Encyclopedia of Quaternary Science

by Scott A. Elias

Overview

The quaternary sciences constitute a dynamic, multidisciplinary field of research that has been growing in scientific and societal importance in recent years. This branch of the Earth sciences links ancient prehistory to modern environments. Quaternary terrestrial sediments contain the fossil remains of existing species of flora and fauna, and their immediate predecessors. Quaternary science plays an integral part in such important issues for modern society as groundwater resources and contamination, sea level change, geologic hazards (earthquakes, volcanic eruptions, tsunamis), and soil erosion.

With over 360 articles and 2,600 pages, many in full-color, the Encyclopedia of Quaternary Science provides broad ranging, up-to-date articles on all of the major topics in the field. Written by a team of leading experts and under the guidance of an international editorial board, the articles are at a level that allows undergraduate students to understand the material, while providing active researchers with the latest information in the field.

Also available online via ScienceDirect (2006) – featuring extensive browsing, searching, and internal cross-referencing between articles in the work, plus dynamic linking to journal articles and abstract databases, making navigation flexible and easy. For more information, pricing options and availability visit www.info.sciencedirect.com.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780444519191
Publisher:	Elsevier Science
Publication date:	11/30/2006
Edition description:	4 Volume Set
Pages:	3576
Product dimensions:	8.25(w) x 11.00(h) x (d)

About the Author

Scott Elias grew up in Colorado, in the Rocky Mountain region of the western United States. He attended the University of Colorado, and got BA degree in Environmental Biology. He continued his academic career at the same university, and received his PhD in Environmental Biology in 1980. His thesis topic concerned paleoecology of Holocene-age peat deposits in arctic Canada, focusing on insect fossil analyses.

Following his PhD, Scott became a post-doctoral fellow under Prof. Alan Morgan in the Earth Science Department of the University of Waterloo, Ontario. He also spent six months as a visiting scientist at the Geobotanical Institute of the University of Berne, Switzerland, in 1981. Scott returned to the Institute of Arctic and Alpine Research (INSTAAR), University of Colorado, in 1982, and was a research associate and fellow of the institute during the next 20 years. His research continued to focus on paleoenvironmental reconstructions based on fossil insect assemblages. He has authored six books on paleoecology and natural history of Alaska, the Rocky Mountains, and the arid Southwest. In 2000, Scott accepted a lectureship in the Geography Department of Royal Holloway, University of London. He also has maintained an affiliation with INSTAAR. He is now a Reader in Physical Geography at Royal Holloway.

Table of Contents

Entries cover a range of topice in at least 17 major sections:
* Dating Quaternary Events
* Fluvial and Deltaic Environments
* Glacial Landforms
* History of Quaternary Glaciations
* Humans in the Quaternary
* Ice Core Records
* Insect Fossils
* Lake Level Studies
* Non-marine Stable Isotopes
* Paleoceanography
* Paleolimnology
* Quaternary Sea Level
* Paleosoils and Windblown Sediments
* Quaternary Climate Change
* Quaternary Paleobotany
* Quaternary Stratigraphy
* Quaternary Vertebrate Records

What People are Saying About This

From the Publisher

Quaternary science keeps the world informed about the history of humans, life, environmental and climate change, providing powerful tools to understand what we may expect over the coming decades

Editorial Reviews

"The goal of the editor of this four-volume encyclopedia—to provide authoritative and comprehensive coverage of the subject, to emphasize the interconnectedness of the science, and to make the information of value to all levels—are admirably fulfilled. ...Summing Up: Essential. All levels." —CHOICE

"This is a monumental work of paramount importance for modern earth science. ...Probably the most significant single overview of Quaternary science ever. ...The book bears an imprint of unhurried thoroughness in editing...makes reading chapter-by-chapter a pleasure. ...Colour...and resolution of figures...are superb. This book... will undoubtedly be appreciated by the research community and is here to stay as frontrunner for many years to come. Congratulations to...all who decide to put it on their shelves." — BOREAS - An International Journal of Quaternary Research

"There is so much interesting material included that it is difficult to lay the book(s) aside." —Journal of Sedimentary Research

From the Publisher