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Over the past 20 years, geologists have come to realize that the real object of their studies is the Earth, and that their favorite subjects, whether basalts, earthquakes, or the Tibetan plateau (for example) are only the means to understanding the Earth itself as a complete entity. Geology has thus acquired aglobai perspective. The study of any particular regional problem is only of general interest in providing good foundations to investigate general phe nomena. But this same particular problem can only be completely understood ifits global context is taken into account. The geology of the Andes is only one of many examples of subcontinental subduc tion and, as such, its study contributes to our understanding of the mechanism of subduction. However, at the same time, understanding the geology of the Andes is today no longer possible without relating it to the geological history of the eastern Pacific, reconstructing the relative movements of the East Pacific Rise and the Nazca Ridge against South America and, in a wider sense, in the context of the his tory of the Pacific Ocean as a whole. Geology today is based on an infinite variety of natural examples which in the general frame of plate tectonics deals with geometrie objects, historie situations, or the various methods employed. The object "Earth" includes not only subjects like seismology, structural geology, and geochemistry, but also studies of the crust, mantle and core, oceans and continents, and mountain ranges and basins.
List of contents
1 Young and Living Oceans.- 2 The Earth, a Heat Engine.- 3 The Ridges - Cradles of the Ocean.- 4 Submarine Exploration.- 5 Ophiolites - or in Search of Lost Oceans.- 6 Mantle Metallurgy.- 7 The Forges of Vulcan in the Kingdom of Neptune.- 8 From Rifts to Fast-Spreading Ridges.- 9 The Major Pulsations of the Earth.- Source of Illustrations.
Summary
Despite several phases of deformation, as a result of plate tectonics, parts of the continents still contain information on the initial cooling of the Earth. On the other hand, the ocean crust reflects the geodynamics of the Earth in the - geologically - short period of 150 Ma between its formation at mid-ocean ridges and assimilation in subduction zones. The study of oceanic ridges is the study of the driving forces of the geodynamic processes taking place within the Earth. The special feature of this book is its integration of the latest oceanograpic data with those of ophiolites - remnants of oceanic crust nowadays found on the continents. From this we gain a picture of molten submarine mountains that continuously create new ocean floor. This book is primarily written for students and scientists, but its comprehensible text - accompanied by numerous, mostly color, illustrations - is equally suitable for a broader readership.
