Book Description

Hardbound. This book is a continuation of 'Acoustic and Elastic Wave Fields in Geophysics, Part I'published in 2000. The second volume is dedicated to propagation of linear plane, spherical and cylindrical acoustic waves in different media. Chapter 1 is devoted to principles of geometric acoustic in plane wave approximation. The eikonal and transport equations are derived. Ray tracing and wavefront construction techniques are explained. Chapter 2 deals with dynamic properties of wave fields. The behavior of pressure and displacements amplitudes in zero approximation is analysed in two ways: using Poynting vector and solving the transport equation. This chapter contains several examples related to shadow zones and caustics. In Chapter 3 using the results of analysis of high-frequency wave kinematics and dynamics some fundamental aspects of Kirchhoff migration are described. Chapters 4 and 5 are devoted to propagation of plane waves in media with flat b ... Read more

Book Description

The topics included in this issue deal with many aspects of volcanic and seismic activity, two of the natural hazards of geological origin that have the greatest impact and pose the predominant risk to society. This book comprises eighteen papers, most of which were presented at an international seminar organized and held at the Complutense University of Madrid in October 2001. The papers address geodetic, geophysical and geochemical effects caused by seismic and volcanic activity; monitoring of volcanic and seismic processes using space and terrestrial techniques; complementarity of these techniques; theoretical modelling of volcanic and seismic processes; inverse problem; interpretation of observations; hazards; seismicity patterns and application.

Book Description

Geoid and its Geophysical Interpretations explains how an accurate geoid can be constructed and used for a variety of applied and theoretical geophysical purposes. The book discusses existing techniques for geoid computation, recently developed mathematical and computational tools designed for applications, and various interpretations. Principles and results are well illustrated. This book will be an excellent reference for geodesists, geophysicists, geophysical prospectors, oceanographers, and researchers and students in geophysics and geodesy. ... Read more

Book Description

This book provides readers with an Earth system perspective and engages them in active learning and inquiry about their home planet. It contains readings, questions, and exercises that will cultivate a greater appreciation for the planet Earth and its inhabitants, and demonstrate how relevant Earth Science is to our lives and communitiesRecurring themes—interactions of spheres, scale, cycles, energy, humans and the earth system—are woven throughout the five chapters which cover an introduction to the earth system, geosphere, hydrosphere, atmosphere, and cosmosphere.For anyone who wants to explore the science of the Earth. ... Read more

Reviews (2)

The Mysteries of the Universe and Life revealed
Tom Yulsman has succeeded in explaining extremely difficult concepts, such as quantum mechanics, planet, star and galaxy formation, as well as theories on the creation of the universe and life, in a concise, interesting and understandable way. His writing is both humerous and gripping and kept me intrigued, thirsting for more information with every turn of the page.

an excellent book
I highly recommend this book. It is a clear and fascinating account. Highly readable and informative. If you ever wondered about this topic before, read this book! ... Read more

Book Description

Whenever a volcano threatens to erupt, scientists and adventurers from around the world flock to the site in response to the irresistible allure of one of nature's most dangerous and unpredictable phenomena. In a unique book probing the science and mystery of these fiery features, the authors chronicle not only their geologic behavior but also their profound effect on human life. From Mount Vesuvius to Mount St. Helens, the book covers the surprisingly large variety of volcanoes, the subtle to conspicuous signs preceding their eruptions, and their far-reaching atmospheric consequences. Here scientific facts take on a very human dimension, as the authors draw upon actual encounters with volcanoes, often through firsthand accounts of those who have witnessed eruptions and miraculously survived the aftermath.

The book begins with a description of the lethal May 1980 eruption of Mount St. Helens--complete with an explanation of how safety officials and scientists tried to predict events, and how unsuspecting campers and loggers miles away struggled against terrifying blasts of ash, stone, and heat. The story moves quickly to the ways volcanoes have enhanced our lives, creating mineral-rich land, clean thermal energy, and haunting landscapes that in turn benefit agriculture, recreation, mining, and commerce. Religion and psychology embroider the account, as the authors explore the impact of volcanoes on the human psyche through tales of the capricious volcano gods and attempts to appease them, ranging from simple homage to horrific ritual sacrifice.

