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Featuring hundreds of images, this textbook explores the geological evolution of planets and moons for undergraduate students in planetary science.
The objective of this book is to introduce the surface of the objects in the Solar System, the individual treatment features of the planets and satellites in the context of varies among the chapters. For example, it was difficult geomorphic processes. Introductory chapters include the to decide what to leave out of the chapter on Mars because "bows" and "whys" of Solar System exploration and a so much is known about the surface, whereas data are review of the primary processes that shape our planet, rather limited for Mercury. Earth, and which appear to be important to planetary In addition to introducing the geomorphology of plane sciences. The remaining chapters describe the geomor tary objects, this book is intended to be a "source" for phology of the planets and satellites for which data are obtaining supplemental information. References are cited available. For most of these objects, the general physiog throughout the text. However, these citations are not raphy and terrain units for each are introduced, then the intended to be exhaustive but rather are given to provide geomorphic processes that are inferred for the develop a "springboard" for additional literature surveys.
This book provides an up-to-date interdisciplinary geoscience-focused overview of solid solar system bodies and their evolution, based on the comparative description of processes acting on them. Planetary research today is a strongly multidisciplinary endeavor with efforts coming from engineering and natural sciences. Key focal areas of study are the solid surfaces found in our Solar System. Some have a direct interaction with the interplanetary medium and others have dynamic atmospheres. In any of those cases, the geological records of those surfaces (and sub-surfaces) are key to understanding the Solar System as a whole: its evolution and the planetary perspective of our own planet. This book has a modular structure and is divided into 4 sections comprising 15 chapters in total. Each section builds upon the previous one but is also self-standing. The sections are: Methods and tools Processes and Sources Integration and Geological Syntheses Frontiers The latter covers the far-reaching broad topics of exobiology, early life, extreme environments and planetary resources, all areas where major advancements are expected in the forthcoming decades and both key to human exploration of the Solar System. The target readership includes advanced undergraduate students in geoscience-related topics with no specific planetary science knowledge; undergraduates in other natural science domains (e.g. physics, astronomy, biology or chemistry); graduates in engineering and space systems design who want to complement their knowledge in planetary science. The authors’ backgrounds span a broad range of topics and disciplines: rooted in Earth geoscience, their expertise covers remote sensing and cartography, field mapping, impact cratering, volcanology and tectonics, sedimentology and stratigraphy exobiology and life in extreme environments, planetary resources and mining. Several generations of planetary scientists are cooperating to provide a modern view on a discipline developed from Earth during and through Space exploration.
Planetary Surface Processes is the first advanced textbook to cover the full range of geologic processes that shape the surfaces of planetary-scale bodies. Using a modern, quantitative approach, this book reconsiders geologic processes outside the traditional terrestrial context. It highlights processes that are contingent upon Earth's unique circumstances and processes that are universal. For example, it shows explicitly that equations predicting the velocity of a river are dependent on gravity: traditional geomorphology textbooks fail to take this into account. This textbook is a one-stop source of information on planetary surface processes, providing readers with the necessary background to interpret new data from NASA, ESA and other space missions. Based on a course taught by the author at the University of Arizona for 25 years, it is aimed at advanced students, and is also an invaluable resource for researchers, professional planetary scientists and space-mission engineers.
Recent planetary missions by NASA, the European Space Agency, and other national agencies have reaffirmed that the geological processes which are familiar from our studies of Earth also operate on many solid planets and satellites. Common threads link the internal structure, thermal evolution, and surface character of both rocky and icy worlds. Volcanoes, impact craters, ice caps, dunes, rift valleys, rivers, and oceans are features of extra-terrestrial worlds as diverse as Mercury and Titan. The new data reveal that many of the supposedly inert planetary bodies were recently subject to earthquakes, landslides, and climate change and that some of them display active volcanism. Moreover, our understanding of the very origins of the solar system depends heavily on the composition of meteorites from Mars reaching the Earth and of rock fragments found on the Moon. Planetary Geology provides the student reader and enthusiastic amateur with comprehensive coverage of the solar system viewed through the eyes of Earth scientists. Combining extensive use of imagery, the results of laboratory experiments, and theoretical modeling, this comprehensively updated second edition (previously published in paperback and now available in hardback) presents fresh evidence that, to quote the first edition, planetary geology now embraces conventional geology and vice versa. *** " . . . a much improved version of what was already a good book. The new text is some 20 percent longer . . . color illustrations have been dispersed throughout . . . and the information presented is brought right up to the minute with numerous injections of new scientific results from the many space missions that have been conducted since the first edition appeared. Recommended." - Choice, Vol. 51, No. 07, March 2014~
The study of landforms is becoming increasingly scientific. This book, first published in 1971, attempts to do justice to the work done in the last few decades, but strives to avoid a too uncritical acceptance of contemporary trends. The author first examines the fundamental characteristics and basic postulates of geomorphology. He then seeks to define the systematic stages through which the study of the landforms of a given area might proceed. Examples are drawn from a wide geographical range with emphasis on presenting examples of actual observations and measurements. The final section presents concise descriptions of simple and inexpensive methods of acquiring field data in landform study.
This book, first published in 1977, is a concise, fully illustrated introduction to modern geomorphology. Geomorphologists pay much attention to the measurement of present day processes in attempting to develop explanations of landscape evolution, and this book reflects this approach by deliberately emphasising processes in humid environments.
This extensively revised, restructured, and updated edition continues to present an engaging and comprehensive introduction to the subject, exploring the world’s landforms from a broad systems perspective. It covers the basics of Earth surface forms and processes, while reflecting on the latest developments in the field. Fundamentals of Geomorphology begins with a consideration of the nature of geomorphology, process and form, history, and geomorphic systems, and moves on to discuss: structure: structural landforms associated with plate tectonics and those associated with volcanoes, impact craters, and folds, faults, and joints process and form: landforms resulting from, or influenced by, the exogenic agencies of weathering, running water, flowing ice and meltwater, ground ice and frost, the wind, and the sea; landforms developed on limestone; and landscape evolution, a discussion of ancient landforms, including palaeosurfaces, stagnant landscape features, and evolutionary aspects of landscape change. This third edition has been fully updated to include a clearer initial explanation of the nature of geomorphology, of land surface process and form, and of land-surface change over different timescales. The text has been restructured to incorporate information on geomorphic materials and processes at more suitable points in the book. Finally, historical geomorphology has been integrated throughout the text to reflect the importance of history in all aspects of geomorphology. Fundamentals of Geomorphology provides a stimulating and innovative perspective on the key topics and debates within the field of geomorphology. Written in an accessible and lively manner, it includes guides to further reading, chapter summaries, and an extensive glossary of key terms. The book is also illustrated throughout with over 200 informative diagrams and attractive photographs, all in colour.
