Table of Contents

1: In search of possible causes of mass extinctions 2: Historical background 3: Evidence for catastrophic organic changes in the geological record 4: Impact by comets and asteroids 5: Sea-level changes 6: Oxygen deficiency in the oceans 7: Climate change 8: Volcanic activity 9: Pulling the strands together 10: The evolutionary significance of mass extinctions 11: The influence of humans Notes and suggestions for further reading References Glossary Index 1: In search of possible causes of mass extinctions 2: Historical background 3: Evidence for catastrophic organic changes in the geological record 4: Impact by comets and asteroids 5: Sea-level changes 6: Oxygen deficiency in the oceans 7: Climate change 8: Volcanic activity 9: Pulling the strands together 10: The evolutionary significance of mass extinctions 11: The influence of humans Notes and suggestions for further reading References Glossary Index

About the Author

Tony Hallam is Emeritus Professor of Geology at the University of Birmingham and the author of several books on geology.

Reviews

`"an excellent concise account of the evidence for both major and minor mass extinctions"' Tony Hallam, Chemistry & Industry