Dynamic Planet

At last, an undergraduate textbook integrating the geophysics, geochemistry, and petrology of the Earth to explain plate tectonics and geodynamics.

In the early 1960s, the emergence of the theory of plate tectonics started a revolution in the earth sciences. Since then, scientists have verified and refined this theory, and now have a much better understanding of how our planet has been shaped by plate-tectonic processes. We now know that, directly or indirectly, plate tectonics influences nearly all geologic processes, past and present. Indeed, the notion that the entire Earth's surface is continually shifting has profoundly changed the way we view our world.

This book views Mercury as a whole in the context of its environment. It illustrates what we know and what we need to know, and why understanding Mercury is so crucial to our understanding of solar system origin and current processes on Earth. The book describes our current state of knowledge for Mercury and interactions between interior, exterior, and space environment which are highly dynamic and thus critical to understanding Mercury as a system.

IAG Symposium, Cairns, Australia, 22-26 August, 2005

The relationship between social thought and earth processes is in its infancy. This book offers to make good the defect by exploring how human induced changes impact upon planetary processes.

Illustrated instructions guide readers through Earth Science experiments pertaining to changes on Earth, including plate tectonics, erosion, the greenhouse effect, and glaciers. An engaging way to support the Next Generation Science Standards. Experiments are simple, accessible, and something that could be used at a science fair, in the classroom, or at home. Exploring changes on Earth has never been simpler.

"Illustrated instructions for experiments pertaining to changes on Earth, including plate tectonics, erosion, the greenhouse effect, and glaciers"--