Geology: Earth, Planets, & Their History

A comprehensive glossary that covers earth sciences and geology.

This book is part of CEI Library's reference section and can only be used in the library.

The Encyclopedia of Applied Geology is an international compendium of engineering geology topics prepared by experts from many countries. The volume contains more than eighty main entries in alphabetical order, dealing with hydrology, rock structure monitoring and soil mechanics in addition to engineering geology. Special topics focus on earth science information and sources, electrokinetics, forensic geology, geocryology, nuclear plant siting, photogrammetry, tunnels and tunnelling, urban geomorphology and well data systems.

This book is part of CEI Library's reference section and can only be used in the library.

From the author of Turning to Stone, a mediation on the stories that rock can tell us about the deep history of our planet.

More than two hundred full-color, high-quality maps, diagrams, and reconstructions, along with an up-to-date text, trace the geology of the earth from the Big Bang to the evolution of humans.

The Mediterranean has been forged in a violent crucible of clashing continents, rising mountains, restless seas and a turbulent climate. Every year, millions of tourists are drawn to its beautiful scenery and relaxing beaches as well as the rich mix of culture, architecture and food. Yet none of it would be there were it not for geology. Geologist and television presenter Dr. Iain Stewart uncovers the hidden Mediterranean, bringing a fresh and dramatic eye to the physical history of the region and showing how geology shaped civilization.

In search of Earth's past, Fortey takes us through the Alps, into Icelandic hot springs, down to the ocean floor, over the barren rocks of Newfoundland, into the lush ecosystems of Hawai’i, across the salt flats of Oman, and along the San Andreas Fault. On the slopes of Vesuvius, he tracks the history of the region down through the centuries to volcanic eruptions seen by fifteenth-century Italians, the Romans, and, from striking geological evidence, even Neolithic man. As story adds to story, the recent past connects with forgotten ages long ago, then much longer ago, as he describes the movement of plates and the development of ancient continents and seas. Nothing in this book is at rest. The surface of the earth dilates and collapses; seas and mountains rise and fall; continents move.

In this book Bill Bryson explores the most intriguing and consequential questions that science seeks to answer and attempts to understand everything that has transpired from the Big Bang to the rise of civilization. To that end, Bill Bryson apprenticed himself to a host of the world's most profound scientific minds, living and dead. His challenge is to take subjects like geology, chemistry, paleontology, astronomy, and particle physics and see if there isn't some way to render them comprehensible to people, like himself, made bored (or scared) stiff of science by school. His interest is not simply to discover what we know but to find out how we know it. How do we know what is in the center of the earth, thousands of miles beneath the surface? How can we know the extent and the composition of the universe, or what a black hole is? How can we know where the continents were 600 million years ago? How did anyone ever figure these things out? On his travels through space and time, Bill Bryson encounters a splendid gallery of the most fascinating, eccentric, competitive, and foolish personalities ever to ask a hard question. In their company, he undertakes a sometimes profound, sometimes funny, and always supremely clear and entertaining adventure in the realms of human knowledge.

This text treats earth science from a systems perspective, showing how the four spheres (lithosphere, hydrosphere, atmosphere, biosphere) are interrelated. Significant emphasis is placed on cycling of materials and energy, and interactions among the spheres.

This text offers a user-friendly overview of our physical environment with balanced coverage of geology, oceanography, astronomy, and meteorology.

A comprehensive and balanced treatment of basic concepts in mineralogy and descriptive discussions of about 200 of the most common minerals.

This highly readable and entertaining book tells the story of the many brilliant, often eccentric scientists who fought against the establishment idea of an eternal and unchanging cosmos. From such early Greek cosmologists as Anaximander to recent satellite measurements taken deep in space, Big Bang is a narrative full of anecdotes and personal histories. With characteristic clarity, Simon Singh tells the centuries-long story of mankind's attempt to understand how the universe came to be, a story which itself begins some 14 billion years ago (give or take a billion years).

An engaging, popular account of the solar system from the first stirrings of astronomy through Voyager II, by the distinguished scientist and science writer Kippenhahn, director of the Max Planck Institute for Astrophysics in Munich. Translated from the German and accompanied by numerous illustrations.

This engrossing popular astronomy book is written specifically for those who have always been intrigued by or have been developing a growing interest in astronomy and space, but have had little time to explore the amazing world of exploding stars, distant galaxies, rovers on other planets, and more. The book consists of three sections: Questions and Answers, Quick Facts, and A Brief History of Lunar and Planetary Exploration. This generously illustrated volume also includes a color insert containing, among other pictures, beautiful images of Saturn from the Cassini spacecraft.

In this book Stephen Hawking takes us to the cutting edge of theoretical physics to explain in laymen's terms the principles that control our universe. Like many in the community of theoretical physicists, Professor Hawking is seeking to uncover the grail of science-the elusive Theory of Everything that lies at the heart of the cosmos. He guides us on his search to uncover the secrets of the universe-from supergravity to supersymmetry, from quantum theory to M-theory, from holography to duality. He takes us to the wild frontiers of science, where superstring theory and p-branes may hold the final clue to the puzzle. Copious four-color illustrations help clarify this journey into a surreal wonderland where particles, sheets, and strings move in eleven dimensions; where black holes evaporate and disappear, taking their secret with them; and where the original cosmic seed from which our own universe sprang was a tiny nut.