Late Glacial and Postglacial Environmental Changes: Quarternary, Carboniferous-Permian and Proterozoic

This collection of contributed papers reconstructs events following the major Paleozoic glaciation, using as analogue events during the last 18,000 years. The detailed analysis of present environments aims to aid readers in understanding what triggered the ancient deglaciations; conversely, the study of the ancient geological record will help to identify factors that influence global environmental change.

Table of Contents:
Part I The quarternary - the last glaciation and deglaciation: northern hemisphere (Laurentide) deglaciation - processes and responses of ice sheet/ocean interactions; the last Scandinavian ice sheet and its down-wasting; environment and climate of Sartan maximum and the late glacial in Siberia; termination of the pleistocene and holocene changes in South America and other glaciated parts of the southern hemisphere. Part II The quarternary - macro-processes: sediment deformation beneath the Laurentide ice sheet; megafloods and glaciation. Part III The permo-carboniferous - a paleographic reconstruction: Permian world topography and climate. Part IV The permo-carboniferous - the distribution and effect of the major glaciers of Gondwana; glacial-postglacial transition in the late Paleozoic basins of southern South America; a review of the permo-carboniferous glaciation in Africa; transition from freezing to subtropical climates in the permo-carboniferous of Afro-Arabia and India; Permian postglacial environments of the Australian Plate; upper paleozoic glacial and postglacial deposits, central Transantarctic mountains, Antarctica; some problems of the Permian (Asselian) glaciation and the subsequent climate in the Permian. Part V An older, precambrian glaciation - a comparative analysis: tectonic and glacio-eustatic controls on postglacial stratigraphy - proterozoic examples. Part IV quaternary and permo-carboniferous terrestrial weathering and organic deposits; interpreting glacial climate from detrital minerals in sediments; paleosols of the northern part of North America - their features and significance as indicators of past climates; cold temperate peats and coals - their sedimentology and composition; recent cold climate peats of central Canada and permo-carboniferous coals of Gondwana.

Review :
"This multi-authored volume contains 19 chapters organized into five parts that center around three major ice ages: the Quaternary, late Paleozoic, and late Precambrian. . .Most of the 23 contributors are internationally recognized experts in their respective fields; hence, the treatments are up-to-date with the literature, and the reader can depend upon a reasonably accurate representation of the essential debates in each discipline. . . .[the book] is a very good graduate and research reference and should be in all geology libraries." --GSA Today "Data from the best known glacial periods, the Quaternary and Carboniferous-Permian, are compared to determine which variables provide the most sensitive signals for predicting past and pending change. Roughly half the papers are highly focused accounts outlining the distribution of glacial and postglacial features of specific regions. . .Other papers, however, are principle-oriented; discussions about past megafloods, temperate paleosols and peats, glaciogenic deposits, and tectonism provide a background for either non-specialists concerned with general issues or for researchers working with glacial deposits produced during other times in Earth's history."--Choice "This collection of review papers brings together information on glacial and post-glacial landforms and successions from around the world. It is full of stimulating ideas about the causes of glacial periods and their after-effects. . . .An excellent synthesis of Quaternary and older glacial products, which I recommend to anyone seeking a better understanding of large-scale glacial episodes and their broad environmental and climatic effects." --Journal of Geoscience Education "This book--tightly written, well referenced, and with clear diagrams--extends our understanding of glacial climates of the geologic past. The papers summarize the state of the art. Rather than being a generalized text that describes late stage glacial events from an introductory point of view, a snapshot in time is presented of our current understanding. One of the most interesting aspects is the emphasis the editor places on the occurrence of peats through geologic time and their association with glacial periods and the questions that this raises when one is faced with this type of sediment." --The Leading Edge "Martini asserts that the purpose of his book is to compare the changes that ended the Quaternary glaciation and from which the earth is still recovering, to ancient Ice Ages for which the long recovery to a wholly non-glacial world is documented in the geological record. From this assessment 'it may be possible to formulate various scenarios for future climatic and environmental change and hence, ultimately, for the fate of humankind' (p. 3). Twenty-three scientists, among them the pre-eminent scholars in their disciplines, present 19 chapters organized in five parts: four devoted to description of the periods of glaciation named in the title, and one to cold-region soils and organic deposits, including peat and coal. . . . [T]he work . . . should be required reading by students of glacial environmental change."--Écoscience