Earth Environments: Past, Present, and Future – Weblinks
Chapter 6 – Weather systems
6.1 – The Earth as a Planet: Geological Evolution and Change
The Lava-lamp Earth
http://www.geology.about.com/library/wwekly/aa032899.htm
A Hot Spot Alternative
http://www.geology.about.com/od/plate tectonics/a/nohotsots.htm
Discussion of alternative explanation to hot spots.
Fossil Evidence for Archaean Life
http://www.pubmedcentral.nih.gov/articleender.fcgri?artid=1578735
Article from Philosophical Transactions of Royal Society, London B, Biology Series 361, 869-885(2006) by J.W.Schopf where the evidence is summarised and life’s existence dates from more than or equal to 3500 million years ago.
Archaean Biosignatures
http://www.biology-online.org/articles/contentious_archaean_biosignatures/article.html
Research news on The Contentious Archaean Biosignatures by A.V.Sankaran, Current Science 91 (6), 2006 where there is a summary and references.
Reading Archaean Biosignatures
http://strobiology.nasa.gov/articles/reading-archaean-biosignatures
An article from NASA Astrobiology Life in the Universe by David Tenenbaum, July 30th 2008.
Greenstone Belt from Wikipedia
http://www.en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Greenstone_belt
Greenstone Belt from maps
http://www.unomaha.edu/maher/plate/week11/grrenstone.html
Precambrian tectonics lecture with descriptions, images and models for greenstone belts from the University of Omaha.
Greenstone Belt
http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/IG2-3437800269.html
From World of Science 2003.
Oldest Rocks on Earth
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/26890176
Article by Andrea Thompson (2008) on Nuvvuagittuq rocks from the eastern shore of Hudson Bay (Northern Quebec) dated to 3.8–4.28 billions of years old and at http://www.seti.astrobiol.net/pressrelease/2885/earths-oldest-rocks from Astrobiology Magazine based on a NSF news release.
Magma Ocean
http://www.news.nationalgeographic.com/news/2007/12/071205-magma-ocean.html
Article by Richard A. Lovett from National Geographic news which challenges the widely held view that the Earth’s mantle has been solid throughout.
The Earth’s Lower Mantle and Core
http://www.elements.geoscienceworld/org/cgi/content/full/4/3/177
Article by Guillaume Fiquet from the Mineralogical Society of America 2008, 177-182 and at http://elements_magazine.org/archives/e4_3/e4 from an article by Guillaume Fiquet, Francois Guyot and James Badno which gives mineral physics data and diagrams to givea better understanding of the deepest rocks in the Earth.
Molten Earth: Magma in the Deep Mantle
http://www.minersoc.org/pages/meetimgs/views-archive/bga-stixrude.pdf
PowerPoint slides by Lars Stixrude from University College, London.
Core Formation and Evolution
http://www.gps.caltech.edu/~mbrown/classes/ge131/notes/djs33.pdf
From California Technology Institute.
Crustal Mantle Evolution
http://www.sio.ucsd.edu/marianas/science/crust.cfm
From the Scripps Institute of Oceanography an article on Seismological Observation: Earth’s deep Interior and their geodynamical and mineral physical interpretation by Arwen Deuss, Jennifer Andrews and John Woodhouse.
How Volcanoes Work: unusual lava types
http://www.geology.sdsu.edu/how_volcanoes_work/Unusual%20lava.html
Description and origins of komatiites and carbonatites.
Komatiites
http://www.geol.umd.edu/~sarahpd/KOMATIITE.ppt
PowerPoint presentation on description , origin and significance of komatiites.
Exotic Lavas
http://www.glyfac.buffalo.edu/courses/gly424/5_april.pdf
PowerPoint discussion on the description and origins of komatiites and carbonatites.
6.2 – Atmospheric Evolution and Change
NOAA Palaeoclimatology Programme: Astronomical theory of Climatic Change from the National Climatic Data Centre
http://www.ncdc.noaa.gove/paleo/milankovitch.html
A summary of the Milankovitch theory of climatic change.
6.4 – Biosphere Evolution
Fossils of the Burgess Shale
http://www.facstaff.gpc.edu/~pgore/geology/geo102/burg3ess/burgess
For visual images of a representative selection of Middle Cambrian fossils from the Burgess Shale.
Dinosaurs
http://www.enchantedlearning.com/subjects/dinosaurs
For all kinds of information related to dinosaurs, extinction, anatomy and behaviour, classification.
Prehistoric World
http://www.science.nationalgeographic.com/science/prehistoric-world.html
For topics such as the Pre-Cambrian and Cambrian periods; dinosaur extinction; mass extinctions, latest news.
Digital Morphology Library from the National Science Foundation Digital Library at the University of Texas at Austin
http://www.digimorph.org
For an archive of information on digital morphology and high-resolution X-ray computed tomography of biological specimens from the Earth’s biota.
Structure of Chicxulub
http://www.lpl.arizona.edu/sic/news/chicxulub1.html
6.5 – Earth’s Geological Change
Ice Core Projects: GISP2 Greenland ice core
http://www.gisp2.sr.unh.edu/GISP2
GRIP ice core
http://www.ncdc.noaa.gov/paleo/icecore/greenland/summit/document/gripinfo.html
Vostok Antarctica site: decipehering Mysteries of Past Climates from Antarctica
http://www.agu.org/sci_soc/vostok/html
Remembrance of Things Past: Greenhouse Lessons from the Geologic Record by Thomas J. Crowley from the US Global Change Research Information Office
http://www.gcrio.og/CONSEQUENCES/winter96/geoclimate.html
Ocean sediments from the Ocean Drilling Programme Australia
http://odp.usyd.edu.au/odp-CD/oceplat/opindex.html
A description of all the various types of ocean sediments, including their origins and global distribution, diagrams and photos and exercises.
Catastrophe 2: Snowball Earth
http://Snowballearth.org
Video 48 minutes and link to Horizon: Snowball Earth 9 minutes.
6.6 – Future Environmental Change
Global Environmental Changes: Technology and the Future of Planet Earth
http://www.rcmlab.agron.iastate.edu/presentations/Globalize_06-Takle2_files/Globalize_06Takle2.ppt
Climate Projections from the UK Meteorological Office
http://www.metoffice.gov.uk/climatechange/science/projections
The Biosphere: Global Climate Change Research Explorer
http://www.exploratorium.edu/climate/biosphere
Provides news on recent research and case studies exploring the effect of current climate change on various plant and animal communities and related websites.
Climate Change, Hydrology and Water Resources
http://www.grida.no/publications/other/ipcc_tar/?src=/climate/ipcc_tar/wg2/159.htm
Discussion on the observed and predicted impacts of recent and predicted climate change on the hydrological cycle at all scales throughout the world.