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Elsevier

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.

  • Biogeochemistry

    An Analysis of Global Change
    • 3rd Edition
    • W.H. Schlesinger + 1 more
    • English
    Biogeochemistry—winn... of a 2014 Textbook Excellence Award (Texty) from the Text and Academic Authors Association—consider... how the basic chemical conditions of the Earth, from atmosphere to soil to seawater, have been and are being affected by the existence of life. Human activities in particular, from the rapid consumption of resources to the destruction of the rainforests and the expansion of smog-covered cities, are leading to rapid changes in the basic chemistry of the Earth. This expansive text pulls together the numerous fields of study encompassed by biogeochemistry to analyze the increasing demands of the growing human population on limited resources and the resulting changes in the planet's chemical makeup. The book helps students extrapolate small-scale examples to the global level, and also discusses the instrumentation being used by NASA and its role in studies of global change. With extensive cross-referencing of chapters, figures and tables, and an interdisciplinary coverage of the topic at hand, this updated edition provides an excellent framework for courses examining global change and environmental chemistry, and is also a useful self-study guide.

  • Mineral Exploration

    Principles and Applications
    • 1st Edition
    • Swapan Kumar Haldar
    • English
    Globally, mineral exploration has grown significantly in recent years, driven by the rapid acceleration in prices for gold and diamonds since 2004 and the emergence of a middle class in both China and India—aggressively increased demand. Despite this resurgence, no single book has been published that takes an interdisciplinary approach in addressing the full scope of mineral exploration—from mining and extraction to economic evaluation, policies, sustainability, and environmental impacts. Mineral Exploration: Principles and Applications accomplishes this by presenting each topic with theoretical approaches first followed by specific applications that can be immediately implemented in the field.

  • Geology and Sedimentology of the Korean Peninsula

    • 1st Edition
    • Sung Kwun Chough
    • English
    Written by one of Korea's most respected earth scientists, Geology and Sedimentology of the Korean Peninsula analyzes sedimentary facies, basin evolution, and sequence stratigraphy to provide answers to depositional processes and environmental changes through the Earth's history, including tectonic events, climate changes, and sea-level fluctuations. This is one of the first books covering the geology of the Korean peninsula. It offers an in-depth exploration of this region, which also allows comparison with sedimentary basins around the world. This is an important book for students, researchers, and professionals working in the geography of East Asia. The study of sedimentary basins can help advance basic understanding of how the Earth's crust developed, as well as offer insights into the influence of environmental and climate change. Sedimentary basins are also of interest due to their importance in the exploration and recovery of natural resources, including oil and gas, water, and industrial minerals.

  • Dynamic Well Testing in Petroleum Exploration and Development

    • 1st Edition
    • Huinong Zhuang
    • English
    Data accumulation, analysis, and interpretation technology are critical in hydrocarbon exploration and extraction to maximize petroleum recovery and development. Dynamic Well Testing in Petroleum Exploration and Development presents modern petroleum exploration and well testing interpretation methods, emphasizing their application and development under special geological and development conditions in oil and gas fields. More than 100 case studies and 250 illustrations—many in full color—aid in the retention of key concepts. Extensive analysis of pressure data acquired from well testing through advanced interpretation software can be tailored to specific reservoir environments. This timely, state-of-the-art reference will be of particular interest to petroleum geoscientists and engineers working for oil and gas companies worldwide.

  • Evolution of Fossil Ecosystems

    • 2nd Edition
    • Paul Selden + 1 more
    • English
    The first edition of Evolution of Fossil Ecosystems was widely praised for its coverage and approach in describing and illustrating 14 well-known fossil sites from around the world. The authors have now updated the text and added 6 new chapters with many new color illustrations. Following a general introduction to fossil Lagerstätten, each chapter deals with a single site and follows the same format: its evolutionary position and significance; its background sedimentology, stratigraphy and palaeoenvironment; a description of the biota and palaeoecology; a comparison with other similar Lagerstätten; and a list of relevant museums and suggestions for visiting the sites. This study of exceptionally well-preserved fossil sites from different periods in geological time provides a picture of the evolution of ecosystems through the ages.

