Geodynamics [Paperback]

Donald L. Turcotte (Author), Gerald Schubert (Author)

Book Description

ISBN-10: 0521666244 | ISBN-13: 978-0521666244 | Publication Date: March 25, 2002 | Edition: 2

First published in 1982, Don Turcotte and Jerry Schubert's Geodynamics became a classic textbook for several generations of students of geophysics and geology. The authors bring this text completely up-to-date in this second edition. Important additions include a chapter on chemical geodynamics, an updated coverage of comparative planetology based on recent planetary missions, and a variety of other new topics. Geodynamics provides the fundamentals necessary for an understanding of the workings of the solid earth, describing the mechanics of earthquakes, volcanic eruptions, and mountain building in the context of the role of mantle convection and plate tectonics. Observations such as the earth's gravity field, surface heat flow, distribution of earthquakes, surface stresses and strains, and distribution of elements are discussed.

Editorial Reviews

Review

"...an excellent choice as a textbook or reference for teachers and students of our home planet. If you are looking for a single, comprehensive treatment of plate tectonics, I highly recommend this book. If, like me, you already own a well-worn first edition, the second edition offers enough new material to be worth adding to your library as well." The Leading Edge

"Geodynamics provides practical insight into the governing physics of many processes in geology and geophysics. ... Ideal for providing essential background for upper-level undergraduates and graduate students. ... Geodynamics also provides benchmark material for graduate student qualifying examinations. Researchers will find Geodynamics to be an excellent reference tool for basic equations and concepts, as well as for definitions and numerical values of many physical properties of the Earth and other planetary bodies. This texbook will also be valuable to scientists addressing problems outside of their fields of expertise, and to those expanding into new areas. ... The second edition of Geodynamics, like its predecessor, stands alone in its ability to link basic theory and geologic observation. Geodynamics should continue to benefit new generations of Earth scientists and students for decades to come." EOS

Book Description

First published in 1982, Don Turcotte and Jerry Schubert's Geodynamics became a classic textbook for several generations of students of geophysics and geology. In this second edition, the authors bring this text completely up-to-date. Important additions include a chapter on chemical geodynamics, an updated coverage of comparative planetology based on recent planetary missions, and a variety of other new topics. This new edition will once again prove to be a classic textbook for intermediate to advanced undergraduates and graduate students in geology, geophysics, and earth science.

Product Details

• Paperback: 472 pages
• Publisher: Cambridge University Press; 2 edition (March 25, 2002)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0521666244
• ISBN-13: 978-0521666244
• Product Dimensions: 10 x 8 x 1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 2.6 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (6 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #242,034 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
  • #54 in Books > Professional & Technical > Professional Science > Earth Sciences > Geophysics

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Most Helpful Customer Reviews

22 of 25 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Life in the real world..., September 1, 2003

By 

kendall lopere (H-Town, Tx, USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Geodynamics (Paperback)

"Geodynamics" has been a classic text in the field of, well, Geodynamics since the first edition came out, and it remains a brave attempt to squeeze a large amount of detail into one volume. In many ways however, this attempt is misguided. The material suffers from overcrowding in many chapters, and different approaches are used to solve the same problem, giving wildly different answers, with no attempt made to qualify which method is accepted as the most realistic.
A fairly comprehensive set of questions are liberally sprinkled throughout each chapter, although the one-number answers at the back of the book are usually insufficient, and some brief explanation would greatly enhance user-friendliness.
The main problem I found with this textbook however, is the inability to link the numerical methods presented with real world situations. The complexities of plate deformation for example are reduced to a set of sections on beam-bending, with little or no attempt at the end to draw the lessons learnt from the exercise back into some meaningful discussion of how the earth behaves. This is a common failure of analytical approaches to Earth Science problems, that the construction of a mathematical framework becomes an end in itself, and that real data are ignored or manipulated to shoehorn them into the predictions of the model. "Geodynamics" is a good summary of the techniques used to try to understand the workings of the earth, but often leaves one with a hollow feeling that one hasn't really learned anything about the earth itself at the end of each chapter.

6 of 8 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars One of the Outstanding Textbooks in Geophysics EVER, December 1, 2003

By 

The Artful Dodger "Davey M" (West Lafayette, IN United States) - See all my reviews

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Geodynamics (Paperback)

Turcotte and Schubert updated their 1982 edition to account for new developments in geoscience, and the result is the most comprehensive textbook on geophysics for the upper level undergraduate/graduate student. It is an outstanding reference, and is clear and concise in its treatment of a variety of geophysical phenomena. Stress/Strain, Elasticity and Flexure, Fluid Mechanics, Heat Transfer, Gravity, Rock Rheology, and Planetology are all treated with detail and provide the student with a tremendous introduction to geophysics. I recommend it to all geologists and geophysicists!

5 of 11 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars This is a magnificent book. I am pleased to see new edition., July 4, 2002

By 

Tuncay (Sapporo, Hokkaido, JAPAN) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Geodynamics (Paperback)

I have known the first edition of this remarkable book, and am pleased to see the revised and improved version out. I hope that many Geophysicist will have a copy in their library eventually.

May I wish all Earth Scientists a nice research work.

Tuncay Taymaz