The Cretaceous World

• Preface; Part I. Survey of the Cretaceous World: 1. Introduction to the Cretaceous; 2. The mobile palaeogeographical framework; 3. Fluctuating sea-level; 4. Changing climate and biota; 5. Changing climate and biota - the marine record; Part II. The Workings of the Cretaceous World: 6. Biogeochemical cycles; 7. Volcanic inputs; 8. The operation of major geological carbon sinks; 9. The lost world rediscovered; Part III. The End of an Era: 10. The end-Cretaceous mass extinction; 11. Seeking an explanation; 12. The 'smoking gun'; 13. The effects of the Chicxulub impact; Acknowledgements; References; Index.

'… it is a textbook but it's how a textbook should be. To begin with it is actually a joy to look at: a happy marriage of Cambridge University Press's publishing know-how and the Open University's experience in producing lively, informative and well-structured texts for students that are also accessible to the general reader … if only the same team could address themselves to the remaining dozen or so periods of geological time …' Douglas Palmer, New Scientist