Presenting a coherent synthesis of lithosphere studies, this book covers a range of geophysical methods (seismic reflection, refraction, and receiver function methods; elastic and anelastic seismic tomography; electromagnetic and magnetotelluric methods; thermal, gravity and rheological models), complemented by petrologic and laboratory data on rock properties. It also provides a critical discussion of the uncertainties, assumptions, and resolution issues that are inherent in the different methods and models of the lithosphere. Multidisciplinary in scope, global in geographical extent, and covering a wide variety of tectonics settings across 3.5 billion years of Earth history, this book presents a comprehensive overview of lithospheric structure and evolution. It is a core reference for researchers and advanced students in geophysics, geodynamics, tectonics, petrology, and geochemistry, and for petroleum and mining industry professionals.
The past few decades have witnessed the growth of the Earth Sciences in the pursuit of knowledge and understanding of the planet that we live on. This development addresses the challenging endeavor to enrich human lives with the bounties of Nature as well as to preserve the planet for the generations to come. Solid Earth Geophysics aspires to define and quantify the internal structure and processes of the Earth in terms of the principles of physics and forms the intrinsic framework, which other allied disciplines utilize for more specific investigations. The first edition of the Encyclopedia of Solid Earth Geophysics was published in 1989 by Van Nostrand Reinhold publishing company. More than two decades later, this new volume, edited by Prof. Harsh K. Gupta, represents a thoroughly revised and expanded reference work. It brings together more than 200 articles covering established and new concepts of Geophysics across the various sub-disciplines such as Gravity, Geodesy, Geomagnetism, Seismology, Seismics, Deep Earth Processes, Plate Tectonics, Thermal Domains, Computational Methods, etc. in a systematic and consistent format and standard. It is an authoritative and current reference source with extraordinary width of scope. It draws its unique strength from the expert contributions of editors and authors across the globe. It is designed to serve as a valuable and cherished source of information for current and future generations of professionals.
Earth as an Evolving Planetary System, Second Edition, explores key topics and questions relating to the evolution of the Earth's crust and mantle over the last four billion years. This updated edition features exciting new information on Earth and planetary evolution and examines how all subsystems in our planet—crust, mantle, core, atmosphere, oceans and life—have worked together and changed over time. It synthesizes data from the fields of oceanography, geophysics, planetology, and geochemistry to address Earth's evolution. This volume consists of 10 chapters, including two new ones that deal with the Supercontinent Cycle and on Great Events in Earth history. There are also new and updated sections on Earth's thermal history, planetary volcanism, planetary crusts, the onset of plate tectonics, changing composition of the oceans and atmosphere, and paleoclimatic regimes. In addition, the book now includes new tomographic data tracking plume tails into the deep mantle. This book is intended for advanced undergraduate and graduate students in Earth, Atmospheric, and Planetary Sciences, with a basic knowledge of geology, biology, chemistry, and physics. It also may serve as a reference tool for structural geologists and professionals in related disciplines who want to look at the Earth in a broader perspective. - Kent Condie's corresponding interactive CD, Plate Tectonics and How the Earth Works, can be purchased from Tasa Graphic Arts here: http://www.tasagraphicarts.com/progptearth.html - Two new chapters on the Supercontinent Cycle and on Great Events in Earth history - New and updated sections on Earth's thermal history, planetary volcanism, planetary crusts, the onset of plate tectonics, changing composition of the oceans and atmosphere, and paleoclimatic regimes - Also new in this Second Edition: the lower mantle and the role of the post-perovskite transition, the role of water in the mantle, new tomographic data tracking plume tails into the deep mantle, Euxinia in Proterozoic oceans, The Hadean, A crustal age gap at 2.4-2.2 Ga, and continental growth
The supercontinent-cycle hypothesis attributes planetary-scale episodic tectonic events to an intrinsic self-organizing mode of mantle convection, governed by the buoyancy of continental lithosphere that resists subduction during the closure of old ocean basins, and the consequent reorganization of mantle convection cells leading to the opening of new ocean basins. Characteristic timescales of the cycle are typically 500 to 700 million years. Proposed spatial patterns of cyclicity range from hemispheric (introversion) to antipodal (extroversion), to precisely between those end members (orthoversion). Advances in our understanding can arise from theoretical or numerical modelling, primary data acquisition relevant to continental reconstructions, and spatiotemporal correlations between plate kinematics, geodynamic events and palaeoenvironmental history. The palaeogeographic record of supercontinental tectonics on Earth is still under development. The contributions in this Special Publication provide snapshots in time of these investigations and indicate that Earth’s palaeogeographic record incorporates elements of all three end-member spatial patterns.
The BIRPS Atlas presents the 100 deep seismic reflection profiles collected around the British Isles by the BIRPS Group (BIRPS - British Institutions Reflection Profiling Syndicate) at desk-top scale.
Regional Geology and Tectonics: Principles of Geologic Analysis, 2nd edition is the first in a three-volume series covering Phanerozoic regional geology and tectonics. The new edition provides updates to the first edition's detailed overview of geologic processes, and includes new sections on plate tectonics, petroleum systems, and new methods of geological analysis. This book provides both professionals and students with the basic principles necessary to grasp the conceptual approaches to hydrocarbon exploration in a wide variety of geological settings globally. - Discusses in detail the principles of regional geological analysis and the main geological and geophysical tools - Captures and identifies the tectonics of the world in detail, through a series of unique geographic maps, allowing quick access to exact tectonic locations - Serves as the ideal introductory overview and complementary reference to the core concepts of regional geology and tectonics offered in volumes 2 and 3 in the series
Minerals and rocks form the foundation of geologic studies. This new textbook has been written to address the needs of students at the increasing number of universities that have compressed separate mineralogy and petrology courses into a one- or two-semester Earth materials course. Key features of this book include: equal coverage of mineralogy, sedimentary petrology, igneous petrology and metamorphic petrology; copious field examples and regional relationships with graphics that illustrate the concepts discussed; numerous case studies to show the uses of earth materials as resources and their fundamental role in our lives and the global economy, and their relation to natural and human-induced hazards; the integration of earth materials into a cohesive process-based earth systems framework; two color thoughout with 48 pages of four color. Readership: students taking an earth materials, or combined mineralogy and petrology course in an earth science degree program. It will also be useful for environmental scientists, engineering geologists, and physical geographers who need to learn about minerals, rocks, soil and water in a comprehensive framework. A companion website for this book is available at: www.wiley.com/go/hefferan/earthmaterials.
Summaries of the major features of the geology of North America and the adjacent oceanic regions are presented in 20 chapters. Topics covered include concise reviews of current thinking about Precambrian basement, Phanerozoic orogens, cratonic basins, passive-margin geology of the Atlantic and Gulf Coast regions, marine and terrestrial geology of the Caribbean region and economic geology.
