Though the process obeyed all the rules of chemistry and physics, the details of that original event pose as deep a mystery as any facing science. How did non-living chemicals become alive? While the question is (deceivingly) simple, the answers are unquestionably complex. Science inevitably plays a key role in any discussion of life's origins, dealing less with the question of why life appeared on Earth than with where, when, and how it emerged on the blasted, barren face of our primitive planet. Astrobiologist Robert Hazen has spent many years dealing with the fundamental questions of life's genesis. As an active research scientist, he is down deep in all the messy details that science has to offer on the subject, tracing the inexorable sequence of events that led to the complicated interactions of carbonbased molecules. As he takes us through the astounding process of emergence, we are witness to the first tentative steps toward life?from the unfathomable abundance of carbon biomolecules synthesized in the black vacuum of space to the surface of the Earth to deep within our planet's restless crust. We are privy to the breathtaking drama that rapidly unfolds as life prevails. The theory of emergence is poised to answer a multitude of questions?even as it raises the possibility that natural processes exist beyond what we now know, perhaps beyond what we even comprehend. Genesis tells the tale of transforming scientific advances in our quest for life's origins. Written with grace, beauty, and authority, it goes directly to the heart of who we are and why we are here.

    Featuring over 450 specially commissioned photographs and information-rich text, this book illustrates each stone's unique characteristics and explains its relationship to humankind through the ages.

    Also included is a focussed look at other precious materials often prized for their beauty, such as amber, coral, ivory, and fossils.Learn how to identify more than 450 rock and mineral specimens through stunning photographs and detailed characteristics. Discover more about rocks and minerals through folklore and historical artifacts, and find out the fascinating stories behind the world's natural treasures, including the Hope diamond and the Great Mogul emerald. Practical advice on cutting, polishing, and displaying your finds further equips you with all the knowledge needed to delve into the world of rock and mineral collecting.Rock and Gem were produced in association with the Smithsonian Institution in Washington DC, the world's largest museum complex, ensuring the guide's accuracy.

    Bursting the Limits of Time is a herculean effort by one of the world's foremost experts on the history of geology and paleontology to illuminate this scientific breakthrough that radically altered existing perceptions of a human's place in the universe as much as the theories of Copernicus and Darwin did.Rudwick examines here the ideas and practices of earth scientists throughout the Western world to show how the story of what we now call "deep time" was pieced together. He explores who was responsible for the discovery of the earth's history, refutes the concept of a rift between science and religion in dating the earth, and details how the study of the history of the earth helped define a new branch of science called geology.Bursting the Limits of Time is the first detailed account of this monumental phase in the history of science.“Bursting the Limits of Time is a massive work and is quite simply a masterpiece of science history. . . . The book should be obligatory for every geology and history of science library, and is a highly recommended companion for every civilized geologist who can carry an extra 2.4 kg in his rucksack.”—Stephen Moorbath, Nature

    Robert Eves, professor of geology at Southern Utah University, tells the story of the formation of Zion Canyon in 132 pages, and contains more than 120 of the most inspiring photos of Zion National Park ever published. This is one of Zion Natural History Association's most popular publications.

    Samurai, merchants, and villagers wrote of minor flooding and damage. Some noted having felt no earthquake; they wondered what had set off the waves but had no way of knowing that the tsunami was spawned during an earthquake along the coast of northwestern North America. This orphan tsunami would not be linked to its parent earthquake until the mid-twentieth century, through an extraordinary series of discoveries in both North America and Japan.The Orphan Tsunami of 1700, now in its second edition, tells this scientific detective story through its North American and Japanese clues. The story underpins many of today's precautions against earthquake and tsunami hazards in the Cascadia region of northwestern North America. The Japanese tsunami of March 2011 called attention to these hazards as a mirror image of the transpacific waves of January 1700.Hear Brian Atwater on NPR with Renee Montagne http: //www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php...Replaced by ISBN 9780295998084

    A look at how the geology, environment, and landscape of what is now Denver has changed over the millennia.

    You may find it for free on the web. Purchase of the Kindle edition includes wireless delivery.

    A richly detailed history traces the evolution of one of the premier mining and smelting corporations in the United States, from the discovery of the mine in 1885 to the company's closure in 1981, where it is now one of the EPA's largest Superfund sites.

    Following an introduction that discusses eruption styles of different types of volcanoes and how to prepare for an exploratory trip that avoids volcanic dangers, the book presents guidelines to visiting 42 different volcanoes around the world. It is filled with practical information that includes tour itineraries, maps, transportation details, and warnings of possible non-volcanic dangers. Three appendices direct the reader to a wealth of further volcano resources in a volume that will fascinate amateur enthusiasts and professional volcanologists alike. Rosaly Lopes is a planetary geology and volcanology specialist at the NASA Jet Propulsion Laboratory in California. In addition to her curatorial and research work, she has lectured extensively in England and Brazil and written numerous popular science articles. She received a Latinas in Science Award from the Comision Feminil Mexicana Nacional in 1991 and since 1992, has been a co-organizer of the United Nations/European Space Agency/The Planetary Society yearly conferences on Basic Science for the Benefit of Developing Countries. Rosaly Lopes comments on the volcanic eruption beneath Iceland's Eyjafjallajokull glacier - click here.

    Understanding the processes (physical, chemical and biological) that lead to formation of sedimentary material is key in disciplines ranging from geology to environmental science to archaeology. But before interpretation must come observation and identification: Stow's Field Guide is a must-have for this distinctly visual processProfessor Stow has culled his extensive research experience into a succinct guide designed for students and professionals in geophysics, geochemistry, paleontology, soil sciences, environmental sciences and more. Sections on field techniques and reader-friendly descriptions also make this guide accessible to amateur geologists.

