The Moon held little interest for most scientists after its basic astronomic properties had been determined and before direct exploration appeared likely. Speculations about its internal structure, composition, and origin were only broadly constrained by cosmochemical data from meteorites and solar spectra, and by astronomic data about its size, shape, motions, and surficial properties. Most investigators who were active before the space age began in 1957 believed that significant new advances in lunar knowledge required acquisition of additional data. One analytical technique, however, was insufficiently exploited before the 1960's. Few scientists since the geologist Gilbert had studied the lunar surface systematically from the historical point of view. Those who did immediately obtained important new insights about the Moon's postaccretion evolution. Then, the pioneering work of E.M. Shoemaker and R.J. Hackman focused the powerful methods of stratigraphy on lunar problems. Stratigraphy is the study of the spatial distribution, chronologic relations, and formative processes of layered rocks. Its application to the Moon came relatively late and met resistance, but the fundamental stratigraphic approach was, in fact, readily transferable to the partly familiar, partly exotic deposits visible on the lunar surface. Stratigraphic methods were applied systematically during the 1960's in a program of geologic mapping that aimed at reconstructing the evolution of the Moon's nearside. Order was discovered among the seemingly diverse and random landforms of the lunar surface by determining the sequence in which they were emplaced. The stratigraphic sequence and the emplacement processes deduced therefrom provided a framework for exploration by the Apollo program and for the task of analyzing the returned samples. During the 19703, the sophisticated labor of hundreds of analysts was brought to bear on the wealth of material returned by the American Apollo and the Soviet Luna spacecraft. Our present perception of the Moon has emerged from the interplay between sampling studies and stratigraphically based photogeology. These two approaches are complementary: Photogeology contributes a historical context by viewing the whole Moon from a distant vantage point, whereas the samples contain information on rock types and absolute ages unobtainable by remote methods. Neither approach by itself, even the most elaborate program of direct surface exploration, could have yielded the current advanced state of knowledge within the relatively short time of two decades. This volume presents a model for the geologic evolution of the Moon that has emerged mainly from this integration of photogeologic stratigraphy and sample analysis. Other aspects of the vast field of lunar science are discussed here only insofar as they pertain to the evolution of visible surface features. Chemical data obtained by remote sensing supplement the photogeologic interpretations of some geologic units, and geophysical data obtained both from lunar orbit and on the surface constrain hypotheses of the origin of many internally generated structures and deposits. Studies of the same data that treat the Moon as a whole, including speculations about the intriguing but unsolved problem of its origin, have been adequately covered in other reviews. This volume is written primarily for geoscientists and other planetologists who have examined some aspect of lunar or planetary science and who want a review of lunar science from the viewpoint of historical geology. It should also provide a useful summary for the advanced student who is conversant with common geologic terms. It may, furthermore, interest the geologist who has not studied the Moon but who wishes to see how his methodology has been applied to another planet.

The only work to date to collect data gathered during the American and Soviet missions in an accessible and complete reference of current scientific and technical information about the Moon.

When human exploration of the lunar surface began in 1969, it marked not only an unprecedented technological achievement but also the culmination of scientific efforts to understand lunar geology. Memoirs of the Apollo astronauts have preserved the exploratory aspects of these missions; now a geologist who was an active participant in the lunar program offers a detailed historical view of those events--including the pre-Apollo era--from a heretofore untold scientific perspective. It was the responsibility of the scientific team of which Don Wilhelms was a member to assemble an overall picture of the Moon's structure and history in order to recommend where on the lunar surface fieldwork should be conducted and samples collected. His book relates the site-selection process in detail, and draws in concomitant events concerning mission operations to show how they affected the course of the scientific program. While discussing all six landings in detail, it tells the behind-the-scenes story of telescopic and spacecraft investigations before, during, and after the manned landings. Intended for anyone interested the space program, the history of science, or the application of geology to planetology, To a Rocky Moon will leave all readers with a better idea of what the Moon is really like. In so expertly summarizing this earlier phase of exploration, it stands as an authoritative touchstone for those involved in the next.

Approximately 200 years of the history of the development of the study of geology.

The Encyclopedia of Lunar Science includes the latest topical data, definitions, and explanations of the many and varied facets of lunar science. This is a very useful reference work for a broad audience, not limited to the professional lunar scientist: general astronomers, researchers, theoreticians, practitioners, graduate students, undergraduate students, and astrophysicists as well as geologists and engineers. The title includes all current areas of lunar science, with the topical entries being established tertiary literature. The work is technically suitable to most advanced undergraduate and graduate students. The articles include topics of varying technical levels so that the top scientists of the field find this work a benefit as well as the graduate students and the budding lunar scientists. A few examples of topical areas are as follows: Basaltic Volcanism, Lunar Chemistry, Time and Motion Coordinates, Cosmic Weathering through Meteoritic Impact, Environment, Geology, Geologic History, Impacts and Impact Processes, Lunar Surface Processes, Origin and Evolution Theories, Regolith, Stratigraphy, Tectonic Activity, Topography, Weathering through ionizing radiation from the solar wind, solar flares, and cosmic rays.

