Dynamics Of The Earth

In their search for solutions to problems concerning the dynamics of the Earth as a self-gravitating body, the authors have applied the fundamentals found in their book “Jacobi Dynamics” (1987, Reidel). First, satellite observations have shown that the Earth does not remain in hydrostatic equilibrium, which forms the physical basis of modern geodynamics. Secondly, satellite data have established a relationship between the planet’s polar moment of inertia and the potential of the Earth’s outer force field, which proves the most basic point of Jacobi dynamics. This allowed the authors to revise their derivation of the classical virial theorem, introducing the concept of a volumetric force and volumetric moment, and so to obtain a generalized virial theorem in the form of Jacobi’s equation. The main dynamical effects are: the kinetic energy of oscillation of the interacting particles, which explains the physical meaning and nature of gravitational forces; separation of shells of a self-gravitating body with respect to its mass density; differences in angular velocities of the shell’s rotation; continuity in variance of the potential of the outer gravitational force field, together with reductions in the envelope of the interacting masses (volumetric center of gravity); the nature of Earth, Moon and satellite precession; the nature and generating mechanism of the planet’s electromagnetic field; the common nature of gravitational and electromagnetic energy, and other related issues. The work is a logical continuation of the book "Jacobi Dynamics" and is intended for researchers, teachers and students engaged in theoretical and experimental research in various branches of astronomy, geophysics, planetology and cosmogony, and for students of celestial, statistical, quantum and relativistic mechanics and hydrodynamics.

A rigorous overview of the solid Earth's dynamical behaviour, explaining the theory with methodology and online freeware for numerical implementation.

This book highlights Indian scientific endeavours and contributions to answering the vast multitude of questions posed by our changing environment. The International Ocean Discovery Program (IODP) explores Earth’s history and dynamics using deep ocean drilling platforms to recover the data locked inside seafloor sediments and rocks. Since 2009, Indian scientists have been actively engaged in these expeditions. Scientists from various Earth Science disciplines have seized this opportunity to offer their expertise in order to help unravel the mysteries of the past – by delving deep into the valuable sedimentary records of our oceans. This book presents a compilation of some of their most important findings to motivate and encourage young minds for their enhanced role in the cutting edge science of ocean drilling.

This volume opens up new perspectives on the physics of the Earth’s interior and planetary bodies for graduate students and researchers working in the fields of geophysics, planetary sciences and geodesy. It looks at our planet in an integrated fashion, linking the physics of its interior to geophysical and geodetic techniques that record, over a broad spectrum of spatial wavelengths and time scales, the ongoing modifications in the shape and gravity field of the planet. Basic issues related to the rheological properties of the Earth and to its slow deformation are considered, in both mathematical and physical terms, within the framework of an analytical relaxation theory. Fundamentals of this theory are developed in the first two Chapters. Chapters 3-9 deal with a wide range of applications, ranging from changes in the Earth’s rotation to post-seismic deformation and from sea-level variations induced by post-glacial rebound to tidal deformation of icy moons of the Solar System. This Second Edition improves substantially our formalism implementing compressibility in viscoelastic relaxation. Chapter 5 now contains new developments in the physics of the gravitational effects of large earthquakes at subduction zones, made possible by new gravity data from space missions. The new Chapter 9 of this Second Edition on deformation and stresses of icy moons enlarges the applications of the book to Planetology, dealing with the additional complications in the theory of viscoelastic relaxation introduced by the shallow low-viscosity zones and inviscid water layers of the moons of Jupiter and Saturn.

This volume opens up new perspectives on the physics of the Earth's interior for graduate students and researchers working in the fields of geophysics and geodesy. It looks at our planet in an integrated fashion, linking the physics of its interior to the geophysical and geodetic techniques that record, over a broad spectrum of spatial wavelengths, the ongoing modifications in the shape and gravity field of the planet. Basic issues related to the rheological properties of the Earth's mantle and to its slow deformation will be understood, in both mathematical and physical terms, within the framework of an analytical normal mode relaxation theory. Fundamentals of this theory are developed in the first, tutorial part. The second part deals with a wide range of applications, ranging from changes in the Earth's rotation to post-seismic deformation and sea-level variations induced by post-glacial rebound. In the study of the physics of the Earth's interior, the book bridges the gap between seismology and geodynamics.

Presents the online edition of the publication "This Dynamic Earth: The Story of Plate Tectonics" (ISBN 0-16-048220-8) by W. Jacquelyne Kious and Robert I. Tilling, published by the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) in Denver, Colorado. Posts contact information via mailing address, telephone and fax numbers, and e-mail. Notes that a hard copy of the publication is available. Provides a table of contents and endnotes. Links to the USGS home page.

Those who funded the sciences of geology 150 years ago intuitively saw the Earth as a unified whole. Since that time, the sciences have specialized into physics, chemistry, biology and geology - specialization that has brought advances, but has unfortunately obscured our view of the unique role that life and death play on our planet.

New and more accurate techniques for satellite gravimetry will be available soon, with promising applications in Earth sciences. With this special issue the authors want to stimulate discussion among Earth scientists on objectives and preferences for future satellite gravimetry missions. This is an urgently needed discussion. Visions for follow-on missions have to be developed today, if they are to be realized within 10 years, given the required preparation time of such satellite missions.