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Deformation Microstructures and Mechanisms in Minerals and Rocks
This book is a systematic guide to the recognition and interpretation of deformation microstructures and mechanisms in minerals and rocks at the scale of a thin section. Diagnostic features of microstructures and mechanisms are emphasized, and the subject is extensively illustrated with high-quality color and black and white photomicrographs, and many clear diagrams. After introducing three main classes of deformation microstructures and mechanisms, low- to high-grade deformation is presented in a logical sequence in Chapters 2 to 5. Magmatic/submagmatic deformation, shear sense indicators, and shock microstructures and metamorphism are described in Chapters 6 to 8, which are innovative chapters in a structural geology textbook. The final chapter shows how deformation microstructures and mechanisms can be used quantitatively to understand the behavior of the earth. Recent experimental research on failure criteria, frictional sliding laws, and flow laws is summarized in tables, and palaeopiezometry is discussed. Audience: This book is essential to all practising structural and tectonic geologists who use thin sections, and is an invaluable research tool for advanced undergraduates, postgraduates, lecturers and researchers in structural geology and tectonics.
Echoes of Life : What Fossil Molecules Reveal about Earth History
In 1936 a German chemist identified certain organic molecules that he had extracted from ancient rocks and oils as the fossil remains of chlorophyll--presumably from plants that had lived and died millions of years in the past. It was another twenty-five years before this insight was developed and the term "biomarker" coined to describe fossil molecules whose molecular structures could reveal the presence of otherwise elusive organisms and processes. Echoes of Life is the story of these molecules and how they are illuminating the history of the earth and its life. It is also the story of how a few maverick organic chemists and geologists defied the dictates of their disciplines and--at a time when the natural sciences were fragmenting into ever-more-specialized sub-disciplines--reunited chemistry, biology and geology in a common endeavor. The rare combination of rigorous science and literary style--woven into a historic narrative that moves naturally from the simple to the complex--make Echoes of Life a book to be read for pleasure and contemplation, as well as education.
Geological Structures and Maps
This highly illustrated student guide introduces the skills of interpreting a geological map and relating it to the morphology of the most important types of geological structure. Thoroughly revised, and with more international examples, it is ideal for use by students with a minimum of tutorial supervision. Photographs of structures are set alongside their representations on maps. The maps used in exercises have been chosen to provide all of the realism of a survey map without the huge amount of data often present, so that students can develop skills without becoming overwhelmed or confused. In particular, emphasis is placed throughout on developing the skill of three-dimensional visualization so important to the geologist. * Successful practical guide provides a solid introduction to the subject of geological maps * Fully revised edition includes more international examples to increase the breadth of your knowledge * Illustrations and end of chapter questions make this an ideal tool to aid self-guided study
The Geologic Time Scale 2012
The Geologic Time Scale 2012, winner of a 2012 PROSE Award Honorable Mention for Best Multi-volume Reference in Science from the Association of American Publishers, is the framework for deciphering the history of our planet Earth. The authors have been at the forefront of chronostratigraphic research and initiatives to create an international geologic time scale for many years, and the charts in this book present the most up-to-date, international standard, as ratified by the International Commission on Stratigraphy and the International Union of Geological Sciences. This 2012 geologic time scale is an enhanced, improved and expanded version of the GTS2004, including chapters on planetary scales, the Cryogenian-Ediacaran periods/systems, a prehistory scale of human development, a survey of sequence stratigraphy, and an extensive compilation of stable-isotope chemostratigraphy. This book is an essential reference for all geoscientists, including researchers, students, and petroleum and mining professionals. The presentation is non-technical and illustrated with numerous colour charts, maps and photographs. The book also includes a detachable wall chart of the complete time scale for use as a handy reference in the office, laboratory or field.
Guide to Minerals, Rocks and Fossils
A detailed and extensively illustrated handbook. The colors, shapes and properties of minerals vary from the bland to the magnificent. Guide to Minerals, Rocks and Fossils is a practical and authoritative handbook that is both comprehensive and easy to use. Each of the 600 specimens is shown in full color, sometimes in two or more forms. There are also drawings that show the structure of the crystalline specimens. It covers the basics like granite, as well as oddities like meteorites and tektites. Fossils include sponges, corals, arthropods, brachiopods, and fossil land plants. Each is described in detail, with notes on: color and transparency grain size hardness structure occurrence mineralogy distinguishing features habit cleavage texture alteration luster Mineral names, chemical formulae and structural data accord to international standards. This is a very complete, but attractive and useful volume in a respected series.
