Earth Processes

Published by the American Geophysical Union as part of the Geophysical Monograph Series, Volume 95. Publication of this monograph will coincide, to a precision of a few per mil, with the centenary of Henri Becquerel's discovery of "radiations actives" (C. R. Acad. Sci., Feb. 24, 1896). In 1896 the Earth was only 40 million years old according to Lord Kelvin. Eleven years later, Boltwood had pushed the Earth's age past 2000 million years, based on the first U/Pb chemical dating results. In exciting progression came discovery of isotopes by J. J. Thomson in 1912, invention of the mass spectrometer by Dempster (1918) and Aston (1919), the first measurement of the isotopic composition of Pb (Aston, 1927) and the final approach, using Pb-Pb isotopic dating, to the correct age of the Earth: close-2.9 Ga (Gerling, 1942), closer-3.0 Ga (Holmes, 1949) and closest-4.50 Ga (Patterson, Tilton and Inghram, 1953).

A range of natural earth materials, like arsenic or fluoride, have long been linked to significant human health effects. Improved understanding of the pervasive and complex interactions between earth materials and human health will require creative collaborations between earth scientists and public health professionals. At the request of the National Science Foundation, U.S. Geological Survey, and National Aeronautics and Space Administration, this National Research Council book assesses the current state of knowledge at the interface between the earth sciences and public health disciplines. The book identifies high-priority areas for collaborative research, including understanding the transport and bioavailability of potentially hazardous earth materials, using risk-based scenarios to mitigate the public health effects of natural hazards under current and future climate regimes, and understanding the health risks that result from disturbance of earth systems. Geospatial information - geological maps for earth scientists and epidemiological data for public health professionals - is identified as one of the essential integrative tools that is fundamental to the activities of both communities. The book also calls for increased data sharing between agencies to promote interdisciplinary research without compromising privacy.

Many approaches exist for scientific investigations and space research is no exception. The early approach during which each space plasma region within the Sun-Earth system was investigated separately with physics-based tools has now progressed to encompass investigations on coupling between these regions. Ample evidence now exists indicating the dynamic processes in these regions exhibit disturbances over a wide range of scales both in time and space. This new reckoning naturally leads to an emerging perspective of probing these natural phenomena with concepts and tools developed in modern statistical mechanics for physical processes governing the evolution of out-of-equilibrium and complex systems. These new developments have prompted a topical conference on Sun-Earth connection, held on February 9-13, 2004 at Kailua-Kona, Hawaii, USA, with the goal of promoting interactions among scientists practicing the traditional physics-based approach and those utilizing modern statistical techniques. This monograph is a product of this conference, a compilation of thirty-nine articles assembled into seven chapters: (1) multiscale features in complexity dynamics, (2) space storms, (3) magnetospheric substorms, (4) turbulence and magnetic reconnection, (5) modeling and coupling of space phenomena, (6) techniques for multiscale space plasma problems, and (7) present and future multiscale space missions. These articles show a diversity of space phenomena exhibiting scale free characteristics, intermittency, and non-Gaussian distributions of probability density function of fluctuations in the physical parameters of the Sun-Earth system. The scope covers the latest observations, theories, simulations, and techniques on the multiscale nature of Sun-Earth phenomena and underscores the usefulness in cross-disciplinary exchange needed to unravel the underlying physical processes, which may eventually lead to a possible unified description and prediction for space disturbances. * Extensive collection of state-of-the-art papers on multiscale coupling of Sun-Earth Processes * Present and future multiscale space missions * New techniques and models for performing multiscale analysis

A collection of significant papers dealing with fractal geometry and the petroleum industry. Contributed by some of the pioneers in the field, they represent a broad spectrum of applications from petroleum exploration to production, and serve as an introduction to the subject. The collection begins with a contribution by Benoit Mandelbrot, the "Father of Fractals," on the Paretian distribution. The substantial (5-page) foreword to the volume is also by Mandelbrot. Annotation copyright by Book News, Inc., Portland, OR

Earth is called the living planet because it is never the same. Processes change its surface bit by bit, every second of every day. This book discusses the processes that reshape the Earth's surface. Such knowledge is essential in improving a child's ability to understand change. Get a copy today.

A unique, advanced textbook combining sedimentology and geomorphology in a comprehensive and integrated way.

Earth Surface Processes is an introductory text for those studying the dynamics of fluid and sediment transport in the environments, in the context of both present-day patterns as well as the environmental changes decipherable in the geological record. The book is divided into two parts. The first deals with the global-scale aspects of the earth's surface system. The second part focuses on the physical underpinnings for fluid and sediment transport in a number of settings, found at the earth's surface and in its oceans. Earth Surface Processes fits into the literature of the broad holistic discipline of 'Earth System Science.' The author illustrates the physical principles of earth's surface processes and explains the relevant theories by quantitative practical exercises. The pioneering textbook on the "new sedimentology" One of the first textbooks to adopt the Earth Systems approach to geology, developed at Penn State and Stanford Should reinvigorate more traditional courses in physical sedimentology and dynamical sedimentology Successfully marries the innovative holistic approach to Earth Systems with the traditional reductionist approach to sedimentary processes Explains both the global-scale Earth Surface System and the fluid dynamics and sedimentary transport processes that underlie this Quantitative approach is reinforced with worked examples and solutions Richly illustrated with original diagrams and a colour plate section