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Books about Precambrian

 The Geological Record of Neoproterozoic Glaciations
In recent years, interest in Neoproterozoic glaciations has grown as their pivotal role in Earth system evolution has become increasingly clear. One of the main goals of the IGCP Project number 512 was to produce a synthesis of newly available information on Neoproterozoic successions worldwide similar in format to Hambrey & Harlands (1981) Earths pre Pleistocene Glacial Record. This Memoir therefore consists of a series of overview chapters followed by site-specific chapters. The overview chapters cover key topics including the history of research on Neoproterozoic glaciations, identification of glacial deposits, chemostratigraphic techniques and datasets, palaeomagnetism, biostratigraphy, geochronology and climate modelling. The site specific chapters for 60 successions worldwide include reviews of the history of research on these rocks and up-to-date syntheses of the structural framework, tectonic setting, palaeomagnetic and geochronological constraints, physical, biological, and chemical stratigraphy, and descriptions of the glaciogenic and associated strata, including economic deposits. 
Precambrian Geology of Finland
The Fennoscandian Shield covers more than a million square kilometers of northern Europe in Norway, Sweden, Finland, and Russia. THe bedrock of Finland records over three billion years of Earth history and has been the bubject of intensive geological mapping and research since the 19th century. The region has also been the birthplace of important concepts and developments in metamorphic and ingeous petrology. Modern geological and geophysical research, building on a foundation of decades of mapping, has led to a completely revised understanding of the geology of Finland. This book provides detailed petrological, lithological, and structural syntheses and interpretations of the Archean and Proerozic of Finland and will be of value to anyone interested in the evolution of the Fennoscadian Shield in particular and in Precambrian geology in general.
The Neoproterozoic Timanide Orogen Of Eastern Baltica
The Neoproterozoic Timanide Orogen of eastern Baltica extends from the high Arctic to the southern Ural Mountains and represents significant crustal growth of the northeastern European continental margin in the late Neoproterozoic. This volume, a co-operation between Western European and Russian scientists within the framework of the European Science Foundation's EUROPROBE programme, provides a comprehensive overview of the orogen and represents a new synthesis of Timanian Orogeny. It includes: the pre-Timanian passive margin deposits of the northern and northeastern flank of the East European Craton; the magmatic, metamorphic and structural evolution of the orogen across the Timan Mountain and Pechora Basin regions to the Ural Mountains; the post-Timanian platform successions, important for interpreting the timing of orogeny and the return to an early Palaeozoic passive margin setting; and the extension of the orogen northwards to Novaya Zemlya. Relationships westwards to the Caledonides of Greenland and Scandinavia and eastwards to the Baikalides of Siberia are also treated.
Precambrian Continental Crust and its Economic Resources
Since 1964, the time when the Upper Mantle Project was started, the Precambrian continental crust has been studied in considerable detail in many areas. Multidisciplinary studies, using modern tools and techniques have resulted in increasing levels of accuracy. The Precambrian continental crust has been subjected to several thermal events and multiple episodes of deformation. These events have obliterated the scenario produced by early events and present-day efforts are directed towards evaluating the cause-effect processes of each event. How far back the known geological processes of the Phanerozoic can be extended into the Precambrian is one of the main questions. The present volume provides data and interpretations which will help in formulating the answer to some of these questions. The book contains 30 contributions resulting from researches on almost all the important Precambrian terranes.
Proterozoic Crustal Evolution
As a final product of the International Geological Correlation Program (IGCP) Project 217, this volume brings together significant advances in the understanding of Proterozoic crustal evolution. This IGCP Project focussed on nine research objectives: 1) Comparison of Archean and Proterozoic supracrustal assemblages to more fully understand differences between Archean and post-Archean tectonic regimes; 2) To more fully understand the geochemical differences between Archean and post-Archean sediments and to evaluate the various factors that control sediment composition; 3) From combined U/Pb zircon and whole-rock Sm/Nd studies, to see if the apparent 2.4-2.0 continental crust "generation gap" is real; 4) To employ new techniques in the dating of individual zircons to more fully understand Proterozoic tectonic history and the role of crustal reworking; 5) From trace element ratios and Nd isotopic data from basalts, to better understand Proterozoic mantle evolution; 6) To encourage more detailed studies of the anorogenic granite-anorthosite association to better understand its origin and significance in terms of crustal evolution; 7) From combined Nd, Pb, and Sr isotopic data, to more precisely estimate the amount of new continental crust formed during the Proterozoic; 8) To encourage joint P-T and geochronological studies of Proterozoic and high-grade terranes to better understand Proterozoic orogenesis: and 9) To try and understand why hydrothermal precious metal deposits are relatively rare in the Proterozoic compared to both the Archean and the Phanerozoic. The book should be of interest to professionals in the geosciences (especially geochemists, petrologists and structural geologists) and graduate students in the same fields.
Early Precambrian of Russia
Examining early Precambrian geology of Eastern European and Siberian platform basement rocks, this book presents an analysis of current theories and methodology, and suggests new interpretations for the geological and geochronological data available. The author presents various methods for tackling the problems of Precambrian geology including recognizing the stratotypes of the main units and establishing the boundaries of stratons, which can be related to particular geological events. Time-stratigraphic charts, developed in both Russia and the West, are integral parts of the book, which also covers the history of evolution of the early Precambrian continents.
Precambrian Sedimentary Environments: A Modern Approach to Ancient Depositional Systems
The motivation for this volume came from the idea that the Precambrian is the key, both to the present, and to the understanding of the Earth as a whole. The Precambrian constitutes about 85% of Earth's history, and of that, about 3.75 billion years of Precambrian time, represented by rocks, are accessible to geoscientists. Ancient atmospheric and environmental conditions can be traced back to the time when the Earth was only about 250 million years old. Precambrian rocks supply almost 75% of important mineral resources such as Fe, Mn, Au, Pt and Cr. Many of these elements are associated with sedimentary rocks and some important hydrocarbon, coal and graphite deposits are also hosted by Precambrian rocks. This volume is aimed at geoscientists interested in Precambrian sedimentary rocks and at students of Earth history. It contains review articles discussing Precambrian conditions and case studies from Precambrian shields and successions of North and South America, Australia, Africa, Europe, Asia and India. The introductory papers, written by experts on Precambrian environments, treat comprehensively the application of actualism to the Precambrian, the evolution and influence of life on the sedimentary rock record, the genesis of Banded Iron Formations, the Precambrian sulphur cycle and the significance of Precambrian chemical carbonate precipitates. The case studies include depositional settings and processes in Archean terranes, in Paleoproterozoic sequences, with some emphasis on the lack of vegetation and weathering, and in late Proterozoic sequences, with some emphasis on glacial deposits. The contributions demonstrate that Precambrian sedimentary deposits are commonly similar to their Phanerozoic counterparts in terms of composition, sedimentary processes, and depositional setting, but may differ significantly as a result of lack of vegetation, climatic and biological constraints, composition and circulation of seawater, and the secular involvement of continental crust.
Impacts in Precambrian Shields
This multiauthor book is a compilation of fourteen papers that result from activities within the scientific programme "Response of the Earth System to Impact Processes" (IMPACT) of the European Science Foundation. The program deals with all aspects of meteorite impact research and operates through workshops, exchange programs and short courses. Most of the papers are initiated from the 4th IMPACT workshop "Meteorite Impacts in Precambrian Shields" that took place in Lappajärvi, Finland, in 2000. The volume begins with a detailed view of thirty confirmed meteorite impact structures found in the Fennoscandian Shield and its nearest surroundings. The following papers describe impact structures in different areas.