"This unusual book, published to honor Warren Bell Hamilton, comprises a diverse, cross-disciplinary collection of bold new ideas in Earth and planetary science. This volume is a rich resource for researchers at all levels looking for interesting, unusual, and off-beat ideas to investigate or set as student projects"--

The Geologic Time Scale 2012, winner of a 2012 PROSE Award Honorable Mention for Best Multi-volume Reference in Science from the Association of American Publishers, is the framework for deciphering the history of our planet Earth. The authors have been at the forefront of chronostratigraphic research and initiatives to create an international geologic time scale for many years, and the charts in this book present the most up-to-date, international standard, as ratified by the International Commission on Stratigraphy and the International Union of Geological Sciences. This 2012 geologic time scale is an enhanced, improved and expanded version of the GTS2004, including chapters on planetary scales, the Cryogenian-Ediacaran periods/systems, a prehistory scale of human development, a survey of sequence stratigraphy, and an extensive compilation of stable-isotope chemostratigraphy. This book is an essential reference for all geoscientists, including researchers, students, and petroleum and mining professionals. The presentation is non-technical and illustrated with numerous colour charts, maps and photographs. The book also includes a detachable wall chart of the complete time scale for use as a handy reference in the office, laboratory or field. - The most detailed international geologic time scale available that contextualizes information in one single reference for quick desktop access - Gives insights in the construction, strengths, and limitations of the geological time scale that greatly enhances its function and its utility - Aids understanding by combining with the mathematical and statistical methods to scaled composites of global succession of events - Meets the needs of a range of users at various points in the workflow (researchers extracting linear time from rock records, students recognizing the geologic stage by their content)

Volume 60 of Reviews in Mineralogy and Geochemistry assesses the current state of knowledge of lunar geoscience, given the data sets provided by missions of the 1990's, and lists remaining key questions as well as new ones for future exploration to address. It documents how a planet or moon other than the world on which we live can be studied and understood in light of integrated suites of specific kinds of information. The Moon is the only body other than Earth for which we have material samples of known geologic context for study. This volume seeks to show how the different kinds of information gained about the Moon relate to each other and also to learn from this experience, thus allowing more efficient planning for the exploration of other worlds.

Planetary science is a truly multidisciplinary subject. The book deals with the atmospheres, surfaces and interiors of the planets and moons, and with the interplanetary environment of plasma and fields, as well as with asteroids and meteorites. Processes such as accretion, differentiation, thermal evolution, and impact cratering form another category of entries. Remote sensing techniques employed in investigation and exploration, such as magnetometry, photometry, and spectroscopy are described in separate articles. In addition, the Encyclopedia chronicles the history of planetary science, including biographies of pioneering scientists, and detailed descriptions of all major lunar and planetary missions and programs. The Encyclopedia of Planetary Sciences is superbly illustrated throughout with over 450 line drawings, 180 black and white photographs, and 63 color illustrations. It will be a key reference source for planetary scientists, astronomers, and workers in related disciplines such as geophysics, geology, and the atmospheric sciences.

Harvard’s acclaimed geologist “charts Earth’s history in accessible style” (AP) “A sublime chronicle of our planet." –Booklist, STARRED review How well do you know the ground beneath your feet? Odds are, where you’re standing was once cooking under a roiling sea of lava, crushed by a towering sheet of ice, rocked by a nearby meteor strike, or perhaps choked by poison gases, drowned beneath ocean, perched atop a mountain range, or roamed by fearsome monsters. Probably most or even all of the above. The story of our home planet and the organisms spread across its surface is far more spectacular than any Hollywood blockbuster, filled with enough plot twists to rival a bestselling thriller. But only recently have we begun to piece together the whole mystery into a coherent narrative. Drawing on his decades of field research and up-to-the-minute understanding of the latest science, renowned geologist Andrew H. Knoll delivers a rigorous yet accessible biography of Earth, charting our home planet's epic 4.6 billion-year story. Placing twenty first-century climate change in deep context, A Brief History of Earth is an indispensable look at where we’ve been and where we’re going. Features original illustrations depicting Earth history and nearly 50 figures (maps, tables, photographs, graphs).