  • Landscape Evolution in the United States

    An Introduction to the Geography, Geology, and Natural History
    • 1st Edition
    • Joseph A. DiPietro
    • English
    Landscape Evolution in the United States is an accessible text that balances interdisciplinary theory and application within the physical geography, geology, geomorphology, and climatology of the United States. Landscape evolution refers to the changing terrain of any given area of the Earth's crust over time. Common causes of evolution (or geomorphology—land morphing into a different size or shape over time) are glacial erosion and deposition, volcanism, earthquakes, tsunamis, tornadoes, sediment transport into rivers, landslides, climate change, and other surface processes. The book is divided into three main parts covering landscape components and how they are affected by climactic, tectonic and ocean systems; varying structural provinces including the Cascadia Volcanic Arc and California Transpressional System; and the formation and collapse of mountain systems. The vast diversity of terrain and landscapes across the United States makes this an ideal tool for geoscientists worldwide who are researching the country’s geological evolution over the past several billion years.

  • Unconventional Petroleum Geology

    • 1st Edition
    • Caineng Zou
    • English
    Unconventional Petroleum Geology is the first book of its kind to collectively identify, catalog, and assess the exploration and recovery potential of the Earth's unconventional hydrocarbons. Advances in hydrocarbon technology and petroleum development systems have recently made the exploration of unconventional hydrocarbons—such as shale gas, tight sandstone oil and gas, heavy oil, tar sand, and coalbed methane—the hottest trend in the petroleum industry. Detailed case studies act as real-world application templates, making the book's concepts immediately practical and useful by exploration geologists. The logical and intuitive three-part approach of systematically identifying an unconventional hydrocarbon, cataloguing its accumulation features, and assessing its exploration and recovery potential can be immediately implemented in the field—anywhere in the world.

  • Basin Evolution and Petroleum Prospectivity of the Continental Margins of India

    • 1st Edition
    • Volume 59
    • Rabi Bastia + 1 more
    • English
    During the past 10 years, the Oil industry in India has seen a tremendous rise in exploration activity with several major E&P companies generating vast amount of new geological and geophysical data. The availability of such integrated data sets (gravity, magnetic, seismic, drilled wells), especially in the deep offshore basins, has led the authors to revisit earlier concepts and models in order to redefine the tectonic framework of major offshore basins along the Indian continental margins. The book covers the stratigraphic evolution, play types and the classification of major offshore basins both in shallow and deepwater environments.

  • Trace Fossils as Indicators of Sedimentary Environments

    • 1st Edition
    • Volume 64
    • Dirk Knaust + 1 more
    • English
    Integration of ichnological information into sedimentological models, and vice versa, is one of the main means by which we can improve our understanding of ancient depositional environments. Mainly intended for sedimentologists, this book aims to make ichnological methods as part of facies interpretation more popular, providing an analytical review of the ichnology of all major depositional environments and the use of ichnology in biostratigraphic and sequence stratigraphic analysis. It starts with an introduction to the historical aspect of ichnology, introducing common concepts and methods, and then continues with parts treating the main depositional systems from continental, shallow-marine and deep-marine siliciclastics, and marine carbonates. The last part is dedicated to the ichnology in hydrocarbon reservoir and aquifer characterization.

  • Biology and Geology of Coral Reefs V2

    Biology 1
    • 1st Edition
    • O.A. Jones
    • English
    Biology and Geology of Coral Reefs, Volume II: Biology 1 discusses the major advances made in the biological aspects of coral reef problems. This book is organized into 12 chapters that cover the microbial aspects of coral reefs, the nutrition in corals, and diversity in coral reefs. The opening chapters describe the distribution and role of coral reef microorganisms, as well as the significance of bacterioplankton as a food source for the marine fauna of coral reefs. The following chapter discusses the occurrence of algae in coral reef, their competition with corals for space, and their role in reef construction. Other chapters deal with food and feeding mechanisms of corals, the role of marine antibiotics in coral reef ecology, and some chemical compounds isolated from coral reef organisms, providing evidence for marine pharmacologic activity in coral reef areas. The book also discusses some basic problems relating to the distribution and abundance of hermatypic corals on reefs. It then examines species diversity on coral reefs, variety of reef structure, and the important role of toxic materials produced by holothurians on the general ecology and physiology of coral reefs. The last chapters describe the development, feeding, and behavior of the larval stages of several coral reef asteroids. Particular emphasis is given to the larval and post-larval stages of the crown-of-thorns starfish, Acanthaster planci. The starfish population explosions, the devastating effects on the hard coral cover of coral reefs, and causes and control of population explosions are also covered. This volume will acquaint readers with some of the exciting developments in coral reef biology and will provide information that will enable them to assess the status of research in different fields.

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