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The Geology of the Everglades and Adjacent Areas

by: Edward J. Petuch, Charles Roberts
en

142004558X  9781420045581  9781420045598 



The Geology of the Everglades and Adjacent Areas
By Edward J. Petuch, Charles Roberts




Product Description:

Painting a complete picture of the history of the Everglades, The Geology of the Everglades and Adjacent Areas brings together theperspectives of various geoscientists to provides an overview of the geology, paleontology, and paleoceanography of the Everglades region. It emphasizes the upper 300 m of the geologic framework of the area and gives insight into the local stratigraphy, geomorphology, lithology, and historical geology. Building upon the geologic nomenclature and stratigraphic sequences set down by the Florida Geological Survey, the book includes redefinitions of some previously poorly known formations, the chronological fine-tuning of other poorly known units, and the description of 7 new members.

Designed to be a field guide as well as a reference, the book is illustrated with photographs of exposed geologic sections, stratotype localities, collection sites, and details of interesting fossil beds. It contains 124 full-page illustrations with 69 black and white figures, 43 black and white plates of index fossils, and 12 full color plates of simulated space shuttle images of Florida’s ancient seas and coastlines. This text is accompanied by a CD-ROM that features animated maps along with a Power Point presentation of simulated space shuttle imagery of Eocene-to-Holocene Florida.

The book is arranged by geologic time, ranging from the late Eocene, Oligocene, Miocene, Pliocene, and Pleistocene to the Holocene. The authors place lithostratigraphic descriptions of the geologic formations and members into this chronological framework, along with the paleogeography of the seas and lakes within which they were deposited. They also emphasize biostratigraphy with over 1000 index fossils listed and over 400 illustrated. The book brings together information previously spread through innumerable publications, saving you the time and effort it would take to assemble and cross-reference multiple sources.




Summary: Raising The Bar
Rating: 4

Meteorology is my interest and career. Forecasting the occurrence of rain is not enough for us. We need to have an understanding of the nature of the surface that rain falls on, in order to estimate the effects it will have once it arrives. That means geology enters directly into our considerations.

I thought I had a pretty good idea of the geology of Florida. Now I know otherwise. The story of Florida over the last 35my is far more complicated than I imagined. Petuch and Roberts have outlined this story in great detail, and they tell it in a way unlike any other geology book I have read.

Their reconstructions of the state at intervals over this time period are illustrated with "simulated space shuttle photographs." These were created by using photos of analogous terrain existing today, pieced together according the geological data, then altered and retouched by digital techniques. These illustratins make it really easy to visualize the changes over time, and so far as I know they are unique.

The DVD accompanying the book takes the photos and captions in the text, and concatenates them into a movie-like sequence which goes even farther. These features together have raised the bar for future works of this type.

I bought the book for our office down here in Key West; I hope my colleagues find it as useful as I. Now where can I find a time-machine to take me back a couple million years? THAT Florida looks like a fascinating place for sailing, diving and fishing, especially if you like scallops!

Dave



Summary: Great Topic...probably great book
Rating: 4

I have not seen this book in person, but I did take many classes with both of these professors. From my own personal experience and substantial deposit of knowledge from these two gentlemen, I can only imagine what you would get out of this book. I think the DVD alone is something to look forward to seeing. If you have the cash for this, I say go for it!