000			01817 a2200193 4500
020			_a9781119530404
040			_cIIT Kanpur
041			_aeng
082			_a552.5 _bR313s3
100			_aRetallack, Gregory J.
245			_aSoils of the past [3rd ed.] _ban introduction to paleopedology _cGregory J. Retallack
250			_a3rd ed.
260			_bWiley Blackwell _c2019 _aNew Jersey
300			_axiii, 534p
520			_aLandscapes viewed from afar have a timeless quality that is soothing to the human spirit. Yet a tranquil wilderness scene is but a snapshot in the steady stream of surficial change. Wind, water and human activities reshape the landscape by means of gradual to catastrophic and usually irreversible events. Much of this change destroys past landscapes, but at some times and places, landscapes are buried in the rock record. This work is dedicated to the discovery of past landscapes and their life through the fossil record of soils. A long history of surficial changes extending back almost to the origin of our planet can be deciphered from the study of these buried soils, or paleosols. Some rudiments of this history, and our place in it, are outlined in a final section of this book. But first it is necessary to learn something of the language of soils, of what happens to them when buried in the rock record and which of the forces of nature can be confidently reconstructed from their remains. Much of this preliminary material is borrowed from soil science, but throughout emphasis is laid on features that provide most reliable evidence of landscapes during the distant geological past. This book has evolved primarily as a text for senior level university courses in paleopedology: the study of fossil soils.
650			_aSoil science
650			_aPaleopedology
942			_cBK
999			_c560877 _d560877