Discarded tells the story of the fossils we will leave as relics into the far future. It explores how the things we now so abundantly produce and discard ^—^ plastic bottles, mobile phones, concrete flyways, chicken bones, aluminium cans and many more ^—^ might alter with burial and petrify, to become future geology.
Discarded tells the story of the fossils we will leave as relics into the far future. It explores how the things we now so abundantly produce and discard ^—^ plastic bottles, mobile phones, concrete flyways, chicken bones, aluminium cans and many more ^—^ might alter with burial and petrify, to become future geology.
Sarah Gabbott is a Professor of Palaeobiology at the University of Leicester. She researches the fossil record of ancient life and is particularly interested in understanding how fossils form and what they reveal about evolution and ecology. She actively seeks new fossil specimens from across the globe, going on digs to China, South Africa and the Canadian Rockies. She also works in the laboratory analyzing fossils and undertaking grisly experiments to determine how decomposition affects fossilization. Recently, she has turned her attention to the potential fossil record created by human activity, especially thinking about how long our 'artefacts' will endure. Jan Zalasiewicz is Emeritus Professor of Palaeobiology at the University of Leicester. He was formerly a field geologist and palaeontologist with the British Geological Survey, involved in the geological mapping of eastern England and central Wales. His interests include Early Palaeozoic fossils, notably the graptolites (a kind of extinct zooplankton), mud and mudrocks, the Quaternary Ice Ages, the nature of geological time, and the geology made by humans. In recent years he has helped develop the concept of an Anthropocene epoch. He has written many popular science articles and books.
Inhaltsangabe
Prologue 1: Plastic planet 2: The concrete strata 3: Energy ghosts 4: Fossil Fashion 5: Eternal literature 6: Fast food forever 7: Toxic shock 8: Silicon futures
