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Books in Earth and planetary sciences

Elsevier's Earth and Planetary Sciences collection brings together pioneering research on the complexities of our planet and beyond. Covering topics from Earth's structural dynamics and ecosystems to planetary exploration, these titles support advancements in geoscience, environmental science, and space studies, offering essential insights for researchers, professionals, and students.

  • Mechanics of Fluid-Saturated Rocks

    • 1st Edition
    • Volume 89
    • Yves Gueguen + 1 more
    • English
    Mechanics of Fluid Saturated Rocks presents a current and comprehensive report on this emerging field that bridges the areas of geology and mechanics. It is of direct interest to a wide spectrum of earth scientists and engineers who are concerned with upper-crust mechanics and fluid movements, the most important fluids being oil and water. This authoritative book is the result of a collaborative effort between scientists in academic institutions and industry. It examines important issues such as subsidence, geological fault formation, earthquake faulting, hydraulic fracturing, transport of fluids, and natural and direct applications. Mechanics of Fluid Saturated Rocks provides a unique interdisciplinary viewpoint, as well as case studies, conclusions, and recommendations for further research.
  • The Precambrian Earth

    Tempos and Events
    • 1st Edition
    • P.G. Eriksson + 5 more
    • English
    In this book the editors strive to cover all primary (i.e. non-applied) topics in Precambrian geology in a non-partisan way, by using a large team of international authors to present their datasets and highly divergent viewpoints. The chapters address: celestial origins of Earth and succeeding extraterrestrial impact events; generation of continental crust and the greenstone-granite debate; the interaction of mantle plumes and plate tectonics over Precambrian time; Precambrian volcanism, emphasising komatiite research; evolution and models for Earth's hydrosphere and atmosphere; evolution of life and its influence on Precambrian ocean chemistry and chemical sedimentation; sedimentation through Precambrian time; the application of sequence stratigraphy to the Precambrian rock record. Each topic is introduced and a non-partisan closing commentary provided at the end of each chapter. The final chapter blends the major geological events and rates at which important processes occurred into a synthesis, which postulates a number of "event clusters" in the Precambrian when significant changes occurred in many natural systems and geological environments. Also available in paperback, ISBN: 0-444-51509-7
  • Oceanography and Marine Environment in the Basque Country

    • 1st Edition
    • Volume 70
    • A. Borja + 1 more
    • English
    Against a background of extensive multi-disciplinary oceanographic investigations over a number of years, together with the long-term establishment of a Society and Institute, extensive information is available from studies undertaken in the estuarine and coastal waters of the Basque Country.The present authors gained access to unpublished literature and reports which, together with a synthesis of internationally-refe... papers, provide a series of scientific overviews of particular subject areas. Teams of researchers (from Basque Institutes and Universities) combine to present the present 'state of knowledge', within a global context, of processes ranging from sub-seabed to air-sea interaction - incorporating data on the associated biology (including fisheries) and pollutant sources and levels. The latter are compared with regional, national and European legislation. The volume is divided into various sections: Introduction; Geography and Oceanography; Chemical Oceanography and Water Quality; Sediment Characteristics, Quality and Chemistry; Biomonitoring; Communities and Ecology; and Overall Assessment.The topics covered include: an historical review of marine research; the impact of human activities, during past centuries; geology, geomorphology and sediments; climate and meteorology; marine dynamics; hydrography; water mass characteristics; contaminants in the waters; microbiological quality; sedimentological characteristics; contaminants in sediments; biomonitoring of heavy metals and organic components, at tissue organism level and using cellular and molecular biomarkers; bacterioplankton and phytoplankton communities; zooplankton communities; benthic communities; seabirds; biodiversity and conservation; recovery of benthic communities; the polluted systems; and assessment of human impacts. On the basis of these syntheses, future challenges for marine research in the Basque Country are identified, in terms of a 'Research Agenda'. This comprehensive text, relating to estuarine, coastal and oceanographic processes at wide-ranging spatial and temporal scales in the southern Bay of Biscay, will be of interest to researchers, engineers and legislators - on a regional basis and within a world-wide perspective.
  • Physical Properties of Rocks

    Fundamentals and Principles of Petrophysics
    • 1st Edition
    • Volume 65
    • Juergen H. Schön
    • English
    The interpretation of geophysical data in exploration geophysics, well logging, engineering, mining and environmental geophysics requires knowledge of the physical properties of the rocks and their correlation. Physical properties are a "key" for combined interpretation techniques. The study of rock physics provides an interdisciplinary treatment of physical properties, whether related to geophysical, geotechnical, hydrological or geological methodology.The book is a comprehensive and concise systematic presentation of the physical properties of rocks. It is focussed on the problems of applied geophysics with respect to exploration and the expanding field of applications in engineering and mining geophysics, geotechnics, hydrology and environmental problems, and the properties under the conditions of the upper earth crust. This volume contains theoretical and experimental results relating to the main geophysical properties – density, magnetic properties, natural radioactivity, elastic and anelastic properties, electrical and thermal. It also presents the correlation between the individual properties as a basis of modern interpretation methods, including relationships between geophysical and geotechnical properties.
  • Quantitative Borehole Acoustic Methods

