The book is a thoughtful discussion with scientists studying convergent plate boundaries such as the well-known, active India-Eurasia collision zone. It provides a comprehensive collection of petrographic images of ophiolitic rocks exhumed from oceanic lithosphere and mantle at the India-Asia plate boundary. Ophiolite is exposed in the northwestern Himalayas, eastern Indian plate margin and Andaman-Nicobar Islands. At the eastern margin, it occurs in a narrow strip comprising mantle perido...

By looking backward at the course of great extinctions, a paleontologist sees what the future holds.More than 200 million years ago, a cataclysmic event known as the Permian extinction destroyed more than 90 percent of all species and nearly 97 percent of all living things. Its origins have long been a puzzle for paleontologists. During the 1990s and the early part of this century, a great battle was fought between those who thought that death had come from above and those who thou...

"[A] scholarly but accessible analysis . . . [explores] forces that led to 'The Great Dying'—and the rebound of life in its aftermath." — Gemma Tarlach, Discover magazineTwo hundred sixty million years ago, life on Earth suffered wave after wave of cataclysmic extinctions, with the worst wiping out nearly every species on the planet. The Worst of Times delves into the mystery behind these extin...

The Cenozoic or Tertiary Era, derives its name from the greek and means "recent life". It covers the long period of time ranging from 65 to 1.8 million years ago. For the great success of the Mammals, the Cenozoic is also called the Age of Mammals.Birds conquer the heavens, no longer dominated by the flying reptiles. Toward the end of this Age will come out early hominids.

The Earth's climate is already warming due to increased concentrations of human-produced greenhouse gases in the atmosphere, and the specter of rising sea level is one of global warming's most far-reaching threats. Sea level will keep rising long after greenhouse gas emissions have ceased, because of the delay in penetration of surface warming to the ocean depths and because of the slow dissipation of excess atmospheric carbon dioxide. Adopting a long perspective that interprets sea level ...

This concise introduction to modern climatology covers the key topics for intermediate undergraduate students on one-semester courses. The treatment of topics is non-mathematical wherever possible, instead focusing on physical processes to allow students to grasp concepts more easily. Full-color illustrations support the text and supplementary topics are covered in boxes, enabling students to further increase their knowledge and awareness. A historical perspective of climatology is woven t...

Geology for Nongeologists introduces basic concepts in geology: how rocks, minerals, and fossils are classified, how wind, ice, and water have shaped the earth, how mountains are formed, and how volcanoes, geysers, earthquakes, glaciers, and groundwater work to modify the physical structure of Earth.Primarily designed as an information source, and intended to be a non-technical survey for those with little background in science, this book is presented in a reader-friendly ...

Glaciers and Glaciation is the classic textbook for all students of glaciation. Stimulating and accessible, it has established a reputation as a comprehensive and essential resource.In this new edition, the text, references and illustrations have been thoroughly updated to give today's reader an up-to-the minute overview of the nature, origin and behaviour of glaciers and the geological and geomorphological evidence for their past history on earth.The first part of...

The invasion of land by ocean-dwelling plants and animals was one of the most revolutionary events in the evolution of life on Earth, yet the animal invasion almost failed—twice—because of the twin mass extinctions of the Late Devonian Epoch. Some 359 to 375 million years ago, these catastrophic events dealt our ancestors a blow that almost drove them back into the sea. If those extinctions had been just a bit more severe, spiders and insects—instead of vertebrates—might have become the ec...

Rifts and passive margins are extremely important for the petroleum industry, as they are areas of high sedimentation and can contain significant oil and gas resources. This book provides a comprehensive understanding of rifts and passive margins as a whole. It synthesises in one volume the existing information devoted to specific aspects of these vitally important hydrocarbon habitats. This collection of state-of-the-art information on the topic facilitates the better use of this knowledg...

The 2nd Edition of Carbonate Reservoirs aims to educate graduate students and industry professionals on the complexities of porosity evolution in carbonate reservoirs. In the intervening 12 years since the first edition, there have been numerous studies of value published that need to be recognized and incorporated in the topics discussed. A chapter on the impact of global tectonics and biological evolution on the carbonate system has been added to emphasize the effects of global earth pro...

Expert petroleum geologists David Roberts and Albert Bally bring you Regional Geology and Tectonics: Phanerozoic Rift Systems and Sedimentary Basins, volume two in a three-volume series covering Phanerozoic regional geology and tectonics. Experience in analyzing and assessing rifts—locations where the Earth’s outer shell and crust have been stretched over time by seismic activity—is critical for you as an exploration geologist in identifying Earth’s most lucrative...