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Earth's pre-pleistocene glacial record
327
"Man's Impact on Climate"; and "Climate Impacts on M a n " ] . There are 44 papers in all. The thrust of the b o o k is in the physical description of climatic elements and in accounts of their variability. This is very well treated b y reviews in the first three chapters, particularly since each paper (as part of a lecture course) is relatively comprehensive of its subject. Chapter IV deals with mathematical modelling in such a way as to leave little d o u b t a b o u t where the weakness of each t y p e lies. In m y view this section is a most valuable contribution, giving as it does a thorough account of models of variation and their application. For example, we learn of the value of sensitivity experiments in modelling and a b o u t the present lack of "parameterization" for certain climatically significant processes in the oceans. This chapter is really a b o u t the future of climatology and paleoclimatology in the sense that research tools of the future are thoroughly examined. The last two chapters cover a very wide field rather t o o briefly. Presentation of the b o o k is not outstanding, in that camera-ready copy was used and the paper is not of highest quality. However, this is an important b o o k b o t h for those who work with ancient indicators of climate and those w h o investigate the intricacies o f the present climate system. L. A. FRAKES (Clayton, Vic.)
Earth's Pre-Pleistocene Glacial Record. Edited b y M. J. Hambrey and W. B. Harland. Cambridge University Press, Cambridge, 1981, 1004 pp., £98.00, U.S. $199.50.
This massive compilation, the final p r o d u c t of the Pre-Pleistocene Tillite Project of the International Geological Correlation Programme, brings together information on all k n o w n pre-Pleistocene rock units which are considered to be of giacigenic origin. Also included is information on other rock units which had previously been considered of glacigenic origin, as well as information on m a n y units which are of d o u b t f u l glacial origin. The fourpart volume is extremely well organized, making it easily useable in spite of the great number of pages. Part I, Introduction, includes six short chapters: organization of the volume, organization of the TiUite Project, stratigraphic time-scale, criteria for the identification of glacigenic deposits, terminology and classification of glacigenic and related deposits, and a glossary o f glacigenic and related terms. The time-scale is a very detailed one, including periods, epochs, and ages. The chapter on criteria is brief with only two pages of text, b u t some photographs are also included. Because terminology has long been a problem in this specialized subfield of geology, the last two chapters are especially helpful. Part II, which comprises more than 90% of the volume, includes 212 invited papers on tillite-like rocks, arranged b y age and continent. For each
328 continent, t w o to four index maps keyed to the papers are also provided to show the locations of the rock units; three late papers are not included. Most papers are only a few pages long; only six contain more than ten pages and the average length is four to five pages. All papers, with the exception of some very short ones, have the same 16-section format; nine description sections are followed b y interpretive sections on age, palaeolatitude, origin and palaeoenvironment, palaeoclimates, and palaeotectonic position. This uniformity makes it remarkably easy to utilize as a reference work. Each paper contains its own reference list, and additional information can be easily located for any of the described rock units. Part III, Summary and Abstracted Data, is an excellent 41-page summary of the volume. Chapter 1 contains: (a) a very readable summary, b y age, of glaciation on each continent; (b) fourteen world maps showing locations of glacigenic diamictites, non~lacigenic diamictites, and diamictites of uncertain origin; and (c) time charts, keyed to the papers, for each continent showing the ages of the diamictites. The maps are for the Neogene, Palaeogene, Cretaceous, Jurassic, Triassic, Permian, Carboniferous, Devonian, Silurian, Ordovician, Cambrian, Late Proterozoic, Early Proterozoic, and Archean. Chapter 2 is a summary of radiometric dates, b y continent, which are related to the diamictites or to diamictite-bearing sequences. Chapter 3 is an abstract of the principal palaeomagnetic data from the 40 papers which contained this information. Part IV, Indexes, includes a listing of the 171 contributors and an index of rock units and localities with an estimated 4000 entries. The latter index should be useful in locating information when only scanty reference information is available. The editors have purposely done little interpretation, b u t have standardized some terminology in order to make comparisons easier (e.g., diamictite is used and mixtite is not). The brevity of the individual articles and the summaries makes the b o o k exceptionally useful as a reference. Unfortunately, the cost factor dictated that photographs had to be excluded from nearly all papers. Photos would have greatly enhanced the reader's ability to visualize the rock units and thereby form an independent opinion of glacigenic versus nonglacigenic origins and to better visualize comparisons with other units. The price of the b o o k is astronomical b u t it is, nevertheless, a must for all geology libraries. All workers in the field will at least covet a copy. All geologists should be interested in reading the summaries. The editors succinctly stated the purpose of the volume, and their statement is repeated here. "The volume is intended to provide a concise summary of the information available concerning known and alleged glacigenic rocks of all ages throughout the world and so serve as a data base for studies of the following: (i) Sedimentology of glacial environments and establishment of criteria for their recognition.
