-Indians of northeastern North America. A revealing, autobiographical account, this is at once a captivating record of Storck's discoveries and an introduction to the practice, challenges, and spirit of archaeology.