Designed for the undergraduate, introductory environmental geology course for majors and non-majors alike, Environmental Geology Today presents the core geological principles and explores the effects of humanity on the physical environment. Contemporary case studies throughout encourage students to use their critical thinking skills to dissect the subject matter as part of their overall analysis. The numerous case studies are drawn from topical current events that relate to the chapter material and contain numerical data. Using simple math, graphing, and critical thinking, the authors challenge students to analyze aspects of the data, honing their basic math and analytical skills. With a focus on teaching students to think critically about our environment, Environmental Geology Today is a fresh and modern exploration of this ever-evolving field.

As the importance and dependence of specific mineral commodities increase, so does concern about their supply. The United States is currently 100 percent reliant on foreign sources for 20 mineral commodities and imports the majority of its supply of more than 50 mineral commodities. Mineral commodities that have important uses and face potential supply disruption are critical to American economic and national security. However, a mineral commodity's importance and the nature of its supply chain can change with time; a mineral commodity that may not have been considered critical 25 years ago may be critical today, and one considered critical today may not be so in the future. The U.S. Geological Survey has produced this volume to describe a select group of mineral commodities currently critical to our economy and security. For each mineral commodity covered, the authors provide a comprehensive look at (1) the commodity's use; (2) the geology and global distribution of the mineral deposit types that account for the present and possible future supply of the commodity; (3) the current status of production, reserves, and resources in the United States and globally; and (4) environmental considerations related to the commodity's production from different types of mineral deposits. The volume describes U.S. critical mineral resources in a global context, for no country can be self-sufficient for all its mineral commodity needs, and the United States will always rely on global mineral commodity supply chains. This volume provides the scientific understanding of critical mineral resources required for informed decisionmaking by those responsible for ensuring that the United States has a secure and sustainable supply of mineral commodities.

Current Topics in Structural Geology is a collection of invited papers on particular topics of interest in structural geology, from field-based problems on the scale of terranes to microstructures in nature and experiment. Contributors also explore earthquake faulting; S-C mylonites; tectonics and hydrogeology of accretionary prisms; deformation mechanisms; transparent polycrystals; shape and lattice preferred orientations; and mushroom-shaped diapirs. This text is comprised of 13 chapters; the first of which introduces the reader to shallow crustal earthquakes and the structural geology of fault zones. The first chapter also emphasizes the seismogenic regime, strike-slip earthquake rupture processes, structural questions posed by seismology, and mesothermal gold-quartz lodes hosted in steeply inclined shear zones of mixed 'brittle-ductile' character. Discussion then turns to normal faulting in the upper continental crust, along with the application of a method based primarily on fault slip data analysis to determine paleostress in terms of orientation and magnitude. The mechanical behavior and deformation textures of simulated halite shear zones are considered, with special regard to the internal structures of S-C mylonites and their mechanical implications. The remaining chapters examine the role of decollement zone in the tectonics and hydrogeology of accretionary prisms; synkinematic microscopy of transparent polycrystals; and the origin of metamorphic core complexes and detachment faults formed during Tertiary continental extension in the northern Colorado River region. This book is intended primarily for students and practitioners of structural geology.

Issues in Earth Sciences, Geology, and Geophysics: 2011 Edition is a ScholarlyEditions™ eBook that delivers timely, authoritative, and comprehensive information about Earth Sciences, Geology, and Geophysics. The editors have built Issues in Earth Sciences, Geology, and Geophysics: 2011 Edition on the vast information databases of ScholarlyNews.™ You can expect the information about Earth Sciences, Geology, and Geophysics in this eBook to be deeper than what you can access anywhere else, as well as consistently reliable, authoritative, informed, and relevant. The content of Issues in Earth Sciences, Geology, and Geophysics: 2011 Edition has been produced by the world’s leading scientists, engineers, analysts, research institutions, and companies. All of the content is from peer-reviewed sources, and all of it is written, assembled, and edited by the editors at ScholarlyEditions™ and available exclusively from us. You now have a source you can cite with authority, confidence, and credibility. More information is available at http://www.ScholarlyEditions.com/.

