Surveys the advances in stratigraphic and paleontological research and isotopic analysis made since 1989 on marine deposits on the coasts of North America. In particular, the book summarizes the high-resolution details of the so-called "doubthouse" interval, which is critical to testing climatic and evolutionary hypotheses about the Eocene deterioration.
Part I: The Pacific Rim Pacific Coast Eocene-Oligocene Marine Chronostratigraphy: A Review and an Update, by Donald R. ProtheroTurnovers in Marine Gastropod Faunas During the Eocene-Oligocene Transition, West Coast of the United States, by Richard L. SquiresBiotic Response to the Eocene-Oligocene Transition: Gastropod Assemblages in the High-Latitude North Pacific, by Anton E. Oleinik and Louie Marincovich Jr.Changes in Shallow-Marine Faunas from the Northeastern Pacific Margin Across the Eocene/Oligocene Boundary, by Elizabeth A. NesbittEvidence for Abrupt Eocene-Oligocene Molluscun Faunal Change in the Pacific Northwest, by Carole S. HickmanAn Overview of Eocene-Oligocene Echinoderm Faunas of the Pacific Northwest, by Casey Burns and Rich MooiUpper Eocene Greenhouse Deposits in Southern Australia: Paleoclimatology and Paleoceanography, by Paul R. Gammon, Yvonne Bone, Jonathan D.A. Clarke, and Noel P. JamesThe Meiji Drift Body and Late Paleogene-Neogene Paleoceanography of the North Pacific-Bering Sea Region, by David W. Scholl, Andrew J. Stevenson, Marlene A. Noble, and David K. ReaCetacean Evolution and Eocene-Oligocene Oceans Revisited, by R. Ewan FordyceTerrestrial Eocene-Oligocene Vegetation and Climate in the Pacific Northewest, by Jeffrey A. MyersPart II: The Atlantic, Gulf, and Caribbean Sequence Stratigraphy of the Eocene/Oligocene Boundary Interval: Southeastern Mississippi, by Ronald J. Echols, John M. Armentrout, Stephan A. Root, Larry B. Fearn, James C. Late Middle Eocene Glacioeustasy: Stable Isotopes and Foraminifera from the Gulf Coastal Plain, by John V. Hurley and Richard H. FluegemanPaleogene Temperature History of the U.S. Gulf Coastal Plain Inferred from -- of Fossil Otoliths, by Linda C. Ivany, Kyger C. Lohmann, and William P. PattersonThe Palynological Record of Late Eocene Climate Change, Northwest Gulf o Mexico, by Thomas E. Yancey, William C. Elsik, and Recep H. SancayPalynological Patterns in Uppermost Eocene to Lower Oligocene Sedimentary Rocks in the U.S. Gulf Coast, by Francisca E. Oboh-Ikuenobe and Carlos A. JaramilloLate Eocene-Early Oligocene Benthic Foraminifera in the Gulf Coastal Plain: Regional vs. Global Influences, by Richard H. FluegemanUpper Paleogene larger Foraminiferal Succession on a Tropical Carbonate Bank, Nicaragua Rise, Caribbean Region, by Edward RobinsonMolluscan Faunas Across the Eocene/Oligocene Boundary in the North American Gulf Coastal Plain, with Comparisons to Those of the Eocene and Oligocene of France, by David T. Dockery III and Pierre LozouetBiotic Patterns in Eocene-Oligocene Echinoids of the Southeastern United States, by Burchard D. CarterThe Eocene-Oligocene Transition in Marine Vertabrates of the Gulf Coastal Plain, by Earl M. ManningA Brief Account of the Evolution of the Caribbean Seaway: Jurassic to Present, by Manuel A. Iturralde VinentThe Eocene-Oligocene Transition in the Equatorial Atlantic (ODP Site 925): Paleoproductivity Increase and Positive -- Excursion, by Liselotte Diester-Haass and Jim ZachosPart III: The North Sea and Tethys The Eocene/Oligocene Boundary in the North Sea Area: A Sequence Stratigraphic Approach, by Noel Vandenberghe, Henk Brinkhuis, and Etinne SteurbautDeep-Water Benthic Foraminiferal Events from the Massignano Eocene/Oligocene Boundary Stratotype, Central Italy, by Rodolfo Coccioni and Simone GaleottiStratigraphy and Benthic Foraminiferal Events Across the Middle - Late Eocene Transition in Western Negev, Israel, by Roberto Barbieri, Chaim Benjamini, Simonetta Monechi, and Viviana RealeThe Development of Facies Patterns of Middle Eocene to Lower Oligocene Circum-Alpine, Shallow-Water Carbonate Environments, by James H. Nebelsick, Michael Rasser, and Davide BassiPart IV: Causes and Consequences Late Eocene Impacts: Geologic Record, Correlation, and Paleoenvironmental Consequences, by C. Wylie Poag, Edward Mankinen, and Richard D. NorrisBoundaries, Turnover, and the Causes of Evolutionary Change: A Perspective from the Cenozoic, by Warren D. AllmonThe Marine Eocene-Oligocene Transition: A Synthesis, by Linda C. Ivany, A. Nesbitt, and Donald R. ProtheroContributorsIndex
Donald R. Prothero is professor of geology at Occidental College and author of The Eocene-Oligocene Transition: Paradise Lost. Elizabeth Nesbitt teaches at Syracuse University. Linda C. Ivany teaches at the University of Washington.
An excellent, provocative study on evolutionary change as it relates to extinction... a satisfying closure to a book that seeks to present so great a number of new ideas at once... The dedicated will walk away with an infinitely deeper comprehension of how and which circumstances have affected the environment in major ways -- leading the way toward a greater understanding of today's changing world. -- Sally Day Fossil News This is a useful volume for graduate level students and scientific specialists...I would certainly recommend it. -- Alan M. Haywood Antarctic Science vol. 16 2004