History of Life
History of Life is not just for students, but for everyone interested in the history of life on our planet. Paleontology, the study of ancient life, requires some knowledge of biology, ecology, chemistry, physics and mathematics. However, the average person can have access to it without deep scientific training. This book serves three audiences: it is an introduction to palaeontology; a general education course that introduces nonspecialists to science and scientific thought; and an introduction to the history of life for biologists who know a lot about the present and little about the past. The author's aim is ambitious: to take you to the edges of our knowledge in palaeontology; to show you how life has evolved on Earth,;and to explain how we have constructed the history of that evolution from the record of rocks and fossils. Web page tied to use of book boxes. Case studies. End chapter questions. End chapter references.
A Natural History of Time
The quest to pinpoint the age of the Earth is nearly as old as humanity itself. For most of history, people trusted mythology or religion to provide the answer, even though nature abounds with clues to the past of the Earth and the stars. In A Natural History of Time, geophysicist Pascal Richet tells the fascinating story of how scientists and philosophers examined those clues and from them built a chronological scale that has made it possible to reconstruct the history of nature itself. Richet begins his story with mythological traditions, which were heavily influenced by the seasons and almost uniformly viewed time cyclically. The linear history promulgated by Judaism, with its story of creation, was an exception, and it was that tradition that drove early Christian attempts to date the Earth. For instance, in 169 CE, the bishop of Antioch, for instance declared that the world had been in existence for "5,698 years and the odd months and days." Until the mid-eighteenth century, such natural timescales derived from biblical chronologies prevailed, but, Richet demonstrates, with the Scientific Revolution geological and astronomical evidence for much longer timescales began to accumulate. Fossils and the developing science of geology provided compelling evidence for periods of millions and millions of years--a scale that even scientists had difficulty grasping. By the end of the twentieth century, new tools such as radiometric dating had demonstrated that the solar system is four and a half billion years old, and the universe itself about twice that, though controversial questions remain. The quest for time is a story of ingenuity and determination, and like a geologist, Pascal Richet carefully peels back the strata of that history, giving us a chance to marvel at each layer and truly appreciate how far our knowledge--and our planet--have come.
Sedimentary Rocks in the Field
This handy pocket-sized guide shows how to achieve successful fieldwork on sedimentary rocks, paying particular detail to the precision and accuracy of recording detail. Various sedimentary rock-types, textures and all the basic field techniques required are clearly described. Thoroughly revised to incorporate up-to-date information, this 3rd edition will be of use to all students and professionals with a geological background. Features include: New sections on safety in the field, the use of GPS in sedimentary studies, core description, fossils as depth indicators and facies models. Improved illustrations and a new updated layout.
Time Matters : Geology's Legacy to Scientific Thought
Time Matters provides an invaluable insight into thebackground behind some of the key concepts we use in Earth sciencetoday. It shows the historical context in which these ideas weredeveloped, the important contributions of individual scientists andthinkers, and how these ideas continue to shape our view of scienceand the world in which we live. The book covers subjects such as the age of the earth,catastrophism vs uniformitarianism, evolution vs creationism,plutonism vs neptunism, continental drift and plate tectonics. Itexplores the people involved, their ideas and the scientific andreligious power politics involved in the development. It iseffectively partly a review of the way in which science works ordoes not work. The text includes questions and comment boxes whichhelp the reader to appreciate/understand the ideas and conceptsthat have been included and their problems, strengths orweaknesses. Accessible introduction ? does not assume priorknowledge Teaches scientific thought ? particularly the use ofevidence Topic based ? uses a set of key geological theories This book is written for anyone with an interest in geology andthe history of science, but will be particularly valuable touniversity or high-school students beginning a study of earthscience for the first time.
Why Geology Matters : Decoding the Past, Anticipating the Future
Volcanic dust, climate change, tsunamis, earthquakes--geoscience explores phenomena that profoundly affect our lives. But more than that, as Doug Macdougall makes clear, the science also provides important clues to the future of the planet. In an entertaining and accessibly written narrative, Macdougall gives an overview of Earth's astonishing history based on information extracted from rocks, ice cores, and other natural archives. He explores such questions as: What is the risk of an asteroid striking Earth? Why does the temperature of the ocean millions of years ago matter today? How are efforts to predict earthquakes progressing? Macdougall also explains the legacy of greenhouse gases from Earth's past and shows how that legacy shapes our understanding of today's human-caused climate change. We find that geoscience in fact illuminates many of today's most pressing issues--the availability of energy, access to fresh water, sustainable agriculture, maintaining biodiversity--and we discover how, by applying new technologies and ideas, we can use it to prepare for the future.