Product Description

This is the most authoritative and wide-ranging dictionary of earth sciences available in a single volume. Compiled with the help of a team of specialist contributors, it has been substantially revised and updated for this new edition. It is essential reference for all students of the subject, especially those on interdisciplinary courses. The 6,000 entries provide broad coverage of climatology, economic geology, geochemistry, oceanography, petrology, and volcanology. There are entries on planetary science, remote sensing, statistics, and sequence stratigraphy, and substantial updating in palaeontology, mineralogy, and geophysics. A useful section of appendices includes wind strengths and time scales.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #396643 in Books
• Published on: 2003-07-24
• Original language: English
• Number of items: 1
• Binding: Paperback
• 640 pages

Review
I marvel at how the editors have compressed so much so clearly ... a feat which occurs only once in a blue moon -- and even that is defined Nature can really claim to offer comprehensive coverage of the earth sciences TES

TES
"can really claim to offer comprehensive coverage of the earth sciences"

About the Author
Written by an team of international experts.

Customer Reviews

Review of the 2nd edition (1999)
While not an earth sciences person myself, I have had to plow through quite a number of environmental science dictionaries and textbooks over the years as references for various aspects of projects at my job (which has to do with environmental modelling, representation, and simulation). It'd be a shame to let all that "how would an educated layperson cope with this book" experience go to waste...

The authors themselves make clear in their prefaces (that for the first edition is also included) what the intended use of the book is - as a dictionary of words and terms in current use, in order to explain that usage (*not* to express an opinion on what a correct usage should be). (In compiling any sort of dictionary/glossary across multiple disciplines, believe me, it's *very* difficult to agree on The One True Definition (TM) of any term.)

The DICTIONARY isn't intended as a textbook, but might be a useful supplement. There are occasional diagrams, but not many relative to the number of entries.

A DICTIONARY OF EARTH SCIENCES doesn't *just* tackle geologic terms - if it did, it'd be titled differently. The scope includes "terms from climatology, meteorology, economic geology, engineering geology, geochemistry, geochronology, geomorphology, geophysics, hydrology, mineralogy, oceanography, palaeoclimatology, palaeoecology, palaeogeography, palaeontology, pedology, petrology...planetary geology, sedimentology, stratigraphy, structural geology, tectonics, and volcanology."

Having such a broad scope, it's good for general / introductory knowledge, on the whole, but don't expect *too* much of it for more specialized areas.

It passes my personal, idiosyncratic acid test; it not only defines the Udden-Wentworth scale of particle size (which is used to grade sands, silts, gravel, etc.), but gives both its common names. (Far too many textbooks seem to assume that the scale fell out of the sky and don't even give its name.) So it's reasonably good at defining very common terms and tools that are often assumed to need no explanation.

Differences from the first edition: all terms were reviewed, many updated. There were a few removals of terms no longer considered relevant, and a great many additions (this last generated mostly by planetary exploration both in space and for natural resources).

Great!

It was recommended to me and I wasn't disappointed.
Excellent condition, quick delivery and a really useful book - what more can I say?

A handy reference
I got this as a freebie, along with the Oxford Dictionary of Biology. As a marine biologist with a foot in both camps I find I need both. There are clear definitions and useful links to the web. There are however things that fall between the cracks due to subject related idiosyncrasies e.g. Amphipoda, a significant group of crustaceans are not directly defined in either dictionary.