Solid-earth sciences and society : a critical assessment / Committee on Status and Research Objectives in the Solid-Earth Sciences, Board on Earth Sciences and Resources, Commission on Geosciences, Environment, and Resources, National Research Council.

Format:

Book

Government document

Author/Creator:

National Research Council (U.S.). Committee on Status and Research Objectives in the Solid-Earth Sciences.

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

Earth sciences--United States.

Earth sciences.

Physical Description:

1 online resource (368 pages) : illustrations

Edition:

1st ed.

Place of Publication:

Washington, D.C. : National Academy of Sciences, 1993.

Language Note:

English

Summary:

As environmental problems move upward on the public agenda, our knowledge of the earth's systems and how to sustain the habitability of our world becomes more critical. This volume reports on the state of earth science and outlines a research agenda, with priorities keyed to the real-world challenges facing human society. The product of four years of development with input from more than 200 earth-science specialists, the volume offers a wealth of historical background and current information on Plate tectonics, volcanism, and other heat-generated earth processes. Evolution of our global environment and of life itself, as revealed in the fossil record. Human exploitation of water, fossil fuels, and minerals. Interaction between human populations and the earth's surface, discussing the role we play in earth's systems and the dangers we face from natural hazards such as earthquakes and landslides. This volume offers a comprehensive look at how earth science is currently practiced and what should be done to train professionals and adequately equip them to find the answers necessary to manage more effectively the earth's systems. This well-organized and practical book will be of immediate interest to solid-earth scientists, researchers, and college and high school faculty, as well as policymakers in the environmental arena.

Contents:

SOLID-EARTH SCIENCES AND SOCIETY

Copyright

NATIONAL RESEARCH COUNCIL

Prologue

SOCIETAL CHALLENGES FOR EARTH SCIENCES

RESEARCH FRAMEWORK

Objectives

Research Areas

EARTH SYSTEM SCIENCE

Contents

Preface

COMMITTEE PROCESS

STRUCTURE OF THE REPORT

Executive Summary

PRESENT STATE OF THE SOLID-EARTH SCIENCES

PRIORITIES

Priority Themes: Objectives and Research Areas

Selection of High-Priority Research Opportunities

PLANNING FOR THE FUTURE

Personnel Requirements

Education Requirements

Facilities and Equipment

Data Gathering and Handling

Funding for Priority Themes

Global Collaboration

RECOMMENDATIONS

Education Recommendations

Research Recommendations

Priority Theme A-I

Priority Theme A-II

Priority Theme A-III

Priority Theme A-IV

Priority Theme A-V

Priority Theme B

Priority Theme C

Priority Theme D

General Recommendations

1 Global Overview

ESSAY ON THE EARTH SCIENCES

Living on Earth

Understanding the Earth

Predicting the Earth's Future

THE EARTH AND ITS COMPONENTS

UNIFYING FORCES IN THE GEOLOGICAL SCIENCES

Plate Tectonics

Images of the Earth

Variations in the Earth's Orbit

Humankind as a Geological Agent

GOALS OF THE EARTH SCIENCES: RESEARCH FRAMEWORK

Goal, Objectives, and Research Themes

Research Framework

Priority Theme Selection

PRIORITY THEMES: RESEARCH AREAS

Priority Theme A-I: Global Paleoenvironments and Biological Evolution

Priority Theme A-II: Global Geochemical and Biogeochemical Cycles

Priority Theme A-III: Fluids in and on the Earth

Priority Theme A-IV: Crustal Dynamics: Ocean and Continents

Priority Theme A-V: Core and Mantle Dynamics

PRIORITY THEMES: OBJECTIVES

Priority Theme B: Sustaining Resource Supplies

Priority Theme C: Preventing Damage from Geological Hazards.

