A Library Research Guide for Exploring Themes of Mass Extinction

Adam Barr

Library 410

Final Project

A Library Research Guide for Exploring Themes of Mass Extinction

Scope Statement: This pathfinder is designed to provide a foundation and assist people who want to learn about mass extinctions. The pathfinder offers information on Permian Era and Cretaceous-Tertiary Era extinctions, as well as information on current trends on global warming. The items in this pathfinder offer various hypotheses on causes and will allow the reader to formulate their own conclusions and areas of deeper research. All items are available at the PSU Library or as an online journal accessible from the PSU Catalog and Database.

REFERENCE WORKS FOR BACKGROUND INFORMATION

Perilous Planet Earth: Catastrophes and Catastrophism Through the Ages

By Trevor Palmer QE506 .P35 2003

This book examines outside causes of extinctions through the impacts of asteroids and extraterrestrial bodies. It acknowledges different eras and their extinction records and then studies them through impact craters and cross-examination of biblical texts. Trevor Palmer has his Ph.D. from London and this book is a great cornerstone book for examining this concept of extinction theory.

The Cretaceous World

By Peter W Skelton QC.884.C7 2003

This is a great textbook style of book that covers all areas of the Cretaceous Era. It offers an overview of animals and climate of the Cretaceous Era as well as changes in climate and biogeochemical areas. It offers information surrounding possible causes of the extinction of this era and what some of the problems for those theories as well. The book discusses volcanoes and impact craters and provides a section for suggested further reading. This is a great beginning to learning about this era of Earth’s history.

Dinosaur Extinction and the End of an Era

By J. David Archibald QE734.5.A73 1996

J. David Archibald is a Professor of Biology at San Diego State University and his books is an examination of fossils of the Dinosaur Era. This book provides information within the context of Geological Time and examines what “extinction” means. The book also covers plant and marine organism connections to researching about K-T Era extinctions and also provides the problems that arise within any of the suggested theories.

OTHER REFERENCE WORKS

Cretaceous-Tertiary Extinctions and Possible Terrestrial and Extraterrestrial Causes

Compiled and Distributed by K-TEC Group QE734.K17

This book gathers together the information covered during a workshop in Canada in 1976. While the book is a bit old, it offers an insight into the earliest theories surrounding mass extinction and allows the reader a chance to see how and why the theories have grown and progressed. Not a great source for singular current information, but a useful tool for understanding how science progresses.

The Mistaken Extinction

By Lowell Dingus and Timothy Rowe QE862.D5 D4928 1998

This book starts off with the search of The Smoking Gun surrounding the extinction of dinosaurs, then it proceeds to discuss the evolutionary chain of dinosaurs, where they are today and possible reasons for the major die-out of some of these creatures 65 millions years ago. The book discusses the regular theories of volcanoes, atmosphere and possible illnesses and viruses. One of the authors works for a natural history museum and the other at a university, together they can explain ideas and offer insight into concepts with ease.

Mass Extinctions: Processes and Evidence

By Stephen K. Donovan QE721.2.E97 M37 1998

This book delves into what Stephen Donovan considers to be noticeable patterns and processes of extinctions. He provides theories and displays information regarding the idea that mass extinctions are a regular event in Earth’s history and examines why that is. He covers many different eras, from Precambrian and Permian to Cretaceous and Pleistocene, and discusses some probable causes of each and what links them together. This book would be great to use while tying in the theory of mass extinctions with modern society and global warming.

INDEXES AND DATABASES

GeoRef – Electronic Database: Citations and abstracts of the earth sciences (including palaeontology) literature. This database covers journal articles, books, conference proceedings, maps, theses, and Geological Survey publications from 1933 to the present (1785 to the present for North American geology).

BioOne – Electronic Database: BioOne is the product of innovative collaboration between scientific societies, libraries, academe and the private sector. BioOne brings to the Web a uniquely valuable aggregation of the full-texts of high-impact bioscience research journals. Most of BioOne`s titles are published by small societies and non-commercial publishers, and, until now, have been available only in printed form. BioOne provides integrated, cost-effective access to a thoroughly linked information resource of interrelated journals focused on the biological, ecological and environmental sciences.

