Best of
Geology

2004

Frozen Earth: The Once and Future Story of Ice Ages


Doug Macdougall - 2004
    Following the development of scientific ideas about these dramatic events, Macdougall traces the lives of many of the brilliant and intriguing characters who have contributed to the evolving understanding of how ice ages come about. As it explains how the great Pleistocene Ice Age has shaped the earth's landscape and influenced the course of human evolution, Frozen Earth also provides a fascinating look at how science is done, how the excitement of discovery drives scientists to explore and investigate, and how timing and chance play a part in the acceptance of new scientific ideas. Macdougall describes the awesome power of cataclysmic floods that marked the melting of the glaciers of the Pleistocene Ice Age. He probes the chilling evidence for "Snowball Earth," an episode far back in the earth's past that may have seen our planet encased in ice from pole to pole. He discusses the accumulating evidence from deep-sea sediment cores, as well as ice cores from Greenland and the Antarctic, that suggests fast-changing ice age climates may have directly impacted the evolution of our species and the course of human migration and civilization. Frozen Earth also chronicles how the concept of the ice age has gripped the imagination of scientists for almost two centuries. It offers an absorbing consideration of how current studies of Pleistocene climate may help us understand earth's future climate changes, including the question of when the next glacial interval will occur.

Bones Rock!: Everything You Need to Know to Be a Paleontologist


Peter Larson - 2004
    Examples from the fossil record and the laboratory help to answer questions raised by bones and by movies about dinosaurs, such as Could a Velociraptor really open a door? Covering actual field and lab techniques, methods for developing scientific theories, information about summer dig programs, ways to incorporate fossils into classwork at school, and plans for a future in science, this book provides aspiring scientists with applicable and educational research tools. From figuring out whether a sample is an authentic dinosaur specimen to reading about discoveries made by other young paleontologists, kids learn how to become active contributors to the field of dino-study. Entertaining and realistic, this book includes cautions about safety, mentorship, and permission.

Within the Stone: Nature's Abstract Rock Art


Bill Atkinson - 2004
    For "Within the Stone," Atkinson picks 72 rock images for their evocative painterly qualities. Seven eminent poets and science writers, including Diane Ackerman and John Horgan, take turns responding to each image as a dream, landscape, seduction, or excogitative stimulus. In an appendix, three mineralogists describe each specimen's provenience, geological setting, and mineral composition. "A beautiful work of art." "Gems & Gemology." "Abstract masterpieces." "Popular Photography." "Revelations of the inner beauty of rocks." "PC Photo" "High tech meets timeless beauty." "Lapidary Journal." "Apple's soft ware star turns his code into art." "Macworld" Winner of 2004 Gold Ink Award, American Photo Best Photo Book of 2004

Hiking the Grand Canyon's Geology


Terri Cook - 2004
    You'll see this story up close on the trail with the help of Hiking the Grand Canyon's Geology. In eighteen excursions, there's something for everyone-from the most popular rim-to-river trails (Havasu Canyon Trail) to gentle, half-day rim walks (Red Butte Trail) to rugged and remote multi-day backpack trips (Lava Falls Route). Geologists Lon Abbott and Teri Cook both teach at Prescott College in Prescott, Arizona, where they lead hiking trips to study geology in the field.

The Mystic Symbol: Mark of the Michigan Mound Builders


Henriette Mertz - 2004
    The Michigan Mound Builders left behind 10,000 to 30,000 artifacts as a testament to their presence in North America. Mound burials have yielded evidence of a culture with Eastern Hemisphere influence in their spiritual and everyday life. Controversy has engulfed this find of artifacts mainly because they were here before Columbus of 1492 which is unacceptable to our academics today. Nevertheless, the Michigan artifacts continue to surface even today in the state of Michigan. This is fascinating look into North America's diverse history.

The Trout Pool Paradox: The American Lives of Three Rivers


George Black - 2004
    Nowhere has this been more true than in an area not far from New York City where three Connecticut rivers, the Housatonic, the Shepaug, and the Naugatuck, have hosted an emblematic procession of industry, from the first woolen mills and iron foundries to the brass and rubber factories and hydroelectric plants of the twentieth century. Despite three hundred years of development, stretches of these rivers still thrive, offering great trout fishing and a postcard-perfect New England landscape. The Trout Pool Paradox unravels a conundrum: why does the Naugatuck River teeter on the edge of extinction, while in a parallel valley just a few miles away, the Shepaug appears to flow in a pristine state? Probing this puzzle takes George Black deep into the complex ecology of rivers and into the heart of the human communities on their banks. Presenting intimately detailed stories of early industrialists, nineteenth-century naturalists, and contemporary river stewards and their adversaries, The Trout Pool Paradox throws brilliant light on our dynamic relationship with nature and on the conflicting demands we will make on our waterways in a postindustrial age.

Microfacies of Carbonate Rocks: Analysis, Interpretation and Application [With CDROM]


Erik Flügel - 2004
    The first part of the book (Microfacies Analysis) deals with field and laboratory methods; the description and significance of microfacies data; quantitative microfacies analysis; diagenetic processes and diagenetic products; common textural limestone classifications and specific classifications for reef limestones, non-marine carbonates, recrystallized limestones and mixed carbonate-siliciclastic rocks; biological controls of carbonate sedimentation; and fossils in thin section. The second part (Microfacies Interpretation) is focused on the methods of making of microfacies types; diagonsotic criteria of palaeoenvironmental conditons and processes; the importance of integrated facies analysis including mineralogical and geochemical data; the definition of depositional facies models, facies zones and standard microfacies types, and the recognition of depositional constraints influencing cyclic carbonates, reef limestones, cold-water carbonates, vent and seep carbonates and mixed carbonate-siliciclastic rocks. The last chapter deals with secular variations of facies features. The third part of the book (Practical Use of Microfacies) underlines the facies controls of reservoir and host rocks, the importance of microfacies and diagenesis for understanding technological properties of carbonate rocks and the destruction and conservation of carbonate objects, and discusses the potential of microfacies for archaeometrical studies. Nearly 230 instructive plates (30 in color)showing thin-section photographs with detailed explanations form a central part of the content.

