[meteorite-list] P-T Extinction: 'SickEarth' Book Recommendation

From: Mr EMan <mstreman53_at_meteoritecentral.com>
Date: Sun Oct 22 00:25:33 2006
Message-ID: <20061022042531.19560.qmail_at_web51013.mail.yahoo.com>

What a segway! Based on what I read there was evidence
of a sick earth but Peter Ward's research showed a
very rapid extinction of land animals.

I just finished reading "Gorgon: The Monsters That
Ruled the Planet Before Dinosaurs and How They Died in
the Greatest Catastrophe in Earth's History" by Peter
Ward. Ward spent decades studing the Permian
Extinction in the Karoo district of South Africa.
Ward was a specialist in the K-T extinction and looked
kept an eye out for a similar impact component. The
book is an account of the trials and tribulations of a
geologist trying to do science, make a living, and
raise a new family in the wilderness. The snobbbey and
blood-letting amongst researchers is insightful to the
way other researchers posion the pond in other fields.
The science is pretty neat. The book is rarely
predictible.

Far too many dimentions to describe but the book is
cheap online and a must read for anyone interested in
the life of a geologist and novel solutions to solve
obsticles.

Ward's observations were that the land amimals that
survived and flourished ultimately were the ones which
had a bone structure that allowed for a flexible and
greater lung capacity--side slung arms aka
lizard-like. Research supported that there was a
plunge in oxygen levels such that it was like moving
from sea level to 12000ft. Part of the overall
observation is that Gondwana moved over the south pole
and in the ensuing ice age, sea level moved beyond the
already meger contentinal shelves cutting shallow
water habitat to nill killing the plankton bloom. The
sea based food chain collapsed along with the oxygen
production. There was a scarcity of land plants in the
Permian besause so much of the land mass was at the
interior of a massive water deprived landlocked
soiless landscape. Life in the Triassic remained meger
until the Breakup of Pangea opened up more shore line
to the interior.

The Siberian trapps at that time were above the
Artic(North) not far from where they are today.
 For a book description:
<http://www.amazon.com/Gorgon-Paleontology-Obsession-Greatest-Catastrophe/dp/0670030945?tag2=gp04-20>
Or Google Gorgon Ward Book.

Regards,
Elton
Received on Sun 22 Oct 2006 12:25:31 AM PDT