The Cambridge Encyclopedia of Earth Sciences

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¦ I, ¦ II1,
The Cambridge Encyclopedia of
Earth Sciences
Edited by David G. Smith
This work Is encyclopedic in its coverage of a broad span of the Earth Sciences, concentrating on those aspects in which the most significant advances have recently been made. The revolutionary introduction of the concept of plate tectonics has transformed geology and its attendant disciplines from a descriptive phase to one of interpretation and synthesis to which the name Earth Sciences is now so much more appropriate. The emphasis of the book is accordingly on processes rather than just phenomena. The authors are all in the forefront of current research, while the Impeccable pedigree of the editorial board assures the reader of the book's scientific authenticity.
Beginning with a historical survey of the Earth Sciences, the introductory section sets the Earth in its context in the Solar System and beyond. This is followed by accounts of the Earth's physics and chemistry, areas in... Tovább

Fülszöveg

Af^

¦ I, ¦ II1,
The Cambridge Encyclopedia of
Earth Sciences
Edited by David G. Smith
This work Is encyclopedic in its coverage of a broad span of the Earth Sciences, concentrating on those aspects in which the most significant advances have recently been made. The revolutionary introduction of the concept of plate tectonics has transformed geology and its attendant disciplines from a descriptive phase to one of interpretation and synthesis to which the name Earth Sciences is now so much more appropriate. The emphasis of the book is accordingly on processes rather than just phenomena. The authors are all in the forefront of current research, while the Impeccable pedigree of the editorial board assures the reader of the book's scientific authenticity.
Beginning with a historical survey of the Earth Sciences, the introductory section sets the Earth in its context in the Solar System and beyond. This is followed by accounts of the Earth's physics and chemistry, areas in which recent research has provided some of the most fundamental insights into the way the whole Earth has evolved from a cloud of dust and now behaves. Although the Earth's crust is but a thin outer scum, it is its most dynamically active zone, and the next part of the Encyclopedia introduces and elaborates on the most up-to-date ideas on the plate tectonic model of crustal movements and interactions. Processes active at the Earth's surface are considered in a section which deals with the atmosphere, the waters of the oceans and the movement of sediments from sites of erosion to areas of deposition; all of these processes are affected more or less directly by continental plate movement and all affect the biosphere. The astonishing succession of life forms through geological time is partly documented as fossils and there are chapters here on the origin and evolution of life. Some aspects of man's interaction with the Earth are then considered, and the final chapter shows how processes observed on Earth are used to interpret the mass of newly acquired data from the other planets in our Solar System.
The Cambridge Encyclopedia of Earth Sciences will appeal to students of any branch of the Earth Sciences, and to people Interested generally in geology.
The Editor-in-Chief
David G. Smith was bom and educated in Cambridge. England, and studied Natural Sciences at St John's College. Cambridge, taking Geology as his major subject. After graduating he joined an oil prospecting expedition to Spitsbergen, and later undertook research on aspects of this work for a doctoral thesis. He further developed his speciality of the study of organic microfossils during five years of post-doctoral research at Trinity College. Dublin. While working on this Encyclopedia he was Earth Sciences Projects Manager at the Open University in Milton Keynes, since when he has moved to British Petroleum's research centre in London to resume research into microfossils.
The contributors
Timothy Atkinson Stanley M. Awramlk Peter Brimblecombe Geofl'rey C. Brown Simon Conway Morris Trevor Davies Stephen Drary Graham Evans Peter W. Francis William S. Fyfe Christopher J. Hawkesworth Gordon Hernes Davies John A. Jacobs Philip M. Kelly Robert Kerrich Kurt Lambeck
Mlch^iel R. Leeder Simon Mltton Roberto Peveraro Robert M. Shackleton Hans-Ulrich Schmlncke Andrew C. Scott Peter J. Smith David G. Smith Sandra Smith Donald H. Tarling Richard S. Thorpe Christopher E. Vincent Anthony C. Waltham David A. Wood Nigel H. Woodcock John B. Wright
Printed in Spain
Jacket front: Nyiragongo volcano. Zaire {copyright Bruce Coleman Ltd) : back: multicoloured sandstone overhanging Murchison River Gorge. Western Australia (copyright Bruce Coleman Ltd).
CAMBRIDGE UNIVERSITY PRESS Cambridge London New York New Rochelle Melbourne Sydney
ISBN 0 521 23900 1 Vissza