PALEOGEOGRAPHY: LOCATING THE BEST SEAFOOD THROUGH TIME

Why stay at home and cook, when you can go out to eat? The choice to eat out, however leads to the inevitable and perennial questions, “What should we eat?” and "Where should we go?". Taking the advice of Dr. Richard K. Bambach, I would recommend "seafood." Seafood contains many of the vitamins and minerals necessary to sustain an active life, it is often proffered in environments that are attractively and unusually decorated, and it tastes good! O.K., so seafood it is. Now, the tough and still unresolved question, "Where should we go to eat?". There are options. After all, marine environments serving seafood do vary: intertidal, shallow shelf, deep shelf, slope, rise, black smokers, abyssal ocean, even the occasional deep oceanic trench. I would avoid "Black Smokers" - no nonsmoking section, and instead would recommend the "Shallow Shelf". The "Shallow Shelf" has a diverse variety of entrees, which are constantly changing through time and the critters themselves are not unattractive. (For really ugly, but tasty, dining check out the "Abyssal Ocean".) However, if you find that what you want isn't on Shallow Shelf's menu, you can always leave and head for the "Deep Shelf". As Dr. Bambach points out, you might get lucky and find it there.

But where is the “Shallow Shelf”? I can’t give you directions but I can make you a map. A special kind of map, in fact, called a “paleogeographic map”. A good paleogeographic map shows not only the locations of the ocean basins and continents, but also the location of highlands, lowlands, deep ocean basins, and you guessed it - the shallow shelf. You’ll need a paleogeographic map because the continents keep moving and sea level keeps changing. What was once land might become shallow shelf, or shallow shelf might become land, deep shelf or even a mountain range. It’s very confusing. Well, I hope you find your way. Bon appetit!