Plate Reconstruction From Paleozoic Paleomagnetism

Published by the American Geophysical Union as part of the Special Publications Series. This volume presents the English language translation of L.P. Zonenshain and M.I. Kuzmin's classic text Paleogeodynamics, first published in Russian in 1992. The study of paleogeodynamics, or plate tectonics, has had an incredible impact on geological research in the former Soviet Union. The authors of this text were among the first to systematically study and utilize the plate tectonic model in the Soviet Union. Within this book the entire sweep of plate tectonic observation, interpretation and example are presented, including detailed descriptions and analysis related to oceanic ridge structures, geochemistry, plate tectonic processes, seismology, tectonostratigraphy terranes, paleoclimatology, paleomagnetism, reconstruction of past plate motions and global Earth history models. Because Zonenshain and his colleagues at the Shirshov Institute of Oceanography pioneered the quantitatively precise mathematical analysis of past plate and terrane motions, one of the sections is highly mathematical, presenting for the first time their development of reconstruction techniques based upon spherical geometry. The extensive bibliography presents and combines both Russian and English language references. Also unique to this volume are numerous examples taken from the plate tectonic history of portions of the former Soviet Union and from data collected during Soviet oceanographic cruises.

Paleomagnetism and plate tectonics are combined in a new procedure for producing paleogeographic reconstructions of the evolution of present day world geography from proto-continents. For each geologic epoch, the continents are first subjected to rotations relative to each other from the data of plate tectonics, then another rotation is carried out with respect to the Earth's spin axis by swinging the virtual paleomagnetic poles to the present north pole in a single rotation. The new method checks Bullard's reconstruction of the continents surrounding the Atlantic Ocean which was accomplished by computer fitting of their continental shelves. (Author).

Proceedings of a Symposium held during the IUGG XVth General Assembly, Canberra, Australia, Decmber 1979

Presents information from the primary abiotic forces defining the system, and from the present hydrology, biogeochemistry and physics of major sites of organic carbon production of the McMurdo Dry Valleys. Additionally, research on the physical, chemical, and biological properties of the dry valley soils is included. The role of environmental management in long-term ecological studies is also addressed. The accompanying CDROM provides details and scale to visualize the McMurdo Dry Valleys from an ecosystem perspective.

A fully up-dated edition of this acclaimed undergraduate geophysics textbook.