Plate Tectonics: Continental Drift and Mountain Building 2011th Edition by Wolfgang Frisch (PDF)

Description

How are mountains formed? Why are there old and young mountains? Why do the shapes of South America and Africa fit so well together? Why is the Pacific surrounded by a ring of volcanoes and earthquake prone areas while the edges of the Atlantic are relatively peaceful?Frisch and Meschede and Blakey answer all these questions and more through the presentation and explanation of the geo-dynamic processes upon which the theory of continental drift is based and which have lead to the concept of plate tectonics.

User’s Reviews

Reviews from Amazon users which were colected at the time this book was published on the website:

⭐This book is singular in so many ways that it is difficult to know how to prioritize a summary of its strengths. Firstly, this is not only the finest geology textbook I have ever read, it is the finest university-level text I have ever read, on any topic, and I say that as a geologist of over 40 years. It is also the very first textbook I have ever read cover to cover (although it must be said that the time and motivation to do so are luxuries most possess only once far removed from their university years).The authors are masters of their topic, the writing is clear and engaging in a way that textbooks rarely are, and the illustrations are almost without equal: copious, colorful, and illuminating. Information which is relevant and always interesting, but which can be treated as peripheral to the main narrative, is called out in supplemental boxes supported by further illustrations and photos. While the authors have provided enough detail to satisfy even the professional geologist who is seeking a recent update on the field of plate tectonics and mountain building, the inclusion of brief explanations of stratigraphy, structural geology, and petrology, and a fairly broad glossary, mean that not just geology students but anyone with a modicum of scientific study in his background can read and enjoy this book.All of that being said, the book suffers from one shortcoming that diminishes its value for any other than lower-division undergraduates or interested amateurs: it is insufficiently cited and referenced. In places one can literally read for pages without encountering a citation in the text. Are the hypotheses and explanations tendered representative of the scientific consensus, or are they those favored by the authors, or both? Unfortunately, in most cases, we are left to wonder. Again, this is not a serious issue for the casual reader, or for those who have no interest in plumbing the detailed evidence or breadth of interpretation to be found only in the primary literature. For this reason, I would give the book a 4.9/5.0, were it possible. But the book is so well done in so many ways that I have rounded up rather than down.Professionals and advanced students will wish and probably need to augment their plate tectonics library with more comprehensive, and more comprehensively cited volumes. “Global Tectonics” (Kearey et. al. 2009) is almost diametrically opposed to the volume reviewed here, being more comprehensive, better cited, and presenting multiple viewpoints, yet suffering in textual clarity, illustrations, and appeal by comparison. Suffice to say, serious readers will want both books, as well as “Tectonics” (Moores and Twiss 2014), by two of my undergrad profs. But those reviews are for another day.

⭐is a terrific summary of state-of-the-art plate tectonics science at 2011. From the early history of the geological revolution to the latest in explanations of the Rocky Mountains, Firsch et al. cover the fifty year history of plate tectonics, the unifying theory of geology. The book is both complete and readable. From a cogent explanation of radiometric age determination in zircons to challenges of ophiolite sequences, the authors cover it all. Most of the writing is at an advanced layman level, with the occasional dip into mid-level geology classes. It’s reasonably exhaustive without being impenetrable.Two features make the book especially accessible: the Glossary at the back and the geological history in the front plates. Those plates are supplemented by time bands showing the approximate dates of the events the book discusses. It helps minimize the risk of a reader getting lost in the geology’s obtuse nomenclature. Where the discussion in the text is incomplete, there’s also an extensive list of references. It does lack a table of abbreviations – if you miss the explanation of Ma on page seven, you are going to be baffled many times.The only serious drawback are the numerous and lamentable typographical errors. Some of them bring a reader to a full stop. A careful proofreading would have helped. Laypersons tend to judge books on subjects they don’t know by what they do know. Spelling errors can impact credibility, as well as readability.Still, it is by a considerable margin the best book I’ve read on current plate tectonics. Excellent diagrams, excellent explanations and a strong sense of just how far this revolution in geology has come.Recommended to anyone with an interest in geology.

⭐Excellent. Very informative. Stupendous figures. I wish the quality of the paper was better.

⭐It was a gift to a relative for a birthday which has not yet been celebrated. I have not read it — simply glanced, and it seems good. Slightly (very slightly) out-of-date, but so is every scientific book because advances are so rapid these days.

⭐Everything arrived in excellent condition on time and exactly as described

⭐Unusually readable for a geoscience text: seems readable by the lay person.German/European orientation/familiarity comes through in choice of examples (several detailed pages on the Rhine graben vs a paragraph on the US basin and range.) But since “graben” is a german word, maybe that’s appropriate!Many geoscience texts are most useful as references; this one you could read from page 1 like a novel (with pauses for reflection!)

⭐A very good overview for a person with some knowledge of geology, but who is not an expert in the field. The different kinds of subduction and effects on the continental crust are explained very well, plus the kinds of metamorphism associated with subducted oceanic crust. Many examples, from around the world, are used to illustrate the text.

⭐Well written & executed.

⭐This is really impressive. It is well and fluidly written, the illustrations are really clear and informative, the glossary really helpful (and necessary), and there are even some really nice clarifying touches, such as explaining the derivation of many of the technical terms. The explanations of the geological processes and the derivation and development of the plate tectonics are exceptionally good. Even where sections seemed to be written in greek (and probably were at times) – I’m afraid that many of the names of the minerals meant very little to me – they make the connections between the genesis of the different mineral deposits, the evidence provided and the underlying geological processes clear. And at times, particularly when I understood the details of the evidence more clearly, the whole interconnection between the geological events and the geological world as it is now seen is almost breathtakingly beautiful. The only real reservation about the book is that there is an editorial error in the glossary, with no entries between “fluviatile” and “hematite” so that one has to use the index, etc. to find “flysch”, “gabbro” and “graben” for example, if you are not really familiar with the terms and read the book over a week or two, so that you need to check back to be clear about what is being said.

⭐Fantastic book

⭐Very nice textbook-style introduction into plate tectonics and reated problems.

⭐Ottimo per il corso di tettonica. Per le parti di regionale consiglio di abbinare a questo Storia geologica d’Italia. Ho visto molti libri di tettonica ma sono tutti in bianco e nero. Tranne questo, tutto a colori. Manca qualche richiamo di strutturale ogni tanto e la classificazione delle ofioliti aggiornata ma abbinado ad un buon testo di strutturale come il fossen e ad un po’ di attenzione a lezione é perfetto.

⭐Not found.

⭐Buon libro che spiega in modo abbastanza specifico le dinamiche della Teoria delle placche

⭐Not found.

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