Ebook: The Sea Floor: An Introduction to Marine Geology

Man's understanding of how this planet is put together and how it evolved has changed radically during the last 30 years. This great revolution in geology - now usually subsumed under the concept of Plate Tectonics - brought the realization that convection within the Earth is responsible for the origin of today's ocean basins and conti­ nents, and that the grand features of the Earth's surface are the product of ongoing large-scale horizontal motions. Some of these notions were put forward earlier in this century (by A. Wegener, in 1912, and by A. Holmes, in 1929), but most of the new ideas were an outgrowth of the study of the ocean floor after World War II. In its impact on the earth sciences, the plate tectonics revolution is comparable to the upheaval wrought by the ideas of Charles Darwin (1809-1882), which started the intense discussion on the evolution of the biosphere that has recently heated up again. Darwin drew his inspiration from observations on island life made during the voyage of the Beagle (1831-1836), and his work gave strong impetus to the first global oceanographic expedition, the voyage of HMS Challenger (1872- 1876). Ever since, oceanographic research has been intimately associ­ ated with fundamental advances in the knowledge of Earth. This should come as no surprise. After all, our planet's surface is mostly ocean.

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The Sea Floor deals with the most important results achieved in Marine Geology over the last three decades. Relevant geophysical, geochemical, sedimentological and paleontological methods are shortly described. They should allow the reader to comment on new results about plate tectonics, marine sedimentation from the coasts to the deep sea, climatological aspects, paleoceanology and the use of the sea floor. The text tries to transmit to the reader the excitement of marine geological research both aboard and in modern laboratories. Basic mineralogical, geochemical, biological and other relevant data and a detailed list of books and symposia are given in an Appendix. The third corrected and revised edition contains an enlarged and updated list of references and some new figures.

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The Sea Floor deals with the most important results achieved in Marine Geology over the last three decades. Relevant geophysical, geochemical, sedimentological and paleontological methods are shortly described. They should allow the reader to comment on new results about plate tectonics, marine sedimentation from the coasts to the deep sea, climatological aspects, paleoceanology and the use of the sea floor. The text tries to transmit to the reader the excitement of marine geological research both aboard and in modern laboratories. Basic mineralogical, geochemical, biological and other relevant data and a detailed list of books and symposia are given in an Appendix. The third corrected and revised edition contains an enlarged and updated list of references and some new figures.
Content:
Front Matter....Pages I-XIII
Introduction....Pages 1-14
Origin and Morphology of Ocean Basins....Pages 15-40
Origin and Morphology of Ocean Margins....Pages 41-67
Sources and Composition of Marine Sediments....Pages 69-95
Effects of Waves and Currents....Pages 97-125
Sea Level Processes and Effects of Sea Level Change....Pages 127-155
Productivity and Benthic Organisms — Distribution, Activity, and Environmental Reconstruction....Pages 157-184
Imprint of Climatic Zonation on Marine Sediments....Pages 185-213
Deep-Sea Sediments — Patterns, Processes, and Stratigraphic Methods....Pages 215-240
Paleoceanography — the Deep-Sea Record....Pages 241-276
Resources from the Ocean Floor....Pages 277-302
Epilog....Pages 303-306
Back Matter....Pages 307-356

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The Sea Floor deals with the most important results achieved in Marine Geology over the last three decades. Relevant geophysical, geochemical, sedimentological and paleontological methods are shortly described. They should allow the reader to comment on new results about plate tectonics, marine sedimentation from the coasts to the deep sea, climatological aspects, paleoceanology and the use of the sea floor. The text tries to transmit to the reader the excitement of marine geological research both aboard and in modern laboratories. Basic mineralogical, geochemical, biological and other relevant data and a detailed list of books and symposia are given in an Appendix. The third corrected and revised edition contains an enlarged and updated list of references and some new figures.
Content:
Front Matter....Pages I-XIII
Introduction....Pages 1-14
Origin and Morphology of Ocean Basins....Pages 15-40
Origin and Morphology of Ocean Margins....Pages 41-67
Sources and Composition of Marine Sediments....Pages 69-95
Effects of Waves and Currents....Pages 97-125
Sea Level Processes and Effects of Sea Level Change....Pages 127-155
Productivity and Benthic Organisms — Distribution, Activity, and Environmental Reconstruction....Pages 157-184
Imprint of Climatic Zonation on Marine Sediments....Pages 185-213
Deep-Sea Sediments — Patterns, Processes, and Stratigraphic Methods....Pages 215-240
Paleoceanography — the Deep-Sea Record....Pages 241-276
Resources from the Ocean Floor....Pages 277-302
Epilog....Pages 303-306
Back Matter....Pages 307-356
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