The Visible Paleo-Earth project has combined geological, paleontological, and paleoclimatological data with the paleogeographic maps of Ron Blakey (visible here and here) to create a series of Blue-Marble-type views of the earth spanning the last 750 million years:
Basic graphic imagery and the simple YouTube video animation below were released last week:
Basic graphic imagery and the simple YouTube video animation below were released last week:
More animations, and higher-resolution imagery, are scheduled to be released today (4/29/2011).
If you’re at all interested in the relationship between ancient geographies and climate, and how they created the geology of the Colorado Plateau, I highly recommend the book Ancient Landscapes by Ron Blakey and Wayne Ranney, a terrific synthesis of geology, geography, paleontology and cartography.