Publisher's Synopsis
Viewing and learning about the geological structures of our planet is appealing to almost everyone. Indeed, many national parks and natural monuments, visited by millions of people every year, preserve and display dramatic structures exposed at the earth's surface. Mapping, describing and analysing geologic structures help us to understand and to appreciate the wonders of the natural world. Structural geologists can make important contributions to society in natural resource recovery, in the assessment of natural hazards. Learning how to write scientific descriptions, measure relevant structures, compile maps at the outcrop and quadrangle scale, and gather rock samples for laboratory analysis are important skills for a structural geologist. Such observational and measurement skills cannot be learned from reading a textbook. Rather one must go into the field and practise these techniques on the outcrop and in different geological and tectonic settings. One can learn to appreciate what should be measured and mapped from this book that puts field measurements into a context of conceptual and mechanical models that describe tectonic processes and their products. The book presents a modern quantitative approach to structural geology and tectonics for advanced students and researchers. It is our intention that this book will provide students with many useful quantitative skills, while not neglecting the essential qualitative ones. The book covers all important aspects of the subject in detail and has been written in easy-to-understand style and language for easy comprehension of the topics by the readers. -