Climate, Fire and Human Evolution: The Deep Time Dimensions of the Anthropocene

Preface

Acknowledgements

Introduction

Part I. Atmosphere-Ocean-Biosphere-Cryosphere Systems and carbon-oxygen cycles

1. Atmosphere dynamics

2. Atmosphere chemistry
The carbon cycle
The oxygen cycle
The sulphur cycle

3. Early Atmosphere-ocean-ice systems
Palaeozoic and Mesozoic atmospheres
Cainozoic atmospheres and ice ages
Evolution of life and mass extinctions
Archaean Life
Acraman Extinction and Acritarchs Radiation
Appearance of multicellular organism
Cambrian and Late Ordovician Mass Extinctions
Late and End-Devonian Mass Extinctions
Late Permian and Permian-Triassic Mass Extinctions
End-Triassic Mass Extinction
Jurassic-Cretaceous Climate Anomalies
K-T (Cretaceous-Tertiary Boundary) Mass Extinction
Paleocene-Eocene Extinction

4. Biological Evolution through the Cainozoic ice ages

5. From primates to humans

6. From genetic evolution to cultural evolution

Part II. Fire The nature of fire

7. The history of fire

8. Fire and human evolution
Fire through the Pleistocene
Neolithic burning and early civilizations

Part III. The Anthropocene

The Anthropocene
Homo sapiens' war against nature
The Great Carbon Oxidation Event
The Sixth mass extinction of species
An uncharted climate territory

Part IV. Epilogue: Future Blueprints

Appendices:
1. Climate change charts
2. Biologic evolution tree for the Cainozoic
3. Human evolutionary tree