Geophysics, William Lowrie
Geophysics, William Lowrie
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Geophysics
A Very Short Introduction

Author: William Lowrie

Narrator: Patrick Lawlor

Unabridged: 4 hr 25 min

Format: Digital Audiobook Download

Publisher: Tantor Media

Published: 07/20/2018


Synopsis

In this Very Short Introduction, William Lowrie describes the internal and external processes that affect the planet, as well as the principles and methods of geophysics used to investigate them. He explains how analysis of the seismic waves produced in earthquakes reveals the internal structure of the Earth. Geophysicists have established that the greatest source of energy powering geological processes is the Earth's internal heat. Deep inside the Earth, the temperature is high enough to produce a fluid outer core of molten iron. It is the motion in this molten iron layer that produces the Earth's magnetic field, which shields the planet against harmful radiation from the Sun and outer space, and thus makes the planet habitable. Lowrie describes how the magnetic field also magnetizes rocks during their formation, leaving a permanent record of the ancient field and its direction that geophysicists have learned to use to interpret past motions of the continents and tectonic plates.

From analyses of Earth's deepest interior to measurements made from Earth-orbiting satellites, Lowrie shows how geophysical exploration is vitally important in the search for mineral resources, and emphasizes our need to understand the history of our planet and the processes that govern its continuing evolution.

About William Lowrie

William Lowrie was elected professor of geophysics at the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology in Zurich, Switzerland, in 1974, where he taught and researched until his retirement in 2004. His research activity involved interpreting the Earth's magnetic field in the geological past from the magnetizations of dated rocks. The results were applied to the solution of geologic-tectonic problems, and to analysis of the polarity history of the geomagnetic field. He has authored 135 scientific articles, and his books include Fundamentals of Geophysics and A Student's Guide to Geophysical Equations. He has been president of the European Union of Geosciences (1987-9), and section president and council member of the American Geophysical Union (1998-2002). Lowrie was elected as a fellow of the American Geophysical Union in 1990 and a member of the Academia Europaea in 2000.


Reviews

Goodreads review by Div

I managed to snag a Paleomagnetism research assistant position at my university, but, being the bumbling freshman/rising sophomore that I am, I was very out of the loop about a lot of the info pertaining to geomagnetism. The geomagnetism book my professor provided in preparation for the research als......more

Goodreads review by Jay

It is what it is. Parts were informative and pleasant but it needs to be rescoped for its target audience. It's almost a textbook but I don't think it was meant to be.......more

Goodreads review by Jay

Imagine a science textbook that is chock full of math. Now remove all the math, but leave behind a preponderance of term definitions. That is what you get here. I found the onslaught of geophysics terms to overwhelm my listening to this audiobook. Perhaps audio wasn’t the best medium for this type o......more

Goodreads review by Arno

Heat flow varies greatly over the Earth’s surface depending on the local geology and tectonic situation. The estimated average heat flow is 92 mW/m2. Multiplying this value by the Earth’s surface area, which is about 510 million km2, gives a global heat loss of about 47,000 GW (a GW, or gigawatt, is......more