Earth and Planetary Science

This leading dictionary - now in its fourth edition - offers wide-ranging and authoritative coverage of the earth sciences and related topics in over 7,500 clear and accessible entries. Coverage includes geology, planetary science, oceanography, palaeontology, mineralogy, and volcanology, as well as climatology, geochemistry, and petrology. This new edition has been fully updated with 150 new entries added, with expanded coverage of geology and planetary geology terms. Over 130 line drawings accompany the definitions. The Dictionary also provides recommended web links which are listed and regularly updated on a dedicated companion website. Appendices include a revised geological time scale, an updated bibliography, stratigraphic units, lunar and Martian time scales, wind-strength scales, and SI units. This dictionary is essential for students of geography, geology, and earth sciences, and for those in in related disciplines.

With its strong focus on readability and illustrations, this trusted best seller makes an often-complex subject more accessible for readers like you. It offers a meaningful, non-technical survey that is informative and up-to-date for learning basic principles and concepts. For the Tenth Edition, the text’s design and figures have been updated, and the chapter on climate change has been revised significantly.

Fundamentals of Physical Volcanology is a comprehensiveoverview of the processes that control when and how volcanoeserupt. Understanding these processes involves bringing togetherideas from a number of disciplines, including branches of geology,such as petrology and geochemistry; and aspects of physics, such asfluid dynamics and thermodynamics. This book explains in accessible terms how different areas ofscience have been combined to reach our current level of knowledgeof volcanic systems. It includes an introduction to eruption types,an outline of the development of physical volcanology, acomprehensive overview of subsurface processes, eruptionmechanisms, the nature of volcanic eruptions and their products,and a review of how volcanoes affect the environment. Fundamentals of Physical Volcanology is essential readingfor undergraduate students in earth science.

The third edition of this widely acclaimed textbook provides acomprehensive introduction to all aspects of global tectonics, andincludes major revisions to reflect the most significant recentadvances in the field. A fully revised third edition of this highly acclaimed textwritten by eminent authors including one of the pioneers of platetectonic theory Major revisions to this new edition reflect the mostsignificant recent advances in the field, including new andexpanded chapters on Precambrian tectonics and the supercontinentcycle and the implications of plate tectonics for environmentalchange Combines a historical approach with process science to providea careful balance between geological and geophysical material inboth continental and oceanic regimes Dedicated website available at www.blackwellpublishing.com/kearey/

Each naturally occurring isotope has a tale to tell about the history of matter, and each has its own special place in cosmic evolution. This volume aims to grasp the origins of our material world by looking at the abundance of the elements and their isotopes, and how this is interpreted within the theory of nucleosynthesis. Each isotope of elements from Hydrogen to Gallium is covered in detail. Information given on each isotope includes its nuclear properties, solar system abundance, nucleosynthesis in stars, astronomical observations, and isotopic anomalies in premolar grains and solar-system solids. The book is suitable for astronomers, physicists, chemists, geologists and planetary scientists, and contains a glossary of essential technical terms.

Significant achievements have been made at the cross-roads of physics and planetary science.The contents of this monograph bring together, under one cover, apparently disparate disciplines like solid-earth geophysics and geochemistry as well as material science and condensed-matter physics to present a thorough overview of high pressure geochemistry.

Recent years have witnessed remarkable progress in the science of microfossils. Major age revisions of many of the so called unfossilifereous strata were made with the discovery of microfossils. The microfossils have become indispensable tools in paleoceanographic studies. The systematic micropaleontology has gradually given way to interpretative micropaleontology and has completely changed our perception of this science. This book containing 26 peer reviewed papers discusses application of microfossils in stratigraphy and paleoceanography. The papers dealing with stratigraphy cover geological time from Proterozoic to Cenozoic while the papers on paleoceanography cover areas like deep sea hiatuses, global carbon cycles, ocean circulation and related climate changes, extraterrestrial events, upwelling and productivity etc. The papers in this volume offer solid evidence of recent progress in application of micropaleontology in stratigraphy and paleoceanography.

Knowledge of the solar system to the present day is summarized in this book which includes the story of the first decades of space exploration, told by some of the pioneers of the era. In this third edition every article has been rewritten to incorporate recent discoveries and developments.

The emphasis of Planetary Atmospheres is on comparative aspects of planetary atmospheres, generally meaning comparison with the Earth, including atmospheric composition, thermal structure, cloud properties, dynamics, weather and climate, and aeronomy. The book covers the basic physics of planetary atmospheres in a single text for students or anyone interested in this area of science.

In its first edition, Soils established itself as the leading textbook in the fields of pedology and soil geomorphology. Expanded and fully updated, this second edition maintains its highly organized and readable style. Suitable as a textbook and a research-grade reference, the book's introductory chapters in soil morphology, mineralogy, chemistry, physics and organisms prepare the reader for the more advanced treatment that follows.

More than any other introductory physical geology textbook, Understanding Earth is designed to bring the worldview of the working geologist to an audience not only new to this specific field, but in many cases to science in general. Students aren't merely presented with concepts and processes--they come to learn how we know what we know, and how that knowledge impacts their lives as citizens and consumers.