Loving the Natural World Geological Tales from a Micropaleontologist

This book reminds the youthful, in mind or body, what an incredible planet we inhabit. The author’ s personal experiences teaching and conducting geologic research around the world allow him to address several interesting aspects of the history of the Earth and life upon it. The author also reminds the reader that we should not only fully savor our home planet but also do what we can to pass it on to our children and grandchildren in a habitable state. Through the recounting of twelve geologic tales, the author, a micropaleontologist, aims to capture the child in us all and encourages the reader to wonder at several beautiful and strange places on planet Earth that most of us do not get an opportunity to visit. 

Born in Blackpool, England, Stephen J. Culver was educated at Swansea University. His career encompasses four continents: two years at the University of Sierra Leone, three years as a Smithsonian Institution researcher, twelve years at Oklahoma State University and Old Dominion University, five years as an administrator/researcher at The Natural History Museum, London, and 25 years at East Carolina University, where he teaches the history of life on Earth. He is currently conducting micropaleontological research on climate change in North Carolina and the South China Sea.

Contents Frontispiece: The geologic column Maps showing the locations mentioned in the text, list of those locations Prologue Chapter 1. Wondrous World – What This Book Is About Chapter 2. Otter Hole: Amazing Beauty (and Danger) in South Wales Chapter 3. African Ice Age Chapter 4. Salone (Sierra Leone) Diamonds (and Rugby) Interlude 1. A Gratuitous and Horrifying Tale: Return to Freetown Chapter 5. A Stormy Voyage to the Bottom of the Sea Chapter 6. Swimming with the Stromatolites – and Sea Snakes! Chapter 7. Sundaland (and Human Dispersal) Interlude 2. A Big Night Out and a Quiet Night In Chapter 8. Foraminifera and Fish Farms in Malaysia Chapter 9. Sea-Level Rise – a Pressing and Complex Reality Chapter 10. Trace Fossils: Wales, Brazil, USA, and the Laboratory Interlude 3. The Long (and Difficult) Goodbye: Departure from Freetown Chapter 11. Research, Rest, and Relaxation in Borneo Chapter 12. Small Shelly Fossils, Senegal, Mali, Mauritania Chapter 13. The Devil’ s Throat, Brazil Epilogue: Past and Future Glossary: Introducing the Earth and Foraminifera Bibliography Acknowledgments