Seismology and Plate Tectonics

Description

This textbook is unique in giving an introduction to seismological theory and the principles of plate tectonics, as well as developing a practical approach to the reading and interpretation of seismograms. The book forms the basis for an introductory course to physicists, mathematicians and geologists. The early chapters give a general background in geophysics and elasticity theory, and present the standard results for the propagation of seismic waves radiated from large earthquakes. The main part of the text describes how seismograms are read and interpreted, explaining how the readings are used to locate the source of the waves, determine the sense of motion across the fault and to work out details of plate movements. Examples are included in which the reader has the opportunity to interpret seismic records and use them to find locations of earthquakes and determine their source mechanisms. The final chapter discusses plate tectonic theory, and gives the mathematical foundation behind the description of plate movement in terms of vectors.

"This excellent book grew from a course taught by David Gubbins to physics undergraduates at Cambridge. The objectives of this course were to provide physics undergraduates with a broad introduction to geophysics and to bring them to the forefront of the subject. Seismology and Plate Tectonics does not cover all the aspects of geophysics and it does not present all the techniques currently used in seismology, but it is, and by extremely far, the best introduction to earthquake seismology." Geophysics "A suitable text is long-needed for an introductory seismology course in most geoscience departments where many of the students are not necessarily majoring in seismology only. I found the new book by David Gubbins to be an excellent choice to meet the need. Concentrated on basic seismology and the techniques by which the original research was done, this volume can be a graduate-level text for either a general earth science student who wants a good understanding of seismology, or a seismology major who needs an introduction to more theoretical treatments..." PAGEOPH "...this is an excellent book for graduate students in the geosciences...Among the existing textbooks on seismology, Gubbins's has a secure and interesting place, just filling that critical space between the elementary text, too trivial for the informed, and the specialized text, too informed for the beginner." Jose A. Rial, American Scientist