Science.gov – Electronic Database: Science.gov is a gateway to authoritative selected science information provided by U.S. Government agencies including research and development results. Broad topical coverage areas are: Agriculture and Food, Applied Science and Technologies, Astronomy and Space, Biology and Nature, Computers and Communication, Earth and Ocean Sciences, Energy and Energy Conservation, Environment and Environmental Quality, Health and Medicine, Math, Physics and Chemistry, Natural Resources and Conservation, and Science Education. This resource enables one to search 47 million web pages in real time, and provides access to special collections and sites such as Federal Regulations, Federal R and D Summaries, Grants.gov, Internships and Fellowships, the National Weather Service and the National Science Digital Library.

BIBLIOGRAPHIES, SEMINAL WORKS, CURRENT WORKS

Extinction and Phylogeny

Edited By Michael J. Novacek and Quentin D. Wheeler QE721.2.E97 E967 1992

This book examines fossil records and the Earth’s Biota to piece together a picture of how and why our history has experienced the extinctions it has experienced. Each chapter is written by a different author with expertise in that field and offers a list of references for further study as well. After the book examines the theories of extinction, it then discusses phylogeny and how that is linked to the concept of extinction as well.

Global Events and Event Stratigraphy

Edited by Otto H. Walliser QE721.2.E97 G57 1996

This book deals less with specifics regarding extinctions and, instead, covers overall global changes and conditions over the past 300 million years. It offers reasons why global changes happen and describes what those changes entail. This book serves well to offer the reader insight upon why specific small changes over the course of time lead to large changes. This book would help a reader make sense of why a 2-degree temperature change in one region could set off a chain reaction up the food chain, therefore causing a mass extinction.

The Mass-Extinction Debates: How Science Works in a Crisis

Edited by William Glen QE721.2.E97 M35 1994

This book is a great addition to the collection because it offers the reader an understanding of how scientific debates operate and look at how a hypothesis gets formed and moved around within the area of study. The books talks about various theories and offers information behind the debates that carry these hypotheses forward through time and what the different scientists disagree on and why. This book is great because it will help the reader examine and critically analyze the various theories they are going to encounter.

PERIODICALS

Inside the Greenhouse: A State and Local Resource on Global Warming - EP 1.114

This is an article about climate change in our current society. Up until now we have been gaining knowledge of past extinctions and the possible connections that all of the various extinctions might have shared. This periodical by the EPA can provide the reader with some insight into our current dangers of climate and atmospheric changes and how these ideas might be correlated with previous eras.

Dealing with climate change - QC981.8.C5 D35

This journal was compiled and distributed by the International Energy Agency in 2002. It provides policies and ideas to deal with climate change and what it would cost specific countries. It discusses taxes, voluntary measures and fiscal incentives for complying. The periodical also examines different countries CO2 emissions and outcomes of increased wind power consumption. The outlined differences between various countries power uses and climate impact helps provide a view of what is happening right now and how we are trying to preserve our lives before another extinction happens.

SUBJECT HEADINGS FOR CATALOG SEARCHING

Permian Era – Extinction

Cretaceous-Tertiary Era – Extinction

Global Warming – Extinction

Mass – Extinction - Theories

CALL NUMBERS FOR BROWSING

Q183 – Science Journals – Fifth Floor

QC - QE – Geology – Fifth Floor

L – Education – Third Floor

WEB SITES

http://www.ucmp.berkeley.edu/diapsids/extinction.html

This is an excellent website provided by Berkeley’s University of California Museum of Paleontology. The site is nicely laid out and begins with when scientists started understanding and having solid hypotheses for extinction periods. It touches upon different extinction eras, Permian and K-T, and what animals died within those eras. This site also offers problems and complications of various extinction theories and allows the reader to continue reading and learning. The site has multiple pages of information from Invalid Hypotheses to Current Arguments.

http://www.nasa.gov/vision/universe/starsgalaxies/gammaray_extinction.html

This is a page from NASA that offers content regarding a specific hypothesis surrounding a mass extinction that took place 450 million years ago. The page offers background information regarding a gamma-ray burst of a star in a distant galaxy, and how that energy and radiation could have reached Earth, causing a change in atmosphere and therefore killing off the animals on our planet. There are nice images depicting what the radiation might have looked like and links to read more in-depth information about gamma-ray bursts and how they could be linked to Earth activity.

http://filebox.vt.edu/artsci/geology/mclean/Dinosaur_Volcano_Extinction/pages/kt_chaos.html

This is a great paper on the K-T Extinction. It begins with an introduction Abstract and then delves into rich theories and the methodology behind different theories and studies. The information on this page is dense and could be deemed difficult to read, without a decent background in science, so it might not be suitable for everyone. However, the page offers a long list of references, something that could help you digest the information within as well.