Volcanoes concludes by assisting readers in experiencing these geological phenomena for themselves. An unprecedented "tourist guide to volcanoes" outlines over forty sites throughout the world. Not only will travelers find information on where to go and how to get there, they will also learn what precautions to take at each volcano. Tourists, amateur naturalists, and armchair travelers alike will find their scientific curiosity whetted by this informative and entertaining book. ... Read more

Reviews (5)

A most excellent book on volcanoes
I recommend this book most highly. It is well-organized, easily read by anyone with a high school education and a limited scientific background, and all-encompassing on the subject of volcanoes. The latest developments in volcanic petrology, pyroclastic flow study, caldera formation, supervolcanic eruptions and their horrific consequences, and the like are superbly covered. Additionally, the book contains excellent narratives of nearly all significant late 20th Century eruptions, such as Pinatubo, El Chichon, St. Helens, and Paricutin. The research is copious, and the results highly accurate.

The book has been well-proofed, with the pleasurable consequence that distortive prose, inaccurate figures, and like blips are virtually non-existent. A fellow reviewer has stated that plate tectonics is not well-covered, but this writer's view is that the scope of the book lies beyond such basics. Anyone unfamiliar with basic volcanological concepts should first read "Teach Yourself Volcanoes", and then move into this book.

Again, I enjoyed this book to the hilt, and would prize it above most other books on the subject. I strongly believe it is the best non-technical book on the subject.

one thumb up, one thumb down
I found that this book has some positives and negatives: Positives: 1. the authors have compiled a wealth of information about volcanoes all over the world: Mt. St. Helens catastrophe, planes flying over eruption clouds, eruption accounts from Krakatua, etc, etc. 2. For a geologist like me, when we study about volcanoes, we tend to forget the human factor, not only hazards, but also how it affects agriculture, tourism, etc. Which I think this book pinpoints very well. Negatives: 1. The book doesn't flow: lots of information, but in my opinion disorganized. Except for the chapter about Mt. St. Helens, I didn't understand the point that the authors were trying to make (or probably there was no point, and it was just a plain description). 2. Any time you touch a scientific subject, you are immersed in having to use scientific terms. Since this book is trying to reach a general audience (I think), it will benefit a lot by having a glossary. 3. Some chapters are really weak, like the one that talks about plate tectonics. Plate tectonics is the driving force of volcanoes (mostly) and should have more emphasis on the book, and be explained in more simple terms. 4. The decimal metric system is used throughout the book. This is good when you are writing a paper to publish on a specialized journal, but not for a book aimed at general audiences. The equivalence in the English system should probably go in parentheses.

Neither too little or too much
Neither too little or too much, Volcanoes: Crucibles of Change is the best volume I have ever read on Volcanology. Written for the intelligent layperson, the book never talks down to its reader or loses them in mult-semicolon sentances of unintelligble jargon as so many other books by scientists do. If you want the latest theories on volcanoes, this is th book for you. I was especially surprised by how many dormant/active volcanoes there are in the lower 48. And as one who has flown from the U.S. to Japan, the chapter on planes and volcanoes was both fascinating and scary.

Great Book
A brilliant book for any volcanoholic. I am a geology student hoping to proceed to volcanology, and thoroughly enjoyed this book just for the sake of a good read on a great subject.

A terrific book about volcanoes and people.
This book is enjoyable to read: a great narrative that covers a wide range of topics about volcanoes: famous eruptions, effects on climate, how they provide resources, how they can adversely affect us, and more. The text has a lot of depth, but is cohesive and flows well. The diagrams are nicely done too. At the end of the book, the reader finds many helpful resources for volcano tourism. ... Read more

Book Description

The archaeological geology of the Quaternary or the geological epoch during which humankind evolved is a scientific endeavor with much to offer in the fields of archaeology and palaeoanthropology. Earth science techniques offer diverse ways of characterizing the elements of past landscapes and archaeological facies. This book is a survey of techniques used in archaeological geology for the study of soils, sediments, rocks and minerals. The techniques presented represent those most commonly used today. They are discussed in detail and examples are provided, in many cases, to demonstrate their usefulness to archaeologists. ... Read more

Book Description

Rock Magnetism is a comprehensive treatment of fine particle magnetism and the magnetic properties of rocks. Starting from atomic magnetism and magnetostatic principles, the authors explain why domains and micromagnetic structures form in ferromagnetic crystals and how these lead to magnetic memory in the form of thermal, chemical and other remanent magnetizations. The phenomenal stability of these magnetizations, providing a record of plate tectonic motions over millions of years, is explained by thermal activation theory. One chapter is devoted to practical tests of domain state and paleomagnetic stability; another deals with pseudo-single-domain magnetism. The final four chapters place magnetism in the context of igneous, sedimentary, metamorphic, and extraterrestrial rocks. This book will be of great value to graduate students and researchers in geophysics and geology, particularly in paleomagnetism and rock magnetism, as well as physicists and electrical engineers interested in fine-particle magnetism and magnetic recording. ... Read more

