Encyclopedia of Quaternary Science (6-Volume Set)

About this book

Encyclopedia of Quaternary Science, third edition, brings together the multidisciplinary expertise needed to understand the history of humans, life, environmental, and climate change to understand what we may expect over the coming decades. Since the publication of the previous edition, our understanding of many topics has been revolutionised by new discoveries and new techniques. The development of ancient DNA (aDNA) studies, for example, has revolutionised our thinking about the origins, dispersal, and population dynamics of our ancestors. Every new aDNA analysis from ancient human remains causes the story to become more complex.

We are the sole survivors of the genus Homo, yet we harbour genetic fragments from other closely related but long-extinct lineages. The Quaternary is uniquely situated as a laboratory in which to study the shaping of the modern world, including biotic responses to large-scale environmental change. This new edition of this book is the most comprehensive account of state-of-the-art research in this field.

Contents

Historical Overview
Quaternary Climate Change
Dating Quaternary Events
Trapped Electron Dating Methods
Paleomagnetic dating
Chemical Dating Methods
Biological Dating Methods
Sediment Dating Methods
Glacial Landforms
History of Quaternary Glaciations
Paleosols and Wind-Blown Sediments
Lake Level Studies
Quaternary Paleobotany (Palynology)
Plant Macrofossils
Diatoms
Quaternary Vertebrate Records
Insect fossils
Paleoceanography
Ice Core Records
Humans in the Quaternary
Proglacial Lakes and Megafloods
Use of Quaternary Proxies in Forensic Science
Tree-ring Studies

Customer Reviews

Biography

Prof. Scott A. Elias is a retired Professor of Quaternary Science at Royal Holloway, University of London, from 2000 to 2017. Before this, he was a Fellow of the Institute of Arctic and Alpine Research, University of Colorado, from 1983 to 2000, where he earned his PhD in Environmental Biology. Elias has authored 226 publications. Since 2006, he has been Editor-in-Chief of three Elsevier encyclopaedias and co-editor-in-chief of four encyclopaedias and one comprehensive reference work. He was the founding editor-in-chief of the Elsevier Reference Collection in Earth Systems and Environmental Sciences.