Priority Theme D: Assessing, Mitigating, and Remediating Effects of Environmental and Global Change

RESEARCH SUPPORT

Federal Funding

Industry Support of University Research

INSTRUMENTATION, COMPUTATIONAL CAPABILITY, AND DATA MANAGEMENT

Facilities and Instruments

Data Handling

EDUCATION AND EMPLOYMENT

INTERNATIONAL SCOPE

ORGANIZATION OF THE REPORT

2 Understanding Our Active Planet

ESSAY: THE DYNAMIC EARTH

ORIGIN OF THE EARTH

Comparative Planetology

Early Earth Evolution and Great Impacts

STRUCTURE AND DYNAMICS OF THE SOLID EARTH

Seismic Determinations of Earth Structure

Mantle Convection

Core Dynamics and Geomagnetism

Core-Mantle Boundary

EARTHQUAKES: CONSEQUENCES OF A DYNAMIC MANTLE

Geographic Distribution

Understanding Earthquakes

Earth Deformation

VOLCANIC ACTIVITY: CONSEQUENCE OF CONVECTING MANTLE

Geographic Distribution, Style, and Scale of Eruptions

Flow and Storage of Magma

Volcanic Eruptions

OCEAN BASIN PROCESSES

Ocean Spreading Centers

Intraplate Volcanism: Hot Spots and Oceanic Plateaus

Plate Kinematics

Ocean Convergent Plate Boundaries: Island Arcs

CONTINENTAL STRUCTURE AND EVOLUTION

Seismic Imaging of the Crust

Mountain Building: Metamorphism and Deformation of Continents

Extensional Deformation of Continental Lithosphere

Evolution of the Continents

Sedimentary Basins

Continental Collision

Growth of the Continents Through Time

GEOCHEMICAL CYCLES

INTERACTION BETWEEN THE SOLID EARTH AND ITS FLUID ENVELOPES

RESEARCH OPPORTUNITIES

Research Area II: Global Geochemical and Biogeochemical Cycles

Evolution of the Crust and Its Relationship to the Mantle

Fluxes Along the Global Rift System

Fluxes at Convergent Plate Margins

Mathematical Modeling in Geochemistry.

Research Area III: Fluids in and on the Earth

Mineral-Water Interface Geochemistry

Role of Pore Fluids in Active Tectonic Processes

Magma Generation and Migration

Research Area IV: Dynamics of the Crust and Lithosphere

Oceanic Lithosphere Generation and Accretion

Architecture and History of Continental Rift Valleys

Sedimentary Basins and Continental Margins

Continental-Scale Modeling

Recrystallization and Metasomatism of the Lithospheric Mantle and Lower Crustal Metamorphism

Thermal Structure, Physical Nature, and Thickness of the Continental Crust

The Lithosphere at Convergent Plate Boundaries

Tectonic and Metamorphic History of Mountain Ranges

Quantitative Understanding of Earthquake Rupture

Rates of Recent Geological Processes

Real-Time Plate Movements and Near-Surface Deformations

Geological Predictions

Modern Geological Maps

Research Area V: Dynamics of the Core and Mantle

Origin of the Magnetic Field

Imaging the Earth's Interior

Experimental Determinations of Phase Equilibria and the Physical Properties of Earth Materials at High Pressure and Temperatu

Chemical Geodynamics

Geodynamic Modeling

FACILITIES, EQUIPMENT, AND DATA BASES

BIBLIOGRAPHY

NATIONAL RESEARCH COUNCIL REPORTS

OTHER REPORTS

3 The Global Environment and Its Evolution

ESSAY

THE GLOBAL ENVIRONMENTS: A GEOLOGICAL PERSPECTIVE

The Changing Land Surface

Landforms

Weathering and Soil Formation

Rivers and Material in Transit from Mountains to Sedimentary Basins

Winds and Glaciers: More Material in Transit

Lakes: Interruptions in Transit

Deltas and Estuaries

Beneath the Sea

Deposition at Atlantic-Type Margins

Deposition at Convergent Plate Boundaries

Deposition in the Deep Ocean

CHANGE IN THE GLOBAL ENVIRONMENT.

