The time of the traditional stratigraphy has gone – is this statement
true? Fortunately, not! The impressive book edited by Suttner et
al. is the best confi rmation of the idea that section-based studies
with only hammers in hands and knowledge in heads still matter in the
21st-century geology. This album-styled volume is an outcome from the
International Geoscience Programme (IGCP) project 596 “Climate Change
and Biodiversity Patterns in the Mid-Palaeozoic” realized in 2011–2015
by a team of internationally-known experts from many countries.
The book deals with the Devonian and Carboniferous stratigraphy,
palaeontology, and palaeoenvironments. The introductory sections
present the actual version of the time scale (developed by the
International Commission on Stratigraphy) with indication of the main
mid-Paleozoic events and the plate tectonic reconstructions (more
“fresh” models would be used – e.g., Stampfli et al. 2013). The
authors also stress the importance of scientific collections. The main
and the biggest part of the book is as follows. For 35 countries from
all parts of the world (except for Antarctica), the key Devonian and
Carboniferous localities are presented. In each case, there are one
page-long explanatory text, page-sized image of the locality, image of
any remarkable fossil, and insert maps showing the modern geographical
and palaeogeographical position of the study area. Only one thing is
lacking in this book: it would be very important to see
stratigraphical column for each section/outcrop described.
With the reviewed book, one can learn about the crinoid-rich
Mississippian limestones from southern Kentucky, the
post-Frasnian/Famennian biotic recovery in the Junggar basin of China,
the Devonian nekton revolution documented in the rocks of the Rhenish
Massif in Germany, the Eifelian tetrapod trackways from the Holy Cross
Mountains in Poland, the rich mid-Mississippian ecosystem of tropical
shelf from Vietnam, and many-many other interesting features. A
typical example is as follows. The Bashkirian stratotype is an outcrop
along the Yuryuzan River. On pp. 194–195, it is possible to see the
general view of shallow-water carbonates, including bioclastic
limestones, and to learn that these bear a lot of fossils. An
additional figure illustrates pseudostaff ellid foraminifers in a thin
section (scale is not provided).
Yes, this book informs fi rst of all about the geological time, the
fossils, and the palaeoenvironments. But its importance is not limited
to these. In fact, this is a book about stratigraphical and
palaeogeographical types of geological heritage that are in the focus
of the present-day research (Bruno et al. 2014; Gnezdilova et
al. 2016). The fact the described localities are so important for
understanding of the mid-Paleozoic world means they belong to the
global-scale geological heritage that should be conserved and promoted
for educational and tourism purposes.
The organization of the book is unusual, but nice. The countries are
presented not in the alphabetic order, but according to their
languages. The localities in non-English speaking countries are
described in the both English and national language. Thus, the reader
should not be surprised seeing Arabic, Hindi, or Thai letters. An
outline of the IGCP project 596 is also given in several languages.
Undoubtedly, such a principle of organization makes this book a
contribution to the preservation of the world cultural diversity
through the international research cooperation. In the other words,
this book solves an important social task.
Books like that reviewed can be either too popular and full of obvious
facts (and, thus disinteresting for professionals) or too academic (in
contrast, to be interesting for only professionals). Fortunately, the
masterpiece edited by Suttner et al. belongs to none of these. It is
very informative and attractive for the both specialists and
beginners. It delivers a lot of new knowledge, but in the
easy-to-understand form. The text is written talentedly, and the
illustrations are large, accurate and impressive. Besides the images
of locations, these include also several artist representations of the
mid-Paleozoic landscapes and ecosystems. The book bears extensive
reference list, and this source of essential bibliographical knowledge
on the mid-Paleozoic research will be appreciated by many specialists.
Well, how great would be to have such books for all intervals of the
geological time!
The reviewed book is a treasure for all geoscientists. Professionals
can use it as a reference volume for finding information on
outstanding outcrops. Students will be happy with this book as an
excellent educational material. Finally, amateurs will enjoy to see
outstanding geological localities depicted on impressive images.
Dmitry A. Ruban, Rostov am Don
Zentralblatt für Geologie und Paläontologie, Teil II, Jg. 2016 Heft 3-4
