Best of
Geology

1985

The Great Devonian Controversy: The Shaping of Scientific Knowledge among Gentlemanly Specialists


Martin J.S. Rudwick - 1985
    Oldroyd, Science"After a superficial first glance, most readers of good will and broad knowledge might dismiss [this book] as being too much about too little. They would be making one of the biggest mistakes in their intellectual lives. . . . [It] could become one of our century's key documents in understanding science and its history."—Stephen Jay Gould, New York Review of Books"Surely one of the most important studies in the history of science of recent years, and arguably the best work to date in the history of geology."—David R. Oldroyd, Science

Geology in the Field


Robert R. Compton - 1985
    A guide to advances in the increasingly broad and interpretive discipline of formation mapping theory. Thorough, yet compact enough for use in the field, it consists of brief descriptions of textures and structures useful in interpreting depositional environments, kinds of volcanic activity, and plutonic events and conditions. Included are procedures often reserved for the laboratory or office: staining rocks, correcting orientations of current indicators, constructing profile sections of folds, measuring strains, making photogeologic interpretations, and more. Covers pre-field considerations, methods of observation and measurement, recognition of key geologic features, and preparation of a report. Illustrated with composite drawings. Fourteen appendixes provide systemized data and procedures.

The Geology of Ore Deposits


John M. Guilbert - 1985
    Now available from Waveland Press, Guilbert & Park's text presents ideas, principles, and data fundamental for beginning economic geologists to understand the genesis and localization of ore deposits and of the minerals associated with them. The authors comprehensively describe the physical and chemical characteristics of ore deposits, and correlate them with environments and conditions of deposition since ore deposits are best interpreted as extensions of the environments responsible for their enclosing rocks. Examples and illustrations emphasize structural, chemical, and temporal controls and encourage the three-dimensional thinking used by productive explorationists as they face unsolved problems. This upper-level undergraduate text is fully illustrated and meticulously indexed. Its reliable, authoritative coverage assumes an upper-level command of chemistry and physics, as well as mineralogy, petrology, and structural geology. Outstanding features include: 1) develops and combines the abilities of the explorationist and of the researcher of ore-forming processes; 2) structures the geologic descriptions into groupings recognized by researches and explorers alike; 3) builds confidence, revitalizes curiosity, and encourages expanded thinking; 4) emphasizes that the days of "easy" discovery of outcropping ores are not over; and 5) includes revised, expanded, and updated descriptions of districts.

The Meaning of Fossils: Episodes in the History of Palaeontology


Martin J.S. Rudwick - 1985
    And this is exactly what Rudwick's book should do for many paleontologists' view of the history of their own field."—Stephen J. Gould, Paleobotany and Palynology"Rudwick has not merely written the first book-length history of palaeontology in the English language; he has written a very intelligent one. . . . His accounts of sources are rounded and organic: he treats the structure of arguments as Cuvier handled fossil bones."—Roy S. Porter, History of Science

From Stone to Star: A View of Modern Geology


Claude Allègre - 1985
    From the fossil collecting methods of 18th-century geologists to the development of high resolution mass spectronomy, this book provides an engaging introduction to the history, methods and theories of modern geology.

Principles of Sedimentary Basin Analysis


Andrew D. Miall - 1985
    The book is packed with informationincludes numerous lists of references, and is up-to-date. As a source volume, this book is second to none. It is clear and well organized." GEOPHYSICS