Description - Soils of the Past by Gregory J. Retallack
It has been 10 years since publication of the first edition of
Soils of the Past. In that time the subject of paleopedology has
grown rapidly, and established itself within the mainstream of
geological research.
Ancient soils contain vital mineralogical, geochemical,
textural, and paleontological information about the continental
environments in which they formed. Advances in isotope geochemistry
and sequence-stratigraphic models allow more detailed
reconstructions of environmental change from paleosols and new
insights into diverse topics like atmospheric chemistry, global
change, palaeoecology, geobiology and mass extinction.
This fully updated second edition of soils of the past gives
describes the main types of ancient soil, procedures for their
recognition and study, their classification and, most
significantly, a wide array of examples of how paleosols have been
used for paleoenvironmental reconstruction.
Soils of the Past is written for advanced undergraduates
studying paleopedology as part of a degree in geology,
environmental science, or physical geography, and for interested
professional earth scientists.
In the last few years however palaeopedology has become an
established discipline in its own right, so the time is ripe for a
new edition. This new book will be a good reflection of the current
state of knowledge and be widely adopted.
First edition was very well received and sold over 1500 copies
when the subject was relatively new. The field has now grown
enormously and the second edition should do considerably
better.
The new edition covers new developments in the field such as:
Soils and Climate, stable isotope analysis of soils, soils and
sequence stratigraphy.
This edition represents the only available overview of the
subject at this level.
Buy Soils of the Past by Gregory J. Retallack from Australia's Online Independent Bookstore, BooksDirect.
Other Editions - Soils of the Past by Gregory J. Retallack
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