Some 250 million years ago, the earth suffered the greatest biological crisis in its history. Around 95% of all living species died out--a global catastrophe far greater than the dinosaurs' demise 65 million years ago. How this happened remains a mystery. But there are many competing theories. Some blame huge volcanic eruptions that covered an area as large as the continental United States; others argue for sudden changes in ocean levels and chemistry, including burps of methane gas; and still others cite the impact of an extraterrestrial object, similar to what caused the dinosaurs' extinction. Extinction is a paleontological mystery story. Here, the world's foremost authority on the subject provides a fascinating overview of the evidence for and against a whole host of hypotheses concerning this cataclysmic event that unfolded at the end of the Permian. After setting the scene, Erwin introduces the suite of possible perpetrators and the types of evidence paleontologists seek. He then unveils the actual evidence--moving from China, where much of the best evidence is found; to a look at extinction in the oceans; to the extraordinary fossil animals of the Karoo Desert of South Africa. Erwin reviews the evidence for each of the hypotheses before presenting his own view of what happened. Although full recovery took tens of millions of years, this most massive of mass extinctions was a powerful creative force, setting the stage for the development of the world as we know it today.

Product Description: Deer Hunting for Beginners – The Ultimate Guide to Getting Started Hunting Deer: Tactics and Strategies for Tracking and Bagging Deer in North America Looking to become an expert deer hunter? What I aim for in this book is to help you from sounding like an idiot when you go hunting for your first time and to keep you from shooting yourself in the foot or your neighbor in his backside...read more

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Product Description: Asteroids and comets are space objects that orbit the sun. This book examines the many craters on Earth that have formed as a result of meteorites or asteroids crashing into the planet, excavating huge holes and wreaking widespread destruction on the landscape.

Uses the geological record to trace historical and modern views on five mass extinction events, including the disappearance of dinosaurs.

'Newly discovered scientific proof validating the legends and myths of ancient floods, fires, and weather extremes'--Provided by publisher.

The biological effects of asteroid and comet impacts have been widely viewed as primarily destructive. The role of an impactor in the K/T boundary extinctions has had a particularly important influence on thinking concerning the role of impacts in ecological and biological changes. th During the 10 and final workshop of the ESF IMPACT program during March 2003, we sought to investigate the wider aspects of the involvement of impact events in biological processes, including the beneficial role of these events from the prebiotic through to the ecosystem level. The ESF IMPACT programme (1998-2003) was an interdisciplinary effort that is aimed at understanding impact processes and their effects on the Earth environment, including environmental, geological and biological changes. The IMPACT programme has 15 member states and the activities of the programme range from workshops to short courses on topics such as impact stratigraphy, shock metamorphism, etc. The program has also awarded mobility grants and been involved in the development of teaching aids and numerous publications, including this one.

Documents the mass extinction that occurred at the end of the Permian period 251 million years ago during which ninety percent of life on the planet was destroyed, considering theories about what prompted the event, the research achievements of scientists from a range of fields, and the modern world's rekindling of the idea of catastrophism. Original.

An investigation into a 250-million-year-old environmental apocalypse that predated the age of the dinosaurs describes an event that caused the annihilation of ninety percent of all plant and animal species on Earth, taking a close up look at the prehistoric world of the gorgons, the causes of mass extinctions, and their implications for the future of humankind. Reprint.

Describes the near-catastrophic encounter of Earth with an exploded star that passed through the solar system some twelve-thousand years ago, bombarding the planet with a host of cosmic debris and igniting massive fires, floods, seismic activity, and mass extinctions. Original.

The author reveals the solar system to be interconnected and dangerous, as gravity wreaks havoc on the major bodies, sending asteroids and comets slamming into planets. (view table of contents)

An investigation into a 250-million-year-old environmental apocalypse that predated the age of the dinosaurs describes an event that caused the annihilation of ninety percent of all plant and animal species on Earth, taking a close up look at the prehistoric world of the gorgons, the causes of mass extinctions, and their implications for the future of humankind.

One of the scientists who discovered the first evidence of a giant impact relates the story of the scientific investigation that revealed the cause of the great extinction sixty-five million years ago

Product Description: Several times in the distant past, catastrophic extinctions have swept the Earth, causing more than half of all species―from single-celled organisms to awe-inspiring behemoths―to suddenly vanish and be replaced by new life forms...read more

Product Description: Why did the dinosaurs and two-thirds of all living species vanish from the face of the Earth sixty-five million years ago? Throughout the history of life a small number of catastrophic events have caused mass extinction, and changed the path of evolution forever...read more (view table of contents, read Amazon.com's description)

Describes three geologic revolutions that have transformed our knowledge about the planet: the measurement of geologic time, the discovery of plate tectonics, and the recognition of the role of chance in Earth's evolution. (view table of contents)

Follows the career of physicist Luis Alverez on his journey to prove that a comet or asteroid striking the Earth caused the end of the dinosaurs

Outlines the processes and history of evolution, surveying the several mass extinctions of species, speculating on their causes, and explaining their impact on subsequent evolution.

Product Description: • Bestselling author Barbara Hand Clow examines legendary cataclysms and shows how we are about to overcome the collective fear they have instilled in us. • The long-awaited follow-up that continues the revelations begun in The Pleiadian Agenda, which has sold more than 60,000 copies...read more (view table of contents, read Amazon.com's description)