This invaluable introductory textbook shows how new, exciting developments in space exploration and global tectonics are impacting the solid earth sciences. Chronicling the origin and evolution of the Earth, Ernst details-• the fundamental principles of the Earth's construction • the nature of minerals and rocks • plate tectonic processes • the Earth's place in the solar system • its internal structure and its crust. A comprehensive 30-page glossary along with 125 line drawings and photos

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... e the text. Selecting material from the disciplines which encompass solid earth geophysics, this text introduces a wide range of general physical and applied mathematical techniques and shows how they can be applied to answering specific questions about the earth. The English Channel: by geological design or catastrophic accident? A. J. Smith Thoughts on the evolution and extinction of Cretaceous ammonites W.J. Kennedy Cleavage, folding and the finite strain ellipsoid J. W. Cosgrove Sea-level change in the British region during the Late Cretaceous J. M. Hancock The Yangtze platform: gateway to Chinese geology C. H. Holland Macro faulting in the Purbeck-Isle of Wight Monocline M. S. Ameen A century plus of fossil insects E. A. Jarzembowski Age of metamorphism in the Rosslare Complex, S.E.