INDEX 601 Asia (continued) non-volcanic epithermal deposits 1:190 oil and gas 1:187, l:194f ophiolites 1:190 tin deposits 1:194 tungsten deposits 1:190 faunal assemblages 1:171, 1:178-182, 1:183 f , 1:185 f floral provinces 1:178-182, l:186f gemstones 1:196 geological evolution Cambrian 1:178 Carboniferous 1:178, 1:181*, 1:182f, 1:184f Cenozoic 1:187 Cretaceous I:181t9 1:187, l:188f Devonian 1:178, l:181t, l:182f Eocene 1:181*, l:188f, l:190f Jurassic 1:181*, 1:186, l:188f Miocene 1:181*, I:192f9 1:193f Oligocene l:181t, l:191f, l:193f Ordovician 1:178 Permian 1:181t, 1:182, 1:184f Phanerozoic 1:177 Pliocene 1:193 f Proterozoicl:174/; 1:177 Silurian 1:178 Triassic 1:181*, 1:184, l:184f glacial-marine sediments 1:172-174, l:178f, 1:182 granitoid belts l:187f palaeoclimate 1:183/, l:185f Rodinial:174/" stratigraphic correlation l:183f, 1:185 f tectonic evolution 1:177 subduction zones l:346f See also China; Indian Sub-Continent; Mongolia Askeptosaurus 2:504 Askja volcano, Iceland 4:3871 asphaltenes 4:250 Asselian stage 4:208f, 4:209f, 4:215t, 5:511f,5:517f Astaracian mammalian age 5:479f astatine (At) 3:553t ASTER 4:420-421, 4:434*, 4:436, 4:437 asteroids Asteroid 433 Eros 5:234f asteroid bombardment 1:199, 5:220-221 beyond the Main Belt 5:223 characteristics 5:221, 5:221*, 5:223f closer than the Main Belt 5:222 discovery 5:221 distribution 5:220, 5:220f meteorites 5:233, 5:234f orbits 5:221, 5:221*, 5:222f origins 5:221 rotation 5:223f sizes 5:222f types 5:221, 5:222, 5:222*, 5:223, 5:223t Asteroxylon 2:437-438 asthenosphere description 1:403 melting processes 3:210, 3:211 f Mohorovicic discontinuity 3:656 plate tectonics theory l:440f, 4:340, 4:343f thermal gradients 3:411f Aston, Francis 3:604-605 Aston, Frederick 3:186 Astrapanoteen land mammal age 5:473f Astraspis 2:457f, 2:457 Astrid Ridge 3:316* astrobiology 4:363 astronauts, lunar 5:266t astronomical calendars 1:77, I:78f9 l:81t astronomically calibrated time-scales 1:82-83, l:83f, 1:90, 1:90, l:90f, 5:506f astrorhizana 3:45If astrorhizata 3:45If astrorhizids 3:45Of Atacama Desert 3:555 atacamite 5:394t Atalanta Planitia, Venus 5:257f Atchafalaya River delta 4:531, 4:532f Atdabanian stage 4:167f Ateleaspis 2:464f Athens Plateau 4:65 Atlantic Margin 4:92-108 background information 4:92 carbonate shorelines and shelves 4:102, 4:103 f crustal stretching 4:100, 4:101f crustal transition zone 4:100 deposition centres 4:104f, 4:104-105 East Coast Magnetic Anomaly (ECMA) 4:95, 4:96f, 4:99f energy resources 4:105, 4:106f groundwater 4:105-106, 4:107f impact structures 4:95, 4:98f mineral deposits 4:105 morphology bathymetric map 4:93f general discussion 4:93 landslides 4:94/", 4:94-95 submarine canyons 4:93-94, 4:94f palaeoenvironments 4:102, 4:103f, 4:104f passive margin structure 4:95, 4:9 6/i 4:99f placer deposits 4:105 postrift unconformity 4:98, 4:99f, 4:101f research issues 4:106 salt diapirs 4:102 salt tectonism 4:102, 4:102f seamounts 4:93f, 4:94, 4:95 sedimentary history 4:102 tectonic evolution 4:95, 4:96f, 4:97f Atlantic Ocean 3:362f Atlantic Shield l:306f Atlantis Seamount 3:315'/", 3:316t Atlas Mountains 1:13, l:15f, l:16f, 1:17, 5:488 atmosphere Archaean composition 4:351 biogeochemical cycles 1:431 Cretaceous 3:360 Devonian 4:196, 4:196^ Earth 1:197-207 asteroid bombardment 1:199 carbon dioxide concentrations abundances l:197t anthropogenic sources 1:343 f, l:344f, 1:345 f changes 1:2 06^ end-Permian extinctions 4:223, 4:223f general discussion 1:206 geological evolution 1:340, 1:34If, l:342f glacial/interglacial periods l:342f, 1:343 f Oligocene 5:475 chemical composition l:197t condensation 1:199 evolution anoxic environments 1:201 living organisms 1:202, 1:203 mass-independent fractionation 1:201-202 metabolic energy 1:202 oxygen concentrations 1:202, 1:203 planetary formation effects 1:197 snowball Earth events 1:204 sulphur isotopes 1:201 nuclide binding energy 1:198, 1:198f outgassing 1:199 Phanerozoic atmosphere atmospheric changes 1:204 carbon dioxide concentrations 1:206, l:206f oxygen concentrations 1:206,1:206f temperature history l:205f primary atmosphere 1:198 secondary atmosphere 1:200 solar luminosity 1.-197/", 1:197-198 temperature-pressure profile 1:201 f terrestrial volcanic-gas compositions 1:200* earth system science 1:430 Gaia hypothesis 3:1-6 gaseous elements 3:553 large igneous provinces (LIPs) 3:320, 3:320f long-term carbon cycle l:336f, l:338f, 1:339 f Mars 1:197*, 5:273 Miocene 5:482 Neptune 5:291-292 ozone layer 5:217f physical characteristics 5:217f short-term carbon cycle 1:335, I:336f9 1:337f solar radiation 5:215, 5:219 temperature variations 5:215 Uranus 5:289 Venus 1:197* weathering effects 5:589 Atoka formation, Ouachita Mountains 4:63, 4:66f Atokian stage 4:209f