329
(ii) Palaeoclimatic patterns, and palaeogeographical and palaeotectonic reconstructions. (iii) The processes that relate to climatic change and the origin of ice ages. (iv) Time,correlation, especially o f Precambrian rocks in which normal stratigraphic indicators are lacking." The objective has certainly been achieved, and Hambrey and Harland are to be complimented for so successfully completing so ambitious an undertaking. The volume will surely stand as the comprehensive summary of studies on ancient glaciogenic deposits up to 1980. RICHARD W. OJAKANGAS (Duluth, MN)
Thera and the Aegean World II. Papers and Proceedings of the Second International Scientific Congress, Santorini, Greece, August 1978. Published b y Thera and the Aegean World, London, 1980, 427 pp., £32.00, U.S. $85.00 (hardback; including a coloured geological map and sections of the island). This handsomely presented volume includes b o t h the papers and discussion of the second conference on Thera. Each of the papers is concerned with some aspect of either the geology or archaeology of Thera and the surrounding lands and waters of the Aegean and Mediterranean. The range of traditional disciplines represented is large, a modern characteristic of a great many archaeological enquiries. Many of the papers can be described as archaeometric in that t h e y report the application of techniques developed in the natural sciences, and involve the quantification of phenomena relevant to archaeology. Archaeometry must deal with essentially archaeological questions, so that it can be distinguished from the natural sciences. But some enquiries carried o u t b y a geologist, for example, can be essentially geological b u t bear on problems encountered b y the archaeologist. An example of this is the reconstruction of the palaeoclimate of a region of archaeological significance. Such a study provides a " c o n t e x t " which ultimately may be very useful in a full interpretation of a cultural sequence. However, there is always the danger that the " c o n t e x t u a l " information is only marginally relevant to a cultural sequence, and also is t o o broad (either in area or time) to be useful. Some of the papers in this volume are strictly archaeometric: ~4C dating of the Minoan site of Akrotiri -- papers b y Friedrich et al., Biddle and Ralph, and Michael; neutron activation analysis of p o t t e r y -- Aspinall; a wide ranging account of lead and silver mining in the Aegean during the Bronze Age -Gale; a paper b y Slater on Late Bronze Age metallurgy in the light of data from Akrotiri, Thera. Several papers deal with aspects of the biota of the Aegean: Diapoulis on plants, which are curiously described as prehistoric b u t are recorded in early Greek literature, especially the sea daffodil Pancratium maritimum; Douskos discusses the interpretation of crocuses depicted in a
"Man's Impact on Climate"; and "Climate Impacts on M a n " ] . There are 44 papers in all. The thrust of the b o o k is in the physical description of climatic elements and in accounts of their variability. This is very well treated b y reviews in the first three chapters, particularly since each paper (as part of a lecture course) is relatively comprehensive of its subject. Chapter IV deals with mathematical modelling in such a way as to leave little d o u b t a b o u t where the weakness of each t y p e lies. In m y view this section is a most valuable contribution, giving as it does a thorough account of models of variation and their application. For example, we learn of the value of sensitivity experiments in modelling and a b o u t the present lack of "parameterization" for certain climatically significant processes in the oceans. This chapter is really a b o u t the future of climatology and paleoclimatology in the sense that research tools of the future are thoroughly examined. The last two chapters cover a very wide field rather t o o briefly. Presentation of the b o o k is not outstanding, in that camera-ready copy was used and the paper is not of highest quality. However, this is an important b o o k b o t h for those who work with ancient indicators of climate and those w h o investigate the intricacies o f the present climate system. L. A. FRAKES (Clayton, Vic.)
Earth's Pre-Pleistocene Glacial Record. Edited b y M. J. Hambrey and W. B. Harland. Cambridge University Press, Cambridge, 1981, 1004 pp., £98.00, U.S. $199.50.
