Nature's Clocks

Description

Examining radiocarbon (C-14) dating - the best known of these methods - and several other techniques that geologists use to decode the distant past, this book unwraps the last century's advances, explaining how they reveal the age of our fossil ancestors such as 'Lucy', and the timing of the dinosaurs' extinction.

Reviews

"A helpful handbook on how we are now able to travel to the distant past."--Publishers Weekly "The heart of the book reveals ingenious science."--Library Journal "For time-conscious readers, Nature's Clocks provides satisfaction beyond measure."--Washington Post Book World

Author description

Doug Macdougall is Professor Emeritus of Earth Sciences at Scripps Institution of Oceanography, University of California, San Diego, and currently resides in Edinburgh, Scotland. He is the author of Frozen Earth: The Once and Future Story of Ice Ages (UC Press, 2004) and A Short History of Planet Earth.

Table of contents

List of Illustrations Acknowledgments Chapter 1. No Vestige of a Beginning ... Chapter 2. Mysterious Rays Chapter 3. Wild Bill's Quest Chapter 4. Changing Perceptions Chapter 5. Getting the Lead Out Chapter 6. Dating the Boundaries Chapter 7. Clocking Evolution Chapter 8. Ghostly Forests and Mediterranean Volcanoes Chapter 9. More and More from Less and Less Appendix A. The Geological Time Scale Appendix B. Periodic Table of the Chemical Elements Appendix C. Additional Notes Glossary Resources and Further Reading Index