Earth system evolution and early life : a celebration of the work of Martin Brasier / edited by A.T. Brasier, University of Aberdeen, UK, D. McIlroy,Memorial University of Newfoundland, Canada, and N. McLoughlin, Rhodes University, South Africa.

Format:

Book

Contributor:

Brasier, A. T. (Alexander Thomas), editor.

McIlroy, D. (Duncan), 1971- editor.

McLoughlin, N. (Nicola), editor.

Brasier, M. D., honouree.

Geological Society of London, issuing body.

Series:

Geological Society special publication ; 0305-8719 no. 448.

Geological Society special publication

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

Paleobiology.

Genre:

Festschriften.

Physical Description:

vi, 432 pages : illustrations (some color) ; 26 cm.

Place of Publication:

London : The Geological Society, 2017.

Summary:

This volume in memory of Professor Martin Brasier, which has many of his unfinished works, summarizes recent progress in some of the hottest topics in palaeobiology including cellular preservation of early microbial life and early evolution of macroscopic animal life, encompassing the Ediacara biota. The papers focus on how to decipher evidence for early life, which requires exceptional preservation, employment of state-of-the-art techniques and also an understanding gleaned from Phanerozoic lagerstätte and modern analogues. The papers also apply Martin's MOFAOTYOF principle (my oldest fossils are older than your oldest fossils), requiring an integrated approach to understanding fossils. The adoption of the null-hypothesis that all putative traces of life are abiotic until proven otherwise, and the consideration of putative fossils within their spatial context, characterized the work of Martin Brasier, as is well demonstrated by the papers in this volume.-- Source other than the Library of Congress.

Contents:

Dedication

Contributions of Professor Martin Brasier to the study of early life, stratigraphy and biogeochemistry

Understanding ancient life: how Martin Brasier changed the way we think about the fossil record

X-ray microtomography as a tool for investigating the petrological context of Precambrian cellular remains

Earliest microbial trace fossils in Archaean pillow lavas under scrutiny: new micro-X-ray absorption near-edge spectroscopy, metamorphic and morphological constraints

Characterization of organic matter in the Torridonian using Raman spectroscopy

Advanced analytical techniques for studying the morphology and chemistry of Proterozoic microfossils

Contrasting microfossil preservation and lake chemistries within the 1200-1000 Ma Torridonian Supergroup of NW Scotland

Evaluating evidence from the Torridonian Supergroup (Scotland, UK) for eukaryotic life on land in the Proterozoic

Measuring the 'Great Unconformity' on the North China Craton using new detrital zircon age data

Earth system transition during the Tonian-Cambrian interval of biological innovation: nutrients, climate, oxygen and the marine organic carbon capacitor

Martin Brasier's contribution to the palaeobiology of the Ediacaran-Cambrian transition

Palaeoecology of Ediacaran metazoan reefs

Ediacaran pre-placozoan diploblasts in the Avalonian biota: the role of chemosynthesis in the evolution of early animal life

Rangeomorph classification schemes and intra-specific variation: are all characters created equal?

Post-fossilization processes and their implications for understanding Ediacaran macrofossil assemblages

'Intrites' from the Ediacaran Longmyndian Supergroup, UK: a new form of microbially-induced sedimentary structure (MISS)

The origin and occurrence of subaqueous sedimentary cracks

The Precambrian-Phanerozoic and Ediacaran-Cambrian boundaries: a historical approach to a dilemma

Ichnological evidence for the Cambrian explosion in the Ediacaran to Cambrian succession of Tanafjord, Finnmark, northern Norway

Engineering the Cambrian explosion: the earliest bioturbators as ecosystem engineers

Remarkable preservation of brain tissues in an Early Cretaceous iguanodontian dinosaur

Earliest Cretaceous cocoons or plant seed structures from the Wealden Group, Hastings, UK

Chemical relationships of ambers using attenuated total reflectance Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy.

Notes:

Includes bibliographical references and index.

Other Format:

Online version: Earth system evolution and early life.

ISBN:

9781786202796

1786202794

OCLC:

989026147