New views on an old planet: a history of global change

At the start

Foundations

Rocks, events, and time. 1. Reading the record of the rocks. 2. Perspective on time

Climate past and present: the Ice Age

The snows of yesteryear. 3. Climate and climate change. 4. Portrait of an ice age. 5. Explaining glaciations

Drifting continents, rising mountains

A geological revolution. 6. Continental drift and plate tectonics. 7. Continental breakup and continental drift. 8. Converging plates and colliding continents

Changing oceans, changing climates

Continental drift and ancient environments. 9. The sea comes in, the sea goes out. 10. Other times and other oceans. 11. Onward to the Ice Age. 12. A matter of rhythm

The four-billion-year childhood

The years when nearly everything began. 13. Birth of the solid earth. 14. Water for the sea, air for the atmosphere. 15. The dawn of life

Life, time, and change

The endless interaction. 16. Beyond Darwin. 17. Bones of our ancestors. 18. Evolution and environment.