THE PALEOMAP PaleoAtlas (ArcGIS)

During the last six years the PALEOMAP Project has constructed a digital atlas of plate tectonic, paleogeographic, and paleoclimatic reconstructions. This “PaleoAtlas” runs in ArcGIS (ESRI) and takes full advantage of the cartographic and database functionality of this GIS (Geographic Information System). The PaleoAtlas is made up of six volumes: Cenozoic, Cretaceous, Jurassic and Triassic, Late Paleozoic, Early Paleozoic, and Late Precambrian (Neoproterozoic). Each volume has 8 –10 paleoreconstructions; there are 53 paleoreconstructions reconstructions in the completed PaleoAtlas. The oldest paleoreconstruction dates from the breakup of Rodinia (750 Ma, Cryogenian).

For each reconstructed time interval there are more than 25 feature layers (map overlays) that describe important tectonic, paleogeographic and paleoclimatic information such as: modern geographic features (political boundaries, coastlines, cities, river and lakes), plate tectonic features (active plate boundaries, age of the ocean floor, ancient plates, and vectors describing plate motion), paleorivers and drainage basins, paleoclimatic information (lithologic indicators of climate such as coals, evaporites, calcretes, tillites, etc), ancient climate zones (Equatorial Rainy Belt, Arid Belt, Warm and Cool Temperate, Polar ), a 3D digital paleogeographic model (PaleoDEM), as well as estimates of highstand and lowstand shorelines, and geological information (outcrop geology, regional lithofacies, coral reefs, and ophiolites)

The spatial-temporal framework provided by the PALEOMAP PaleoAtlas is the foundation for the “Earth System History Archive” (ESHA). The Earth System History Archive, in collaboration with the Paleobiology Database, the Global Geology website, and the Paleoclimate Atlas, is a compilation of important paleo-environmental variables (e.g., elevation, bathymetry, temperature, rainfall, ocean currents, salinity, upwelling, etc.). The goal of the Earth System History Archive is to provide earth scientists and earth historians with a concise, accurate, and informative digital description of the evolution of the Earth System during the past one billion years. Using GIS technology it is now possible to store, retrieve and visualize this wealth of information about the Earth's distant past.