Biographical Memoirs Volume 67 (1995) / Chapter Skim
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Preston Cloud
Preston Cloud
Pages 42-63
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From page 43... ...
vision emphasized complex interrelationships through the whole 4.5 billion years of earth history involving the interplay of biological, chemical, and physical processes. His deep cleIving through these researches led him to a special appreciation of the place of humankind within this evolving environment.
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From page 44... ...
, connecting biospheric, atmospheric, hydrospheric, and lithospheric evolution, had been challengecI, tested, and validated in all significant elements and that it is now widely accepted as the best-available approximation. He recognized in 1968 that free oxygen first began a significant atmospheric accumulation about 2 billion years before present, setting the stage for eucaryotes, and first rose to levels supportive of metazoan evolution about 700 million years before present.
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From page 45... ...
Arthur Cooper, an outstanding expert on Paleozoic fossil brachiopods. Clouds interest in research paleontology was launched, and Cooper invited Cloud to join him as junior author on a paper clearing with Devonian brachiopods from Illinois, published in 1938.
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From page 46... ...
After receiving his Ph.D. Cloud taught for a year at the Missouri School of Mines in RolIa but then returned to Yale University to continue work on brachiopod evolution as a Sterling Research Fellow ~194142~.
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From page 47... ...
Several important publications resulted, dealing with coral reefs and the geology en cl ecology of this modern carbonate environment, including early comments concerning the geochemical processes involved. During this time he published the then-controversial theory that multicelled en cl complex organisms evolved rapidly from many different ancestors since early Phanerozoic time, about 700 million years ago.
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From page 48... ...
He made it unequivocally clear to each of us that we had to complete our assigned task in publishable form." Cloud instigated weekly "brown-bag" lunches for his colleagues and brought in outside geologists to join in informal and stimulating discussions and usually on an announcecl topic. All paleontologists were expected to attend.
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From page 49... ...
After stepping down as chief paleontologist of the survey, Cloud turned to the seas and oceans in earnest. He saw that there was a critical gap: active oceanographic institutions were concentrating their investigations on the deep ocean and the Survey should study the continental shelves and coastal zones.
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From page 50... ...
In pursuit of his ultimate coal of understanding 1_ _ ^_ ~ 1 1 v ' J J ~ ~ _ _ _ _ 1~ ~ _ 1 1 _ _ _ 1 ~ ~ , ~ V V one evolution ot tne biosphere as well as he could, Cloud studied the story revealed by specific sequences of strata and in so doing unlocked understanding of many associated processes and products. For example, banded iron formations about 2 billion years old tell much about the geochemistry of ancient oceans and the conditions surrounding their deposition and subsequent alterations.
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From page 51... ...
Cloud concluded that the earliest Paleozoic metazoan record when fossils become abundant was less an accident of an incomplete record in strata previously and actually a display of evolutionary opportunism related to the availability of new ecological sites and conditions. The Metazoa descended from many ancestors, probably starting when there was sufficient oxygen available about 680 million years ago.
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From page 52... ...
On the UCSB campus he established a "clean lab" for the study of ancient life, a facility in part set up by NASA to examine moon and other extraterrestrial material for eviclences of life activities. In 1969, upon examining some of the first samples brought back from the moon, Cloud determined that the moon was devoid of life.
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From page 53... ...
He participated enthusiastically on departmental field trips and even went to areas where the rocks were of no special interest to him. His concern over the welfare of our planet as a human habitat and his deep knowledge of environmental interplays provided us with sound advice as we organized a Program in Environmental Studies at UCSB.
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From page 54... ...
His efforts in these directions involved testimony before and preparation of materials for various congressional committees en c! panels, including the joint Economic Committee of both houses of Congress, for which he prepared a statement on the mineral raw materials and national welfare (1976~.
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From page 55... ...
And he wrote Cosmos, Earth, and Man,4 which thoughtfully places man into his tiny spot in the universe. More recently Cloud wrote Oasis in Space: Earth History from the Be~nning,5 which is a comprehensive work of synthesis and reflection aimed at perceptive intellectuals and university students.
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From page 56... ...
14-15) , "We are made of star stuff, processed through supernovae, concentrated from the contracting solar nebula, spun into biochemical aggregates with a difference, and graced, during our tenure here, by the ability to imagine, to conceptualize, to hypothesize, to create science, poetry, music, and works of art and technology." He leaves a deep influence upon a vast and diverse assemblage of scholars, both scientists and humanists, who have read his works or listened to his lectures or who have, as I, discussed matters of earth history with him personally.
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From page 57... ...
Fran Cloud and by permission to read before publication a memorial written by John Rodgers for the American Philosophical Society, which has also been published by the Geological Society of America. Letters from Cloud's colleagues at different times over the years also aided me, especially those of Jack Dunlap, Virgil Barnes, Ean Zen, Ellen Moore, Dallas Peck, Greg Sohn, Pete Palmer, Tom Dutro, Link Washburn, Reuben Ross, and many many others.
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From page 58... ...
Department of Interior 1961 Member, National Academy of Sciences 1969 American Academy of Arts and Sciences 1971 Paleontological Society (of America) Medal 1973 American Philosophical Society Lucius Wilbur Cross Medal, Yale Graduate School Corresponding Member, Geological Society of Belgium Fourteenth A
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From page 59... ...
Woodring conference on major biologic innovations and the geologic record.
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From page 60... ...
273:193-206. Paleoecological significance of the banded iron formation.
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From page 61... ...
14. Mineral Raw Materials and the National Welfare.
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From page 62... ...
1988 Oasis in Space: Earth History from the Beginning.
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