This is a fascinating and intriguing book that tells the geological story of the world over the last 750 million years. The object of this book is to simplify a complex and very specialised subject so that it can be presented clearly and briefly. The author presents fourteen briefly-explained plate migration maps of the entire globe, showing the approximated movements and positions of the world's major tectonic plates over the last 750 million years. This gives "the big picture", explaining how and why our climate has changed so radically with time. This book has been written and the maps drawn for beginners, night classes, schools, universities, amateur geologists, climatologists and even for professional geologists. It is for anyone who wants to understand the causes of the huge changes in the world's geology, oceans, and climate, which have taken place long before humankind evolved, and which have, in turn, created and moulded our planet's diverse geographical landscapes.

The theory of plate tectonics transformed earth science. The hypothesis that the earth’s outermost layers consist of mostly rigid plates that move over an inner surface helped describe the growth of new seafloor, confirm continental drift, and explain why earthquakes and volcanoes occur in some places and not others. Lynn R. Sykes played a key role in the birth of plate tectonics, conducting revelatory research on earthquakes. In this book, he gives an invaluable insider’s perspective on the theory’s development and its implications. Sykes combines lucid explanation of how plate tectonics revolutionized geology with unparalleled personal reflections. He entered the field when it was on the cusp of radical discoveries. Studying the distribution and mechanisms of earthquakes, Sykes pioneered the identification of seismic gaps—regions that have not ruptured in great earthquakes for a long time—and methods to estimate the possibility of quake recurrence. He recounts the various phases of his career, including his antinuclear activism, and the stories of colleagues around the world who took part in changing the paradigm. Sykes delves into the controversies over earthquake prediction and their importance, especially in the wake of the giant 2011 Japanese earthquake and the accompanying Fukushima disaster. He highlights geology’s lessons for nuclear safety, explaining why historic earthquake patterns are crucial to understanding the risks to power plants. Plate Tectonics and Great Earthquakes is the story of a scientist witnessing a revolution and playing an essential role in making it.

Plate tectonics is a revolutionary theory on a par with modern genetics. Yet, apart from the frequent use of clichés such as 'tectonic shift' by economists, journalists, and politicians, the science itself is rarely mentioned and poorly understood. This book explains modern plate tectonics in a non-technical manner, showing not only how it accounts for phenomena such as great earthquakes, tsunamis, and volcanic eruptions, but also how it controls conditions at the Earth's surface, including global geography and climate. The book presents the advances that have been made since the establishment of plate tectonics in the 1960s, highlighting, on the 50th anniversary of the theory, the contributions of a small number of scientists who have never been widely recognized for their discoveries. Beginning with the publication of a short article in Nature by Vine and Matthews, the book traces the development of plate tectonics through two generations of the theory. First generation plate tectonics covers the exciting scientific revolution of the 1960s and 1970s, its heroes and its villains. The second generation includes the rapid expansions in sonar, satellite, and seismic technologies during the 1980s and 1990s that provided a truly global view of the plates and their motions, and an appreciation of the role of the plates within the Earth 'system'. The final chapter bring us to the cutting edge of the science, and the latest results from studies using technologies such as seismic tomography and high-pressure mineral physics to probe the deep interior. Ultimately, the book leads to the startling conclusion that, without plate tectonics, the Earth would be as lifeless as Venus.

This book provides an overview of the history of plate tectonics, including in-context definitions of the key terms. It explains how the forerunners of the theory and how scientists working at the key academic institutions competed and collaborated until the theory coalesced.

This essential volume explores the slow but mighty shifts that created the continents and that continue to shape modern landscapes. Readers will look at theories put forward through the ages to explain volcanoes and earthquakes, and they'll examine how geologists learned what we now understand about Earth's crust. In a world of constant movement, how do these ever-shifting plates affect our lives today? Photographs, diagrams, and sidebars help students understand the science that answers this and other questions.

In this book, early fluent readers will learn about the features of tectonic plates, how they have shaped Earth's surface in the past, and how they could change Earth in the future. Vibrant, full-color photos and carefully leveled text will engage young readers as they learn more about tectonic plates and their impact on our planet. A Take a Look! infographic, sidebars, and STEM activity aid understanding and allow readers to explore further. Children can learn more about tectonic plates using our safe search engine that provides relevant, age-appropriate websites. How Tectonic Plates Shaped Earth also features reading tips for teachers and parents, a table of contents, a glossary, and an index. How Tectonic Plates Shaped Earth is part of Jump!'s Earth Shapers series.

The ground beneath your feet is solid, right? After all, how could we build houses and bridges on land if it was moving all the time? Actually, the ground beneath us really is moving all the time! In Fault Lines and Tectonic Plates: Discover What Happens When the Earth’s Crust Moves, readers ages 9 through 12 learn what exactly is going on under the dirt. The earth's crust is moving constantly, but usually it’s moving too slowly for us to notice it. In Fault Lines and Tectonic Plates, readers learn about Pangea, the giant landmass that scientists believe existed long ago, and the tectonic plates that Pangea broke into, which we know as continents. And what happens when these slowly drifting continents bump up against each other along fault lines? Earthquakes, volcanoes, and tidal waves! Readers learn the geological reasons behind earthquakes and also practical ways of behaving in those types of natural disasters. In addition to earthquakes, tectonic plates create the landscape of our world over time. Mountains and trenches are the results of the slow movement of the earth’s crust. With science-minded projects such as a homemade earthquake “shake table” and edible tectonic boundaries, the complex and fascinating topic of plate tectonics is made accessible for kids to grasp, helping to raise their awareness about this amazing planet we live on. Links to online primary sources and videos make concepts clear and encourage kids to maintain a healthy curiosity in the topic. Guided reading levels and Lexile measurements place this title with appropriate audiences.

In the early 1960s, the emergence of the theory of plate tectonics started a revolution in the earth sciences. Since then, scientists have verified and refined this theory, and now have a much better understanding of how our planet has been shaped by plate-tectonic processes. We now know that, directly or indirectly, plate tectonics influences nearly all geologic processes, past and present. Indeed, the notion that the entire Earth's surface is continually shifting has profoundly changed the way we view our world.

This is a discount Black and white version. Some images may be unclear, please see BCCampus website for the digital version.This book was born out of a 2014 meeting of earth science educators representing most of the universities and colleges in British Columbia, and nurtured by a widely shared frustration that many students are not thriving in courses because textbooks have become too expensive for them to buy. But the real inspiration comes from a fascination for the spectacular geology of western Canada and the many decades that the author spent exploring this region along with colleagues, students, family, and friends. My goal has been to provide an accessible and comprehensive guide to the important topics of geology, richly illustrated with examples from western Canada. Although this text is intended to complement a typical first-year course in physical geology, its contents could be applied to numerous other related courses.

"Inspired by a GSA Penrose Conference held in Lander, Wyoming, June 14-18, 2006, this volume discusses the beginning and evolution of plate tectonics on Earth, and gives readers an introduction to some of the uncertainties and controversies related to the evolution of the planet. In the first three sections of the book, which cover isotopic, geochemical, metamorphic, mineralization, and mantle geodynamic constraints, a variety of papers address the question of when "modern-style" plate tectonics began on planet Earth. The next set of papers focuses on the geodynamic or geophysical constraints for the beginning of plate tectonics. The volume's final section synthesizes a broad range of evidence, from planetary analogues and geodynamic modeling, to Earth's preserved geologic record. This work provides an excellent graduate level text summarizing the current state of knowledge and will be of interest to a wide range of earth and planetary scientists."--Publisher's website.