The solid earth : an introduction to global geophysics / C.M.R. Fowler.

Format:

Book

Author/Creator:

Fowler, C. M. R.

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

Geophysics.

Earth (Planet).

Physical Description:

xviii, 685 pages : illustrations (some color) ; 25 cm

Edition:

Second edition.

Place of Publication:

Cambridge, UK ; New York : Cambridge University Press, 2005.

Summary:

Geophysics is a broad subject that encompasses not only the physics of the Earth but also that of the atmosphere and oceans. The heart of geophysics, however, is the theory of the solid Earth. This acclaimed textbook provides a general introduction to the study of modern physics of the solid Earth, including the workings of both the Earth's surface and its deep interior.

The book begins with a brief historical introduction to developments in geophysics. The next chapter discusses the important theory of plate tectonics and is followed logically by a chapter on geomagnetism and palaeomagnetism. Subsequent chapters deal with the subjects of seismology, gravity, radioactivity and the age of the Earth, and heat flow in the Earth. The book concludes with chapters on the mantle and core, and on the oceanic and continental lithospheres.

The emphasis throughout the discussion is on basic physical principles rather than instrumentation or data handling. Many helpful worked examples are given in the text and, in addition, there are exercises of various degrees of complexity at the end of each chapter. Solutions to many of the exercises are available to tutors by emailing solutions@cambridge.org. The book also contains an extensive glossary of geological and physical terms, as well as appendices that develop the more advanced mathematical aspects of seismology.

The Solid Earth is a textbook for undergraduate students enrolled in introductory geophysics courses who have a general background in the physical sciences, including introductory calculus. It can also be used as a reference book for graduate students and other researchers in the geological and geophysical sciences. This second edition has been revised to bring the content fully up to date and to reflect the most recent advances in geophysical research.

Contents:

2 Tectonics on a sphere: the geometry of plate tectonics 5

2.1 Plate tectonics 5

2.2 A flat Earth 11

2.3 Rotation vectors and rotation poles 14

2.4 Present-day plate motions 15

2.5 Plate boundaries can change with time 24

2.6 Triple junctions 26

2.7 Absolute plate motions 32

3 Past plate motions 43

3.1 The role of the Earth's magnetic field 43

3.2 Dating the oceanic plates 54

3.3 Reconstruction of past plate motions 67

4 Seismology Measuring the interior 100

4.1 Waves through the Earth 100

4.2 Earthquake seismology 111

4.3 Refraction seismology 140

4.4 Reflection seismology 157

5 Gravity 193

5.2 Gravitational potential and acceleration 193

5.3 Gravity of the Earth 196

5.4 The shape of the Earth 198

5.5 Gravity anomalies 202

5.6 Observed gravity and geoid anomalies 213

5.7 Flexure of the lithosphere and the viscosity of the mantle 218

6 Geochronology 233

6.2 General theory 234

6.3 Rubidium-strontium 244

6.4 Uranium-lead 247

6.5 Thorium-lead 249

6.6 Potassium-argon 251

6.7 Argon-argon 252

6.8 Samarium-neodymium 254

6.9 Fission-track dating 258

6.10 The age of the Earth 262

7 Heat 269

7.2 Conductive heat flow 270

7.3 Calculation of simple geotherms 275

7.4 Worldwide heat flow: total heat loss from the Earth 285

7.5 Oceanic heat flow 288

7.6 Continental heat flow 298

7.7 The adiabat and melting in the mantle 303

7.8 Metamorphism: geotherms in the continental crust 308

8 The deep interior of the Earth 326

8.1 The internal structure of the Earth 326

8.2 Convection in the mantle 353

8.3 The core 371

9 The oceanic lithosphere: ridges, transforms, trenches and oceanic islands 391

9.2 The oceanic lithosphere 397

9.3 The deep structure of mid-ocean ridges 409

9.4 The shallow structure of mid-ocean ridges 417

9.5 Transform faults 440

9.6 Subduction zones 458

9.7 Oceanic islands 487

10 The continental lithosphere 509

10.2 The growth of continents 517

10.3 Sedimentary basins and continental margins 557

10.4 Continental rift zones 584

10.5 The Archaean 595

Appendix 1 Scalars, vectors and differential operators 615

Appendix 2 Theory of elasticity and elastic waves 620

Appendix 3 Geometry of ray paths and inversion of earthquake body-wave time-distance curves 630

Appendix 4 The least-squares method 636

Appendix 5 The error function 638

Appendix 6 Units and symbols 640

Appendix 7 Numerical data 648

Appendix 8 The IASP91 Earth model 650

Appendix 9 The Preliminary Reference Earth Model, isotropic version - PREM 651

Appendix 10 The Modified Mercalli Intensity Scale (abridged version) 654.

Notes:

Includes bibliographical references and index.

ISBN:

0521584094

0521893070

OCLC:

53325178

Online:

Publisher description