Short papers for the Second International Symposium on the Cambrian System, 1981

Abstract

The Cambrian System holds special scientific interest because it contains the primary record of the earliest evolutionary diversification of metazoan life on Earth. Study of the patterns of evolutionary diversification and associated environmental conditions provides our understanding of the original colonization of the Earth's marine ecosystem by complex plant and animal communities. Rocks of Cambrian age contain a significant portion of the world's sedimentary and metallic mineral resources. Increased understanding of Cambrian stratigraphy, depositional environments, and paleogeography improves our ability to discover new deposits which are so necessary to the agricultural and industrial well being of the world's human population. This volume is the proceedings of the technical sessions of the Second International Symposium on the Cambrian System, held August 9-13, 1981, in Golden, Colorado. The first international Cambrian symposium was held in conjunction with the 20th International Geological Congress in Mexico City in 1956. Since 1956, a wealth of research on Cambrian stratigraphy and paleontology has been conducted in all parts of the world. This volume contains a sample of that work in 72 scientific reports authored or coauthored by 95 research scientists. Thirteen countries are represented by the contributors, including the United States of America (37), the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics (16), the People's Republic of China (12), England (6), Australia (5), Sweden (5), Canada (3), France (3), Argentina (2), Estonia (2), West Germany (2), South Korea (1), and Poland (1).