Geology & Earth Science: Get Reading

Geological research does not flow steadily onwards by means of small incremental advances but can be better understood as a series of significant discoveries or changes in interpretation that transformed the way we understand the Earth. Each of these changes or new ideas encouraged a burst of activity as researchers attempted to apply them more widely in order to test their universality, and thereby their validity as a scientific theory.

This subset explores the land masses and seas of the world. It describes mountain ranges, the oceans, continental movement, and a wide variety of features that have influenced life on earth. Detailed explorations of the evolution of dinosaurs, fish, birds, plant life and humans, as they were influenced by the earth's surface, fill this set. Fantastic disruptions, from Mount St. Helens to the ice ages are woven into the story of how the earth influences everything.

This subset is a brilliant exploration of the fluids on the surface of the earth and the gases that surround us. The interaction among these is fantastically complex and intriguing. the work explores the evolution of these interactions during the earth's history, Theories regarding the future of the atmosphere and oceans and specific causes and effects that are at work.

An encyclopedic review of the material world in which we live and the uses to which those materials can be put. Everything from gold to hazardous waste is described and put in the context of humans’ life on earth. Water, soil, minerals, radioactive substances, oil and gas, and an array of substances present on earth and mined from it are described in depth. In every case, the science behind the use of the resource is examined in full.

A detailed look at the dynamics of the earth’s mass and how its chemistry produces change. Its scope is broad. For instance, the set goes beyond the basics of climate change to explore many underlying factors surrounding the issue, including geothermometry and geobarometry, glacial events, and mass extinction theories. The set also explores earthquakes, their engineering, hazards, predictability, and the role of fault and mantle dynamics.

Every rock is a tangible trace of the earth's past. This book tells the fascinating stories behind the discoveries that shook the foundations of geology. In twenty-five chapters--each about a particular rock, outcrop, or geologic phenomenon--Donald R. Prothero recounts the scientific detective work that shaped our understanding of geology.