    • 1st Edition
    • Volume 24
    • X.M. Tang + 1 more
    • English
    Acoustic logging is a multidisciplinary technology involving basic theory, instrumentation, and data processing/interpret... methodologies. The advancement of the technology now allows for a broad range of measurements to obtain formation properties such as elastic wave velocity and attenuation, formation permeability, and seismic anisotropy that are important for petroleum reservoir exploration. With these advances, it is easier to detect and characterize formation fractures, estimate formation stress field, and locate/estimate petroleum reserves. The technology has evolved from the monopole acoustic logging into the multipole, including dipole, cross-dipole, and even quadrupole, acoustic logging measurements. The measurement process has developed from the conventional wireline logging into the logging-while-drilli... stage. For such a fast developing technology with applications that are interesting to readers of different backgrounds, it is necessary to have systematic documentation of the discipline, including the theory, methods, and applications, as well as the technology's past, present, and near future development trends. Quantitative Borehole Acoustic Methods provides such documentation, with emphasis on the development over the past decade. Although considerable effort has been made to provide a thorough basis for the theory and methodology development, emphasis is placed on the applications of the developed methods. The applications are illustrated with field data examples. Many of the acoustic waveform analysis/processing methods described in the book are now widely used in the well logging industry.
  • Oil Well Testing Handbook

    • 1st Edition
    • Amanat Chaudhry
    • English
    Oil Well Testing Handbook is a valuable addition to any reservoir engineer's library, containing the basics of well testing methods as well as all of the latest developments in the field. Not only are "evergreen" subjects, such as layered reservoirs, naturally fractured reservoirs, and wellbore effects, covered in depth, but newer developments, such as well testing for horizontal wells, are covered in full chapters.
  • Stability Analysis and Modelling of Underground Excavations in Fractured Rocks

    • 1st Edition
    • Volume 1
    • Jian Zhao + 1 more
    • English
    Provides practical solutions to the challenge of modeling and analyzing rock masses Consolidates a wealth of previously published technical papers on the subject and introduces previously unseen material This authoritative title is a key reference for any Geo-engineer. Rock masses differ considerably from man-made materials, and their properties can vary with location, direction and time. As a result there is a critical need to capture these variations via modeling and analysis. Zhu and Zhao provide an expert introduction to the techniques and analytical methods needed for studying underground excavations in fractured rock masses. The book brings together previously published and new material to provide a comprehensive and up-to-date reference.
  • Life Cycle of the Phosphoria Formation

    From Deposition to the Post-Mining Environment
    • 1st Edition
    • Volume 8
    • J.R. Hein
    • English
    Geological, geoenvironmental, and resource studies were completed to study a world-class phosphate ore in the Western US Phosphate Field. This integrated, multi-agency, multidisciplinary research emphasized: (1) Geological and geochemical baseline characterization of the deposit and associated rocks, (2) Delineation, assessment, and spatial analysis of phosphate resources and lands disturbed by mining, (3) Contaminant residence, reaction pathways, and environmental fate associated with the occurrence, development, and use of phosphate rock, and (4) Depositional origin and evolution of the Phosphoria Formation and deposit and geoenvironmental modeling.
  • The Quaternary Period in the United States

    • 1st Edition
    • Volume 1
    • A.R. Gillespie + 2 more
    • English
    This book reviews advances in understanding of the past ca. two million years of Earth history - the Quaternary Period - in the United States. It begins with sections on ice and water - as glaciers, permafrost, oceans, rivers, lakes, and aquifers. Six chapters are devoted to the high-latitude Pleistocene ice sheets, to mountain glaciations of the western United States, and to permafrost studies. Other chapters discuss ice-age lakes, caves, sea-level fluctuations, and riverine landscapes. With a chapter on landscape evolution models, the book turns to essays on geologic processes. Two chapters discuss soils and their responses to climate, and wind-blown sediments. Two more describe volcanoes and earthquakes, and the use of Quaternary geology to understand the hazards they pose. The next part of the book is on plants and animals. Five chapters consider the Quaternary history of vegetation in the United States. Other chapters treat forcing functions and vegetation response at different spatial and temporal scales, the role of fire as a catalyst of vegetation change during rapid climate shifts, and the use of tree rings in inferring age and past hydroclimatic conditions. Three chapters address vertebrate paleontology and the extinctions of large mammals at the end of the last glaciation, beetle assemblages and the inferences they permit about past conditions, and the peopling of North America. A final chapter addresses the numerical modeling of Quaternary climates, and the role paleoclimatic studies and climatic modeling has in predicting future response of the Earth's climate system to the changes we have wrought.
  • Petrophysics

    Theory and Practice of Measuring Reservoir Rock and Fluid Transport Properties
    • 2nd Edition
    • Erle C. Donaldson + 1 more
    • English
    The petroleum geologist and engineer must have a working knowledge of petrophysics in order to find oil reservoirs, devise the best plan for getting it out of the ground, then start drilling. This book offers the engineer and geologist a manual to accomplish these goals, providing much-needed calculations and formulas on fluid flow, rock properties, and many other topics that are encountered every day. New updated material covers topics that have emerged in the petrochemical industry since 1997.