Summaries of the major features of the geology of North America and the adjacent oceanic regions are presented in 20 chapters. Topics covered include concise reviews of current thinking about Precambrian basement, Phanerozoic orogens, cratonic basins, passive-margin geology of the Atlantic and Gulf Coast regions, marine and terrestrial geology of the Caribbean region and economic geology.

To celebrate its fiftieth anniversary, the Carolina Geological Society invited forty-three authors to contribute to the creation of The Geology of the Carolinas. The only comprehensive, modern treatment of the subject, the volume has been prepared for a diverse readership ranging from undergraduate students to specialists in the fields of geology and related earth sciences. Following the editors' general introduction are chapters on Precambrian and Paleozoic metamorphic and igneous rocks of the Appalachian Blue Ridge and Piedmont; rocks of early Mesozoic rift basins, formed just before the opening of the Atlantic Ocean; Cretaceous and Tertiary sedimentary deposits of the Atlantic Coastal Plain; Quaternary geology and geomorphology; Cenozoic tectonism, including evidence for the recurrence of large earthquakes near Charleston; and an overview of mineral resources in the Carolinas. The book includes an index of field guides produced by the society and a thorough bibliography. By introducing exciting new concepts and focusing on challenging problems on the frontiers of research, this authoritative book will stimulate research in the years to come. The Editors: J. Wright Horton, Jr., is a research geologist for the United States Geological Survey in Reston, Virginia. Victor A. Zullo is a professor of geology at the University of North Carolina at Wilmington.

A close relationship exists between GIS and numerous applications, including cartography, photogrammetry, geodesy, surveying, computer and information science, and statistics, among others. Scientists coined the term "geographic information science (GIScience)" to describe the theory behind these fields. A Research Agenda for Geographic Information Science extensively details the issues and fundamental scientific problems that must be solved if the use of GIS in these and other fields is to advance. Immediately following the founding of the University Consortium for Geographic Information Science (UCGIS), the group identified in a Research Agenda the topics that represented major challenges to the GIS research community. The first chapter of this book delivers an introduction to the agenda and to the collective guidance that the agenda provides to researchers. Chapters 2-10 discuss nine original research challenges. Chapters 11-14 provide the basis of the agenda's four "Emerging Themes." Each chapter, written by researchers involved in the conception of the topics, discusses basic research elements, the UCGIS approach, the need for the National research agenda, contributions to knowledge and society, and offers a complete set of references. The final section draws general conclusions about the UCGIS approach and the defined research challenges.