Cyclical Change in the Global Environment

The Rock Cycle

Orbital Cycles

Cycles of Sea-Level Change

Cycles of Opening and Closing of Oceans

Geochemical Cycles

Paleoceanography: Cycles in the History of Oceanic Waters

Paleoclimatology: Cycles in Past Climates

Secular Change in the Global System

The Precambrian Record

Record of Change Between 600 Million and 150 Million Years Ago

Record of Change from 150 Million Years Ago to the Current Ice Age

Recognizing Environments from the Geological Record

Paleogeography

History of Life

Speciation and Extinction

Intrinsic Biological Traits

Biotic Interactions

Changes in the Physico-Chemical Environment

Adaptive Radiation

Pulses of Extinction

Macroevolutionary Trends

Origins of Major Biological Categories

Phylogenetic Reconstruction

Catastrophes in Earth History

MODELING THE EARTH SYSTEM

An Incomplete Record

Intellectual Frontiers

Dating Past Events

Atmospheric and Oceanic Chemistry

Dynamics of the Global Environment

Life Through Time

The Most Recent Past

Research Area I. Paleoenvironment and Biological Evolution

Soil Development, History, and Contamination

Glacier Ice and Its Inclusions

Quaternary Record

Recent Global Changes

Paleogeography and Paleoclimatology

Paleoceanography

Forcing Factors in Environmental Change

Discovery and Curation of Fossils

Abrupt and Catastrophic Changes

Organic Geochemistry

Research Area II. Global Geochemical and Biogeochemical Cycles

Geochemical Cycles: Atmospheres and Oceans

Research Area III. Fluids in and on the Earth

Analysis of Drainage Basins

Research Area IV. Crustal Dynamics: Ocean and Continent

Landform Response to Change.

Quantification of Thresholds, Response Rates, and Feedback Mechanisms for Landforms

Mathematical and Computer Modeling of Landform Changes

Sequence Stratigraphy

Facilities, Equipment, and Data Bases

Data Bases in Well-Managed Computer-Based Information Systems

New Tools and Techniques

New Dating Techniques

4 Resources of the Solid Earth

ESSAY: NATURAL EXPLOITATION

ROCK-FLUID INTERACTIONS

WATER RESOURCES

Water Quality

Water Supply and Use

Influencing the Water Cycle

MINERAL RESOURCES

Understanding Mineral Deposits

Crustal Processes and Ore Deposits

Genetic Studies of Ore Deposits

Models in the Study of Mineral Deposits

Mineral Exploration and Exploitation

ENERGY RESOURCES

Petroleum Resources

Origin of Petroleum Within Sedimentary Basins

Migration of Petroleum Within Sedimentary Basins

Traps: Where Oil and Gas Stop

Oil Shales and Tar Sands

Exploration for Oil and Gas: The Integrated Approach

More Oil from Producing Fields

Coal: An Abundant Fuel Resource

Origin and Development of Coal

Exploration for Coal

Limitations of Coal

Sources of Energy from the Internal Engine

Nuclear Energy

Geothermal Energy

RESOURCE DEPENDENCY

Sedimentary Basin Analysis

Organic Geochemistry and the Origin of Petroleum

Kinetics of Water-Rock Interaction

Water Resources

Surface and Soil Isotopic Ages

Water Quality and Groundwater Contamination

Modeling Water Flow

Mineral Resources

Source-Transport-Accumulation Models for Mineral Resources

Prediction of Mineral Resource Occurrences

Numerical Modeling of the Depositional Environment of Ore Bodies

In Situ Mineral Resource Extraction.

Crustal Fluids.

Notes:

Bibliographic Level Mode of Issuance: Monograph

Includes bibliographical references and index.

ISBN:

9786610211593

9781280211591

1280211598

9780309544115

0309544114

9780585024493

0585024499

OCLC:

42329075