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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.

  • Applied Sedimentology

    • 2nd Edition
    • Richard C. Selley
    • English
    There are three types of rock—igneous, metamorphic and sedimentary. Sedimentary rocks form from the weathering, erosion, transportation and deposition of older rocks. Applied Sedimentology describes the formation, transportation and deposition of sediment, and the post-depositional processes that change soft sediment into sedimentary rock. Sedimentary rocks include sandstones, limestones and mudstones. All the world's coal, most of its water and fossil fuels, and many mineral deposits occur in sedimentary rocks. Applied Sedimentology shows how the study of sediments aids the exploration for and exploitation of natural resources, including water, ores and hydrocarbons.
  • Permian-Triassic Evolution of Tethys and Western Circum-Pacific

    • 1st Edition
    • Volume 18
    • Yin Yin Hongfu + 3 more
    • English
    Permian and Triassic are the interval known for the integration and separation of Pangea, the closure of the Palaeotethys and the opening of Mesotethys. They were associated with a series of worldwide events including the Late Palaeozoic glaciation and succeeding extensive evaporatic and reef formations, the end-Palaeozoic regression, strong orogenies and widespread volcanism and magmatism, and finally, the Permo-Triassic biotic macro-extinction. These events resulted in the formation of enormous reserves of coal, petroleum, evaporites, phosphorites and metal resources. The Permian and Triassic thus constitutes a time interval particularly important both for understanding the Earth's history and for exploration of mineral resources.The book aims to reconstruct the Permian-Triassic history of Pangea, Palaeo-Tethys and Palaeo-Pacific through stratigraphic, palaeogeographic and other interdisciplinary approaches. It consists of two parts. Part 1 deals with regional stratigraphy of Tethyan and western Circum-Pacific countries which is the basis for interregional correlation, and palaeogeography. Part 2 deals with the biotic evolution at the Permian-Triassic transition, focusing on the major invertebrate groups: foraminifers, radiolarians, brachiopods, ammonoids and conodonts.
  • The Platinum Group Metals Industry

    • 1st Edition
    • William Black
    • English
    This looseleaf manual provides a wealth of information on an industry that, until recently, was highly secretive. Unlike traditional market reports, it examines every aspect of the industry from exploration, mining and extraction through to production methods, applications, pricing and trading.
  • Extractive Metallurgy of Activated Minerals

    • 1st Edition
    • Volume 10
    • P. Baláž
    • English
    Mechanical activation of solids is a part of mechanochemistry, the science with a sound theoretical foundation exhibiting a wide range of potential application. Mechanical activation itself is an innovative procedure where an improvement in technological processes can be attained via a combination of new surface area and defects formation in minerals.Mechanical activation is of exceptional importance in extractive metallurgy and mineral processing and this area forms the topic of this book and is the result of more than twenty years of research and graduate teaching in the field.In pyrometallurgy, the mechanical activation of minerals makes it possible to reduce their decomposition temperatures or causes such a degree of disordering that the thermal activation may be omitted entirely. The potential mitigation of environmental pollutants is becoming increasingly important in this context.The lowering of reaction temperatures, the increase of the rate and amount of solubility, preparation of water soluble compounds, the necessity for simpler and less expensive reactors and shorter reaction times are some of the advantages of mechanical activation in hydrometallurgy. The environmental aspects of these processes are particularly attractive.Several industrial processes are examined and their flowsheets are presented as succesful of activation. In these processes, the introduction of a mechanical activation step into the technological cycle significantly modifies the subsequent steps.The book is designed for researchers, teachers, operators and students in the areas of extractive metallurgy, mineral processing, mineralogy, solid state chemistry and materials science.It will encourage newcomers to the mechanochemistry to do useful research and discover novel applications in this field.
  • Geochemical Remote Sensing of the Sub-Surface

    • 1st Edition
    • Volume 7
    • M. Hale
    • English
    This volume documents the techniques for geochemical remote sensing of the subsurface, to present case-history evidence of their successes and limitations, and to consider their further potential. The chapters in Part I focus on the mechanisms and models of dispersion that give rise to the patterns we attempt to detect. Part II deals with the detection of dispersion patterns that owe their origins to processes, such as leakage, that are allied to resource emplacement. Part III describes the detection of dispersion patterns that are generated by processes, such as radiodecay and oxidation, taking place in deposits after their emplacement.Every chapter brings a fresh perspective. Radon has met with much success in uranium exploration, whilst thorough research studies on helium and mercury lead to conclusions that tend to discourage use of these gases in mineral exploration. The case for light hydrocarbons is one of compelling simplicity whilst elaborate mathematical and electrochemical models are advanced for metal migration.
  • Clay Minerals

    A Physico-Chemical Explanation of Their Occurrence
    • 1st Edition
    • Volume 40
    • B. Velde
    • English
    This book follows another by the same author, published in 1977, which the author considered as ``a first attempt to put some order in the house of clay petrology''. That book was described as ``an excellent first attack on clay mineral petrology... informative, and stimulating because of the method of presentation and the open-door treatment of the subject. Not only clay-mineral scientists but petrologists in general must read this first book on clay mineral petrology.'' (Earth Science Reviews).This book describes clay mineral occurrence in terms of the physical and chemical forces which influence it. It includes a geological description of mineral occurrence, a definition of the major features of clay mineral chemical composition, and an indication of the physical-chemical boundaries of these occurrences. It also presents general patterns for the geological environments of weathering, sedimentation, burial diagenesis, deep sea basalt alteration, hydrothermal alteration of acidic rocks and chemical precipitation in acidic and basic environments. The major clay groups are related to one another as they occur in geological systems through the use of graphical analysis. The author has thoroughly reviewed the relevant literature for the last 25 years. The data and analyses obtained and presented in this book will not only make interesting reading, but will also prove extremely useful to those involved with studies in deep sea research, mining geology, petroleum geology, agronomy and civil engineering.
  • Petroleum Geology

    • 1st Edition
    • Volume 16
    • R.E. Chapman
    • English
  • Petrology of the Ocean Floor

    • 1st Edition
    • Volume 33
    • R. Hekinian
    • English
  • Palygorskite-Sepiolite

    Occurrences, Genesis and Uses
    • 1st Edition
    • Volume 37
    • A. Singer + 1 more
    • English
  • Quaternary Dating Methods

    • 1st Edition
    • Volume 7
    • W.C. Mahaney
    • English