Book Description

The advent of image processing and Geographic Information Systems (GIS) has made a substantial impact in the fields of geology, geochemistry, geophysics, and remote sensing. Addressing this development, this work provides a state-of-the-art overview of techniques for analyzing and combining geoscience data sets for mineral exploration. ... Read more

Reviews (2)

A Book for Geologists, Geomathematicians, GIS specialists
The authors have done a great job in presenting the materials of diverse fields, including GIS, remote sensing, multivariate statistics, many more. The book also presented an excellent review for neural networks. All the methods included in the book have proved to be effective in data integration for mineral exploration and planning purposes. I would recommend this book to any geoscientists who are interested in computer modeling and integration of geoscience data sets.

A Book for All Geoscientists
Guocheng Pan and D. Harris had put a great effort into the organization of the book structure. The book contains many subjects, all relevant to the information systhesis. The book was clearly written and it is readable for most geo-professionals and graduate students in geo-fields. The quantitative methods presented in the book are rigurous, but easy to follow. The examples in the book are also derived from real-world cases. In sum, I am really impressed with the book in terms of its quality and value offered to geoscientists. ... Read more

Book Description

Crustal Heat Flow: A Guide to Measurement and Modelling is a handbook for geologists and geophysicists who manipulate thermal data, particularly for petroleum exploration. In theory and with practical examples, the book discusses the sources of heat within the crust, describes how to maximize the accuracy of temperature data, covers the measurement of the thermal properties of rocks, and explains a number of maturity indicators. The second part covers a range of thermodynamic models of the lithosphere and shows how these can be used to reconstruct the thermal history of individual sedimentary basins. ... Read more

Reviews (4)

Good update, but illustrations are better in 3rd ed.
Well, the title says it -- I'm keeping my copy of the 3rd edition because the illos in the latest edition look soft and disturbingly unsharp. Maybe the publisher, having lost the original artwork for the 3rd edition, simply scanned a copy. Or maybe the quality got skimped when the work was made all-electronic. I don't know.

In any case, the content is fine.

Recommended: A very good book on Earthquakes.
This book provides a very good coverage on Earthquakes, from how and why they happen to their effects and safety concerns. You can learn about faults, plates, how earthquakes are sized, how much can be forecasted, how structures are affected, ground acceleration, soil conditions, etc. Though there are numerous examples from California, this is not one of those books which try to provide earthquake checklists to Californians. The level of technicality is one reason I recommend the book. You don't have to be a seismologist to understand the book, but you won't get bored if you are technically oriented. You will get a quantitative feel of concepts in addition to the clear explanations.

The updated and expanded Fourth Edition just published
The new 4th edition has a new chapter on Plate Tectonics,recent earthquake descriptions,connections with Web pages,and colored illustrative plates.Fresh historical text has been included and more help with seismic safety.

If you only buy one earthquake book, this should be the one.
I spent a lot of time searching for a book explaining earthquakes that wasn't too simple or a text book. Bolt's book is more toward the textbook end of the scale, but is still quite readable. This is not a simple "what to do" book but an explanation of how quakes happen, how they cause damage, what we can do, etc. ... Read more

Book Description

Reviews (4)

Quite fun, and clever
This is not a chummy kitchen science experiment book. The science is serious and some principles obtuse. I studied this sort of thing in college and found some of it tough going, though I do think I came away with a lucid understanding for the effort.

The author rambles a bit, mixing exposition and reminisces. This is not a terrible thing, but may not be what you expect. Some of the experiments are elegant and clever, and impressed my 6 year-old considerably. The author's bent is towards optical phenomena, such as why the sky is blue, more than the meteorological, though there's plenty in there.

A fun and interesting book in a conversational and sometimes amusing format. And yes, I finally can explain why the sky is blue.

An excellent resource for teachers and professors
This book has been invaluable to me in teaching a university class on the Earth's climate. I've been able to pull off some of the clever demonstrations in the classroom. I've never read more understandable descriptions of pressure, "heat", the latent heat of vaporization, and blackbody radiation, including its relationship to the greenhouse effect. The author's dismissive comments towards global warming as just the current fad of 1982 have not stood the test of time. His book, however, will help educators explain to the public our dire circumstances so that something might be done about it.