    . . . I a geologist have illdefined notion of land covered with ocean, former animals, slow force cracking surface &c truly poetical."--from Charles Darwin's Notebook M, 1838The early nineteenth century was a golden age for the study of geology. New discoveries in the field were greeted with the same enthusiasm reserved today for advances in the biomedical sciences. In her long-awaited account of Charles Darwin's intellectual development, Sandra Herbert focuses on his geological training, research, and thought, asking both how geology influenced Darwin and how Darwin influenced the science. Elegantly written, extensively illustrated, and informed by the author's prodigious research in Darwin's papers and in the nineteenth-century history of earth sciences, Charles Darwin, Geologist provides a fresh perspective on the life and accomplishments of this exemplary thinker.As Herbert reveals, Darwin's great ambition as a young scientist--one he only partially realized--was to create a "simple" geology based on movements of the earth's crust. (Only one part of his scheme has survived in close to the form in which he imagined it: a theory explaining the structure and distribution of coral reefs.) Darwin collected geological specimens and took extensive notes on geology during all of his travels. His grand adventure as a geologist took place during the circumnavigation of the earth by H.M.S. Beagle (1831-1836)--the same voyage that informed his magnum opus, On the Origin of Species.Upon his return to England it was his geological findings that first excited scientific and public opinion. Geologists, including Darwin's former teachers, proved a receptive audience, the British government sponsored publication of his research, and the general public welcomed his discoveries about the earth's crust. Because of ill health, Darwin's years as a geological traveler ended much too soon: his last major geological fieldwork took place in Wales when he was only thirty-three. However, the experience had been transformative: the methods and hypotheses of Victorian-era geology, Herbert suggests, profoundly shaped Darwin's mind and his scientific methods as he worked toward a full-blown understanding of evolution and natural selection.

    It explains geological concepts in relevant and familiar terms. Lively illustrations reveal a vast, hidden world via cross-sections and cutaways with explanatory captions.The book explores the internal engine of our planet -- the liquid iron core unique among terrestrial planets, which is the catalyst for the creation and destruction of land, mountain, and oceans.Rocks and Fossils is organized in six main sections:The Dynamic Earth the ever-changing nature of the worldAncient Worlds life from the Precambrian era to the age of humansKey Features how rocks and fossils formRocks and Fossils in the Landscape where to find fossilsMinerals How they form and why some are preciousFossils signs of life from single-cell organisms to dinosaurs. Rocks and Fossils explains the fossil record to show how prehistoric lifeforms are linked to plants and animals still on Earth. Why did some species survive and others perish? What does the future hold?

    Starting with the Precambrian rocks which hold clues to the origins of life and the development of an oxygenated atmosphere, it then covers the warms seas, volcanism and multiple orogenies of the Palaeozoic, which built the eastern third of the Australian continent. This illuminating history then details the breakup of Gondwana and the development of the continental shelves and coastlines. Separate chapters cover the origin of the Great Barrier Reef, the basalts in Eastern Australia and the geology of the Solar System. From Uluru to the Great Dividing Range, from sapphires to the stars, The Geology of Australia is a comprehensive exploration of the timeless forces that have shaped this continent and that continue to do so.

    In Mapping and Imagination in the Great Basin, geographer-historian Richard Francaviglia shows how the Great Basin's gradual emergence from its large cartographic silence both paralleled the development of the sciences of surveying, geology, hydrology, and cartography, and reflected the changing geopolitical aspirations of the European colonial powers and the United States. Francaviglia's compelling, wide-ranging discussion combines an explanation of the physical realities of the Great Basin with a cogent examination of the ways humans, from early Native Americans to nineteenth-century surveyors to twentieth-century highway and air travelers, have understood, defined, and organized this space, psychologically and through the medium of maps. and nations - Spain, Mexico, France, England and the Americas - and shows how their maps of the Great Basin reflected attitudes and beliefs about what lay in the interior American West. These maps run the gamut, from the manuscript maps of early explorers to printed maps used to promote rail and air travel across the Great Basin, as well as satellite and computer-derived maps of the very recent past. This rich interdisciplinary account of the mapping of the Great Basin combines a chronicle of the exploration of the region with a history of the art and science of cartography and of the political, economic, and social contexts in which maps are created. The result is an impressive contribution to the canon of American Western history and of the evolution and multifarious functions of maps, ancient and modern. Mapping and Imagination in the Great Basin will be irresistible to historians, geographers, lovers of maps, and anyone who thrills to the exploits of early Western explorers.

    This book takes you through those 3 billion years, shows you the rocks, visits the places, introduces some of the famous researchers and presents the geological theories that have been inspired by the Highlands

    The region is home to many important and interesting minerals, as well as a wide array of beautiful gemstones - diamonds from South Africa, emeralds from Zimbabwe and tourmalines from Namibia. "Field Guide to Rocks and Minerals of Southern Africa" is the first definitive field guide to document the common, rare and unusual rocks and minerals of South Africa, Namibia, Botswana, Zimbabwe, Lesotho, Swaziland and southern Mozambique. Supported by more than 500 full-color photographs, the text describes in detail a wide range of the region s common and attractive rocks and minerals. Authoritative information is presented in a user-friendly manner and is enlivened by box and panel features. It will appeal to mineral collectors, geologists, gemologists, students, and anyone with an interest in the natural environment."

    These rocks and their fossils tell stories of swamps and oceans, great slowmoving rivers and wind-blown sand dunes, tidal flats and tropical seas—all of which come to life as we unlock the secrets preserved in stone.