This massive compilation, the final p r o d u c t of the Pre-Pleistocene Tillite Project of the International Geological Correlation Programme, brings together information on all k n o w n pre-Pleistocene rock units which are considered to be of giacigenic origin. Also included is information on other rock units which had previously been considered of glacigenic origin, as well as information on m a n y units which are of d o u b t f u l glacial origin. The fourpart volume is extremely well organized, making it easily useable in spite of the great number of pages. Part I, Introduction, includes six short chapters: organization of the volume, organization of the TiUite Project, stratigraphic time-scale, criteria for the identification of glacigenic deposits, terminology and classification of glacigenic and related deposits, and a glossary o f glacigenic and related terms. The time-scale is a very detailed one, including periods, epochs, and ages. The chapter on criteria is brief with only two pages of text, b u t some photographs are also included. Because terminology has long been a problem in this specialized subfield of geology, the last two chapters are especially helpful. Part II, which comprises more than 90% of the volume, includes 212 invited papers on tillite-like rocks, arranged b y age and continent. For each
328 continent, t w o to four index maps keyed to the papers are also provided to show the locations of the rock units; three late papers are not included. Most papers are only a few pages long; only six contain more than ten pages and the average length is four to five pages. All papers, with the exception of some very short ones, have the same 16-section format; nine description sections are followed b y interpretive sections on age, palaeolatitude, origin and palaeoenvironment, palaeoclimates, and palaeotectonic position. This uniformity makes it remarkably easy to utilize as a reference work. Each paper contains its own reference list, and additional information can be easily located for any of the described rock units. Part III, Summary and Abstracted Data, is an excellent 41-page summary of the volume. Chapter 1 contains: (a) a very readable summary, b y age, of glaciation on each continent; (b) fourteen world maps showing locations of glacigenic diamictites, non~lacigenic diamictites, and diamictites of uncertain origin; and (c) time charts, keyed to the papers, for each continent showing the ages of the diamictites. The maps are for the Neogene, Palaeogene, Cretaceous, Jurassic, Triassic, Permian, Carboniferous, Devonian, Silurian, Ordovician, Cambrian, Late Proterozoic, Early Proterozoic, and Archean. Chapter 2 is a summary of radiometric dates, b y continent, which are related to the diamictites or to diamictite-bearing sequences. Chapter 3 is an abstract of the principal palaeomagnetic data from the 40 papers which contained this information. Part IV, Indexes, includes a listing of the 171 contributors and an index of rock units and localities with an estimated 4000 entries. The latter index should be useful in locating information when only scanty reference information is available. The editors have purposely done little interpretation, b u t have standardized some terminology in order to make comparisons easier (e.g., diamictite is used and mixtite is not). The brevity of the individual articles and the summaries makes the b o o k exceptionally useful as a reference. Unfortunately, the cost factor dictated that photographs had to be excluded from nearly all papers. Photos would have greatly enhanced the reader's ability to visualize the rock units and thereby form an independent opinion of glacigenic versus nonglacigenic origins and to better visualize comparisons with other units. The price of the b o o k is astronomical b u t it is, nevertheless, a must for all geology libraries. All workers in the field will at least covet a copy. All geologists should be interested in reading the summaries. The editors succinctly stated the purpose of the volume, and their statement is repeated here. "The volume is intended to provide a concise summary of the information available concerning known and alleged glacigenic rocks of all ages throughout the world and so serve as a data base for studies of the following: (i) Sedimentology of glacial environments and establishment of criteria for their recognition.
329
(ii) Palaeoclimatic patterns, and palaeogeographical and palaeotectonic reconstructions. (iii) The processes that relate to climatic change and the origin of ice ages. (iv) Time,correlation, especially o f Precambrian rocks in which normal stratigraphic indicators are lacking." The objective has certainly been achieved, and Hambrey and Harland are to be complimented for so successfully completing so ambitious an undertaking. The volume will surely stand as the comprehensive summary of studies on ancient glaciogenic deposits up to 1980. RICHARD W. OJAKANGAS (Duluth, MN)
Thera and the Aegean World II. Papers and Proceedings of the Second International Scientific Congress, Santorini, Greece, August 1978. Published b y Thera and the Aegean World, London, 1980, 427 pp., £32.00, U.S. $85.00 (hardback; including a coloured geological map and sections of the island). This handsomely presented volume includes b o t h the papers and discussion of the second conference on Thera. Each of the papers is concerned with some aspect of either the geology or archaeology of Thera and the surrounding lands and waters of the Aegean and Mediterranean. The range of traditional disciplines represented is large, a modern characteristic of a great many archaeological enquiries. Many of the papers can be described as archaeometric in that t h e y report the application of techniques developed in the natural sciences, and involve the quantification of phenomena relevant to archaeology. Archaeometry must deal with essentially archaeological questions, so that it can be distinguished from the natural sciences. But some enquiries carried o u t b y a geologist, for example, can be essentially geological b u t bear on problems encountered b y the archaeologist. An example of this is the reconstruction of the palaeoclimate of a region of archaeological significance. Such a study provides a " c o n t e x t " which ultimately may be very useful in a full interpretation of a cultural sequence. However, there is always the danger that the " c o n t e x t u a l " information is only marginally relevant to a cultural sequence, and also is t o o broad (either in area or time) to be useful. Some of the papers in this volume are strictly archaeometric: ~4C dating of the Minoan site of Akrotiri -- papers b y Friedrich et al., Biddle and Ralph, and Michael; neutron activation analysis of p o t t e r y -- Aspinall; a wide ranging account of lead and silver mining in the Aegean during the Bronze Age -Gale; a paper b y Slater on Late Bronze Age metallurgy in the light of data from Akrotiri, Thera. Several papers deal with aspects of the biota of the Aegean: Diapoulis on plants, which are curiously described as prehistoric b u t are recorded in early Greek literature, especially the sea daffodil Pancratium maritimum; Douskos discusses the interpretation of crocuses depicted in a