Table of Contents

Acetogens.-Acid Rock Drainage.-Acidophiles.-Aerobic Metabolism.-Algae (Eukaryotic) .-Alkalinity.-Amber.-Anaerobic Oxidation of Methane with Sulfate.-Anaerobic Transformation Processes, Microbiology.-Anammox.-Animal Biocalcification, Evolution.-Animal Skeletons, Advent.-Archaea.-Arsenic.-Asteroid and Comet Impacts.-Astrobiology.-Bacteria.-Bacterioplankton.-Banded Iron Formations.-Basalt (Glass, Endoliths) .-Beggiatoa.-Biodeterioration (of Stone).-Bioerosion.-Biofilms.-Biofilms and Fossilization.-Biogeochemical Cycless.-Biological Control on Diagenesis: Influence of Bacteria and Relevance to Ocean Acidification.-Biological Volcanic Rock Weathering.-Biomarkers (Molecular Fossils) .-Biomarkers (Organic, Compound-Specific Isotopes) .-Biomining (Mineral Bioleaching, Mineral Biooxidation) .-Bioprotection.-Biosignatures in Rocks.-Biosilicification.-Black Shales.-Breakup of Rodinia.-Calcareous Algae.-Calcification.-Calcified Cyanobacteria.-Calcite Precipitation, Microbially Induced.-Calcium Biogeochemistry.-Cap Carbonates.-Carbon (Organic, Cycling) .-Carbon (Organic, Degradation) .-Carbon Cycle.-Carbon Isotopes.-Carbonate Environments.-Carbonates.-Cathodoluminescence Microscopy.-Chemolithotrophy.-Cherts.-Chondrites.-Chroococcidiopsis.-Clay Authigenesis, Bacterial.-Coccolithophores.-Cold Seeps.-Comets.-Commensalism.-Community.-Copper.-Cosmic Molecular Clouds.-Critical Intervals in Earth History.-Cryobiosphere.-Cyanobacteria.-Deep Biosphere of Salt Deposits.-Deep Biosphere of Sediments.-Deep Biosphere of the Oceanic Deep Sea.-Deep Fluids.-Degradation (of Organic Matter) .-Denitrification.-Desert Varnish.-Detachment.-Diatoms.-Dinoflagellates.-Divalent Earth Alkaline Cations in Seawater.-Diversity.-Dolomite, Microbial.-Early Earth.-Early Precambrian Eukaryotes.-Ecological Niche

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About the Author

Dr. Joachim Reitner is Professor of Paleontology, Head of the Department of Geobiology, and Managing Director of the Museum, Collections and Geopark, at the University of Gottingen, Germany. He is also Editor-in-Chief of Lecture Notes in Earth Sciences (Springer), Co-Editor of Facies (Springer), and Associate Editor of the Geomicrobiology Journal (Taylor & Francis). Dr. Reitner's research focuses on the interplay between organisms and their metabolic processes with various abiotic parameters. Many geological processes can be understood as geo-physiological processes, allowing chemical reactions that would never run under standard thermodynamic conditions. Therefore, a major thrust of Dr. Reitner's research activities is the investigation of the evolution of these processes, visible in biosignatures and biomineralization patterns and their interaction with biogeochemical cycles. Among his many honors and accolades, Dr. Reitner is the recipient of the G. W. Leibniz Award from the Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft. Dr. Volker Thiel is Professor of Organic Geochemistry in the Geoscience Center at the University of Gottingen, Germany. Dr. Thiel has been involved in geobiological research for some 15 years, with a focus on the use of organic molecules as chemical tracers (biomarkers) for biogeochemical pathways. His research interests include lipid biomarkers as indicators for biogeochemical processes; molecular fossils, biological formation, and turnover of methane; and microbial control on mineral formation. The results of his studies have significantly contributed to identifying the microbial processes associated with methane turnover in modern and ancient environments. Much of Dr. Thiel's current work is devoted to new approaches to enhance the spatial resolution of biomarker analysis in geobiological systems.

Reviews

From the reviews:“This new encyclopedia features 228 articles written by 165 experts worldwide. … deal with a wide range of topics, including micro- and macro- organisms, the relationship between life-forms and geologic environments, features and deposits, and biogeochemical processes. … The Encyclopedia of Geobiology is the only comprehensive volume on the topic presently available. … some would be understandable to undergraduates, but most would be more useful to graduate students and professionals. Summing Up: Recommended. Research collections serving graduate students through professionals in the earth sciences.” (L. R. Zellmer, Choice, Vol. 49 (1), September, 2011)“There are about 200 full entries … in this encyclopaedia. … The book is well laid out. There are a reasonable number of diagrams and maps and many pictures. … I enjoyed rummaging through this book and learned a lot. Any one involved in geobiology (or either component partner) will get good value from this volume.” (John Goodier, Reference Reviews, Vol. 26 (1), 2012)