Very clever
This is a very well written, creative and informative work. It's a league well above the cliche "amazing science experiments" books and offers detailed insight into atmospheric phenomena. The style is prose, not the boring step by step method that turns off many readers. You can use it to perform experiments, but it's a good readin itself. I highly recommend it to teachers - you'll learn some interesting stuff while getting your demo ideas.

Every aspiring aviator should have a copy of this book.
optics, meteorology and the evidence of my own eyes have all been endlessly fascinating subjects since chancing on this little gem. Should be a compulsary gift for every one of those slightly jaded 500 hour pilots who think they have seen it all ... Read more

Book Description

This text is a lively and accessible introduction to the study of hydrology at university level and will give undergraduates an understanding of hydrological processes, a knowledge of the techniques used to assess water resources and an up to date overview of water resource management. Throughout the text examples and case studies from around the world are used to clearly explain ideas and techniques.Chapter summaries, essay questions, guides to further reading and a glossary are also included. ... Read more

Book Description

In this new edition of Volcanology, Dr. McBirney joins Dr. Bardintzeff, author of two previous French editions, to revise and update the text's presentation of volcanology for an American audience, and for English-speaking students of geology in particular. The text examines a wide breadth of topics including the origins and mechanisms of volcanoes, their impact on humans and the environment, the contribution volcanoes have made to a wealth of our world's basic resources, and the role volcanoes have played in shaping the Earth and other planets.

Hot off the presses this month, and written by two of the world's leading experts in the field, Volcanology, Second Edition is a must-have resource for geology students or anyone interested in the inner workings of volcanoes. The text is written at a level that makes even the most sophisticated concepts easily understood by the non-specialist. ... Read more

Reviews (1)

A coherent & detailed scientific look at how volcanoes work
Now in its newly second updated and expanded edition, Volcanology by volcanologists Jacques-Marie Bardintzeff and Alexander R. McBirney, provides a coherent and detailed scientific look at how volcanoes work, their impact on humans and upon the environment, how volcanoes shape the Earth and other planets, and much, much more. Enhanced with a gorgeous eight-page insert of color plates and highly recommended for school and community library Earth Sciences collections, Volcanology presents the complex science of volcanology in terms the astute and keen-minded non-specialist readers can readily acquire. ... Read more

Book Description

The various processes that connect the physics of the Sun with that of the Earth`s environment has become known as "Space Weather" during recent years, a slogan that has emerged in connection with many other expressions adapted from meteorology, such as solar wind, magnetic clouds or polar rain. This volume is intended as a first graduate-level textbook-style account on the physics of these solar-terrestrial relations and their impact on our natural and technological environment. ... Read more

Book Description

After every major earthquake, the Earth rings like a bell for several days. These free oscillations of the Earth and the related propagating body and surface waves are routinely detected at broad-band seismographic stations around the world. In this book, F. A. Dahlen and Jeroen Tromp present an advanced theoretical treatment of global seismology, describing the normal-mode, body-wave, and surface-wave methods employed in the determination of the Earth's three-dimensional internal structure and the source mechanisms of earthquakes. The authors provide a survey of both the history of global seismological research and the major theoretical and observational advances made in the past decade.

The book is divided into three parts. In the first, "Foundations," Dahlen and Tromp give an extensive introduction to continuum mechanics and discuss the representation of seismic sources and the free oscillations of a completely general Earth model. The resulting theory should provide the basis for future scientific discussions of the elastic-gravitational deformation of the Earth. The second part, "The Spherical Earth," is devoted to the free oscillations of a spherically symmetric Earth. In the third part, "The Aspherical Earth," the authors discuss methods of dealing with the Earth's three-dimensional heterogeneity. The book is concerned primarily with the forward problem of global seismology--detailing how synthetic seismograms and spectra may be calculated and interpreted.

As a long-needed unification of theories in global seismology, the book will be important to graduate students and to professional seismologists, geodynamicists, and geomagnetists, as well as to astronomers who study the free oscillations of the Sun and other stars.

Reviews (1)

Geology ROCKS!!! =) =) =)
I am an important professor at some university, and I LOVE THIS BOOK!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!I used to think geology was a waste of time, but now I don't think so anymore.Because I read this book.This REALLY GOOD book.It's about the free oscillations of the Earth.If you don't know what that means, the earth freely oscillates, and that's what this book is about.These (free) oscillations are related to earthquakes.Well, I don't want to say too much because I'm afraid of spoiling the end of this classic book on free oscillations.But it's about earthquakes and it is SO good.So don't delay, do what I say, and buy this book right away today, okay? ... Read more