Geology of the American Southwest: A Journey Through Two Billion Years of Plate-Tectonic History


W. Scott Baldridge - 2004
    Two billion years of Earth history are represented in the rocks and landscape of the Southwest U.S., creating natural wonders such as the Grand Canyon, Monument Valley, and Death Valley. This region is considered a geologist's dream, attracting a large number of undergraduate field classes and amateur geologists. The volume will prove invaluable to students and will also appeal to anyone interested in the geology and landscape of the region's National Parks.

Minerals: Their Constitution and Origin


Hans-Rudolf Wenk - 2004
    Covering all aspects of mineralogy in an integrated way, it links mineral properties with broader geological processes, and conveys their economic importance throughout the text. Handy reference tables and a glossary of terms make this study an indispensable guide for the next generation of mineralogy students.

The Sea Chart: The Illustrated History Of Nautical Maps And Navigational Charts


John Blake - 2004
    Key figures or milestones in the history of charting are presented in stand-alone story box features.

Pages of Stone: Geology of the Grand Canyon & Plateau Country National Parks & Monuments


Halka Chronic - 2004
    New sidebars provide closer looks at specific details such as the large numbers of dinosaur footprints in and around Arches National Park and geology's profound effect on ancient Pueblo peoples and how they lived.Geologist Halka Chronic is the author of several books on geology. Geologist Lucy Chronic has served as a park interpreter at Bandelier National Monument in Los Alamos, New Mexico. Grand Staircase, Escalante, Vermilion Cliffs, Canyons of the Ancients, Dinosaur, Hovenweep National Monuments, Zion, Bryce Canyon, Grand Staircase of the Vermilion Cliffs, Pink Cliffs in southern Utah, volcanic lavas of Sunset Crater, geologists, dinosaur footprints in and around Arches National Park

Volcanic Worlds: Exploring the Solar System's Volcanoes


Rosaly M.C. Lopes - 2004
    Successive chapters describe past and present volcanic activity as it is observed throughout the Solar System. These chapters relate to readers not only our present knowledge of volcanism throughout the Solar System but also how frontline scientists working in this field conduct their research.

Earth as an Evolving Planetary System


Kent C. Condie - 2004
    This revised volume synthesizes data from the fields of geophysics, oceanography, planetology, and geochemistry.It features new chapters on the Earth's core, biotic systems, and the supercontinent cycle and mantle plume events. It contains expanded treatment of the evolution of the Earth's crust and mantle, carbon cycle, oxygenation of the atmosphere, and the significance of sulfur isotope fractionation. It also includes new information on mass extinctions and catastrophic events over the last four billion years that have transformed the atmosphere, oceans, and life on Earth. By integrating results from many different disciplines, this important text gives students a broader perspective of the Earth Sciences and shows how specialized data contribute to Earth and planetary history.This text is designed for advanced undergraduate and graduate students in Earth, Atmospheric, and Planetary Sciences; and scientists in other disciplines who want to look at the Earth with a broader perspective.

The Complete Guide to Petoskey Stones


Bruce Mueller - 2004
    This book dispels myths about the Petoskey and reveals the true facts of this ancient fossilized coral. Instructive pictures and maps keep Petoskey fans on track every step of the way while guiding them to the best places to find the stone, including those favored by local Petoskey stone hunters and collectors. Once you've found a piece of the prized Michigan fossil, The Complete Guide to Petoskey Stones leads you through the many methods of polishing that bring this beautiful stone to life.

Going Native


Michael Archer - 2004
    We must totally reinvent the way we think about, and make our living from, the land and its natural resources. Archer (University of NSW) and Beale examine changing our ideas of farming, urbanisation and conservation.

Victorians and the Prehistoric: Tracks to a Lost World


Michael Freeman - 2004
    This engaging and generously illustrated book explores the Victorian fascination with all things prehistoric.Michael Freeman shows how men and women were both energized and unsettled by the realization that the formation of the earth over hundreds of millions of years and Darwin’s theories about the origins of life contradicted what they had read in the Bible. He describes the rock and fossil collecting craze that emerged, the sources of inspiration and imagery discovered by writers and artists, and the new importance of geologists and paleontologists. He also discusses the cathedral-like museums that sprang up in cities and towns, shrines to all that was progressive in the age but still clothed in the trappings of traditional ideas.

Worlds on Fire: Volcanoes on the Earth, the Moon, Mars, Venus and IO


Charles Frankel - 2004
    Charles Frankel provides a detailed tour that describes such volcanic landmarks as the Moon's Aristarchus plateau, Mars' tallest volcano Olympus Mons, the double-cratered Sapas Mons on Venus, and the churning lava lake of Io's Pele caldera. Illustrated with the most recent imagery from spacecraft, his volume introduces the reader to the wonders and excitement of space exploration. Charles Frankel has written on various topics in the earth sciences, including the following two of his many books: Volcanoes of the Solar System (Cambridge, 1996) and The End of Dinosaurs (Cambridge, 1999).