This is a curated selection of books available to you through the Northland Pioneer College Libraries with a library card.
You can find additional resources in our online catalog.
Active Tectonics and Alluvial Rivers by
The interactions between tectonic uplift, river erosion and alluvial deposition are fundamental processes which have acted to shape the landscape we see today. These processes are of course ongoing, and are important not only in geomorphology, sedimentology and structural geology, but also hydrology and river engineering. The authors have combined their specialities to bring together evidence and a variety of examples from both field and experimental studies to demonstrate how alluvial rivers are responding to uplift, subsidence and lateral tilting. Such recognition of the nature of river response yields criteria for the identification of active tectonics elsewhere, especially in areas without a history of seismic activity, or in the stratigraphic record. This volume will be of interest to graduate students, consultants and academic researchers in geomorphology, sedimentology and stratigraphy, structural geology, hydrology, geophysics and geography.
Arizona Rocks! by
Arizona is a geologist¿s playground, with a scientifically intriguing story behind every rocky outcrop, dry playa, and sparkling spring. Arizona Rocks! tells the stories of 44 of the best geologic sites in the state.
At the Top of the Grand Staircase by
The Grand Staircase-Escalante National Monument in Utah is the location of one of the best-known terrestrial records for the late Cretaceous. A major effort in the new century has documented over 2,000 new vertebrate fossil sites, provided new radiometric dates, and identified five new genera of ceratopsids, two new species of hadrosaur, a probable new genus of hypsilophodontid, new pachycephalosaurs and ankylosaurs, several kinds of theropods (including a new genus of oviraptor and a new tyrannosaur), plus the most complete specimen of a Late Cretaceous therizinosaur ever collected from North America, and much more. At the Top of the Grand Staircase: The Late Cretaceous of Southern Utah documents this major stepping stone toward a synthesis of the ecology and evolution of the Late Cretaceous ecosystems of western North America.
Biodiversity and Earth History by
This uniquely interdisciplinary textbook explores the exciting and complex relationship between Earth's geological history and the biodiversity of life. Its innovative design provides a seamless learning experience, clarifying major concepts step by step with detailed textual explanations complemented by detailed figures, diagrams and vibrant pictures. Thanks to its layout, the respective concepts can be studied individually, as part of the broader framework of each chapter, or as they relate to the book as a whole. It provides in-depth coverage of: - Earth's formation and subsequent geological history, including patterns of climate change and atmospheric evolution; - The early stages of life, from microbial 'primordial soup' theories to the fossil record's most valuable contributions; - Mechanisms of mutual influence between living organisms and the environment: how life changed Earth's history whilst, at the same time, environmental pressures continue to shape the evolution of species; - Basic ideas in biodiversity studies: species concepts, measurement techniques, and global distribution patterns; - Biological systematics, from their historical origins in Greek philosophy and Biblical stories to Darwinian evolution by natural selection, and to phylogenetics based on cutting-edge molecular techniques. This book's four major sections offer a fresh cross-disciplinary overview of biodiversity and the Earth's history. Among many other concepts, they reveal the massive diversity of eukaryotes, explain the geological processes behind fossilisation, and provide an eye-opening account of the relatively short period of human evolution in the context of Earth's 4.6 billion-year history. Employing a combination of proven didactic tools, the book is simultaneously a reading reference, illustrated guide, and encyclopaedia of organismal biology and geology. It is aimed at school- and university-level students, as well as members of the public fascinated by the intricate interrelationship of living organisms and their environment.
The Colorado Plateau by
This new edition of Donald L. Baars's classic The Colorado Plateau incorporates new text, maps, photographs, figures, tables, and bibliography to provide the most up-to-date geology of the red rock and canyon country of the Four Corners of Utah, Colorado, New Mexico, and Arizona. Baars's comprehensive geological summary of the canyonlands is detailed enough to satisfy a geologist looking for an overview of the region yet clearly enough written to appeal to anyone interested in learning the scientific story behind this magnificent scenic area.
Earth Materials and Resources by
An encyclopedic review of the material world in which we live and the uses to which those materials can be put. Everything from gold to hazardous waste is described and put in the context of humans' life on earth. Water, soil, minerals, radioactive substances, oil and gas, and an array of substances present on earth and mined from it are described in depth. In every case, the science behind the use of the resource is examined in full.
The Field Guide to Geology by
A general account that covers such subjects as how the earth was formed, rocks, and plate tectonics.
Reading the Rocks by
To many of us, the Earth’s crust is a relic of ancient, unknowable history. But to a geologist, stones are richly illustrated narratives, telling gothic tales of cataclysm and reincarnation. For more than four billion years, in beach sand, granite, and garnet schists, the planet has kept a rich and idiosyncratic journal of its past.Fulbright Scholar Marcia Bjornerud takes the reader along on an eye-opening tour of Deep Time, explaining in elegant prose what we see and feel beneath our feet. Both scientist and storyteller, Bjornerud uses anecdotes and metaphors to remind us that our home is a living thing with lessons to teach.She shows how our planet has long maintained a delicate balance, and how the global give-and-take has sustained life on Earth through numerous upheavals. But with the rapidly escalating effects of human beings on their home planet, that cosmic balance is being threatened--and the consequences may be catastrophic.Containing a glossary and detailed timescale, as well as vivid descriptions and historic accounts, Reading the Rocks is literally a history of the world, for all friends of the Earth.
