Jan Zalasiewicz Livres

Rocks are time machines and the keepers of our history. This guide is a geological field trip through Earth’s incredible rock formations and the stories they holdLike rings on a tree stump hold the history of the tree, the history of Earth is written in its rocks. How to Read a Rock: Our Planet’s Hidden Stories teaches readers to decipher the rocks all around us, from backyard stones to mountain ranges, and trace Earth's history layer by layer.Spanning from prehistoric Earth’s shifting continents, to contemporary human impact, to the future surfaces of space exploration, the book reviews a remarkable array of topics, including: diamond volcanoes; ancient coastlines, rivers, deserts, and coral reefs; how animals have changed rocks; making of mud; urban rock strata; human-made rocks and minerals; current limestone rock crisis; and technofossils (the footprints humans will leave behind through their material goods). How to Read a Rock's brilliant imagery captures the power, majesty, and history of the planet. Rocks carry the memories of dinosaur landscapes and vanished oceans; show evidence of the greening of the planet and the effect of natural forces; and convey clues on climate and energy consumption. The book unearths the most fascinating stories rocks can tell us, not only about our past, but how the past can help imagine the future.

Oceans feed us and affect our climate. With climate change, pollution, and overfishing, our oceans are at risk as never before. Yet we are only just learning their history and processes. Here, Zalasiewicz and Williams describe what we know of their origin and development on Earth, oceans on other planets, and what the future might hold for our own.

In the struggle to cope with climate change, what lessons can be learnt from Earth's long history? Two leading geologists explain the important insights science is now able to give us about dramatic changes in Earth's distant past, and the delicate balance that ensures our planet is 'not too hot, not too cold', but 'just right' to sustain life.

I have never read a better introduction to this vast, fascinating, and vital subject. It really is like seeing the world in a grain of sand. Dr Ted Nield, Editor, Geoscientist magazine

If aliens came to Earth 100 millions years in the future, what traces would they find of long-extinct humanity's brief reign on the planet? This engaging and thought-provoking account looks at what our species will leave behind, buried deep in the rock strata, and provides us with a warning of our devastating environmental impact.

In this narrative of the Earth's long and dramatic history, Jan Zalasiewicz shows how many events in the Earth's ancient past can be deciphered from a single pebble. He explores how geologists reach deep into the past by forensic analysis of even the tiniest amounts of mineral matter, demonstrating and revealing Earth's extraordinary story.

In this book, Zalasiewicz and Williams provide an accessible and fun introduction to all kinds of skeletons, from the tiny capsules of microscopic diatoms to the great bones of the dinosaurs, and from lignified vascular plants to coral reefs. A great introduction to the evolution of life and especially to understanding why some organisms are small and some are large. Michael Benton, University of Bristol

"In this Very Short Introduction Jan Zalasiewicz looks at the structure and diversity of rocks, and the processes by which they form. He describes their formation during the birth of our planet; considers what rocks there might be in Earth's deep mantle and core and on other planets; and shows how humans are creating new rock types today."--

The history of our planet is written in its geology - this lavishly illustrated guide show you how to read it

In diesem Buch führt der Geologe Jan Zalasiewicz den Leser auf eine faszinierende Reise 100 Millionen Jahre in die Zukunft – lange nach dem Ende der Menschheit –, um zu erforschen, welche Spuren von unserem kurzen, aber dramatischen Auftritt auf der Erde übrig bleiben werden. Er beschreibt, wie Geologen in der fernen Zukunft die Geschichte dieses Planeten enträtseln könnten und wie sie aus den Spuren, die wir in den Gesteinsschichten hinterlassen werden, nach und nach auch die Geschichte der Menschheit entschlüsseln würden. Was werden die Gesteine über uns erzählen? Welche Art von Fossilien werden wir hinterlassen? Was wird aus unseren Städten, aus unseren Autos und Plastikbechern werden? Die Spurensuche der Geologen führt schließlich zu den Knochen der Einwohner zu Stein gewordener Siedlungen, die viele Millionen Jahre tief im Untergrund verborgen waren. Dieses Buch ist ein spannendes Gedankenexperiment und regt zum Nachdenken an. Es erklärt nicht nur die geologischen Mechanismen, die das Gesicht unseres Planeten prägen – von der Plattentektonik bis zur Fossilbildung –, sondern erhellt auch viele der einfallsreichen Verfahren, mit denen Geologen und Paläontologen arbeiten. Schließlich liefert es eine finale Perspektive auf die Menschheit und ihr Wirken, die sich als objektiver erweisen mag als alle anderen Sichtweisen.