Geology and Health is an integration of papers from geo-bio-chemical scientists on health issues of concern to humankind worldwide, demonstrating how the health and well-being of populations now and in the future can benefit through coordinated scientific efforts. International examples on dusts, coal, arsenic, fluorine, lead, mercury, and water borne chemicals, that lead to health effects are documented and explored. They were selected to illustrate how hazards and potential hazards may be from natural materials and processes and how anthropomorphic changes may have contributed to disease and debilitation instead of solutions. Introductory essays by the editors highlight some of the progress toward scientific integration that could be applied to other geographic sites and research efforts. A global purview and integration of earth and health sciences expertise could benefit the future of populations from many countries. Effective solutions to combat present and future hazards will arise when the full scope of human interactions with the total environment is appreciated by the wide range of people in positions to make important and probably expensive decisions. A case to illustrate the point of necessary crossover between Geology and Health was the drilling of shallow tube wells in Bangladesh to provide non-contaminated ground water. This "good" solution unfortunately mobilized arsenic from rocks into the aquifer and created an unforeseen or 'silent' hazard: arsenic. Geologists produce maps of earth materials and are concerned with natural processes in the environment with long time-frame horizons. The health effects encountered through changing the water source might have been avoided if the hydrological characteristics of the Bangladesh delta had been known and any chemical hazards had been investigated and documented. A recurrence of this type of oversight should be avoidable when responsible parties, often government officials, appreciate the necessity of such integrated efforts. The book extols the virtues of cooperation between the earth, life and health sciences, as the most practical approach to better public health worldwide.

Scientists have long sought to unravel the fundamental mysteries of the land, life, water, and air that surround us. But as the consequences of humanity's impact on the planet become increasingly evident, governments are realizing the critical importance of understanding these environmental systemsâ€"and investing billions of dollars in research to do so. To identify high-priority environmental science projects, Grand Challenges in Environmental Sciences explores the most important areas of research for the next generation. The book's goal is not to list the world's biggest environmental problems. Rather it is to determine areas of opportunity thatâ€"with a concerted investmentâ€"could yield significant new findings. Nominations for environmental science's "grand" challenges were solicited from thousands of scientists worldwide. Based on their responses, eight major areas of focus were identifiedâ€"areas that offer the potential for a major scientific breakthrough of practical importance to humankind, and that are feasible if given major new funding. The book further pinpoints four areas for immediate action and investment.

During geologic spans of time, Earth's shifting tectonic plates, atmosphere, freezing water, thawing ice, flowing rivers, and evolving life have shaped Earth's surface features. The resulting hills, mountains, valleys, and plains shelter ecosystems that interact with all life and provide a record of Earth surface processes that extend back through Earth's history. Despite rapidly growing scientific knowledge of Earth surface interactions, and the increasing availability of new monitoring technologies, there is still little understanding of how these processes generate and degrade landscapes. Landscapes on the Edge identifies nine grand challenges in this emerging field of study and proposes four high-priority research initiatives. The book poses questions about how our planet's past can tell us about its future, how landscapes record climate and tectonics, and how Earth surface science can contribute to developing a sustainable living surface for future generations.

A portrayal of our planet that offers easy-to-grasp discussions of scientific concepts and detailed examinations of Earth's tectonic, biological, and paleontological forces. From the esoteric science of minerals to the interactions between humans and their environment, our planet provides answers to every question we could ask about its history and what lies ahead. The book is illustrated with maps, diagrams, and pictures, explaining everything from how a roiling, molten planet cooled to how the first cyanobacteria began to oxygenate the atmosphere to how the atmosphere has changed over time. Ervin-Blankenheim also provides narratives about pioneering geologists and their groundbreaking discoveries. In viewing the planet as the integrated ecosystem it is, Ervin-Blankenheim showcases how land, water, life, and the atmosphere maintain an elegant yet delicate balance-one that, based on the author's evidence of current trends in the context of past planetary cataclysm, appears to be under imminent threat.