Marine Geology

School Library Journal

YAConcise technical writing, outstanding black-and-white photography, and clear line drawings typify these excellent additions to a series that explores the various geological forces at work in our world. The reading level is similar to high-school earth science textbooks. Marine Geology provides a much-needed, but seldom seen, link between usually isolated disciplines of geology, oceanography, and biology. Erickson's practice of giving the word origins of the scientific terms and the use of American units of measure help students to understand the concepts and sizes involved. The geological formations themselves are shown in detailed photography with a size scale clearly superimposed for accurate reference. They and the drawings clarify the concepts being discussed in adjacent text. Often they depict changes over time such as the breakup of Pangaea.Claudia Moore, W. T. Woodson High School, Fairfax, VA

Booknews

A reference for high school and undergraduate readers, reviewing the evolution of the oceans and exploring aspects of marine geology including the seabed, the oceanic crust, undersea mountains and volcanos, ocean circulation, coastlines, marine biology, and rare seafloor formation. Contains b&w photos and diagrams, a glossary, and chapter bibliographies. Annotation c. Book News, Inc., Portland, OR (booknews.com)

Donna Seaman

Erickson has been steadily working his way closer to the earth's core with his instructive and useful books, which include" Craters, Caverns, and Canyons: Delving Beneath the Earth's Surface" (1993) and "Quakes, Eruptions, and Other Geologic Cataclysms" [Ag 94]. Here he takes us beneath the sea to the volatile ocean floor, a "rugged landscape unmatched anywhere on the continents." The ocean's mountain ranges are the planet's largest; in fact, the entire undersea terrain surpasses dry land in terms of dramatic formations and seismic and volcanic activities. Gigantic deep-sea trenches and spreading ridges fill with molten rock that flows up from below as the tectonic plates shift, lift, and sink. Tall chimneys, immense geysers, and extremely active volcanoes spew mineral-rich water and lava into the sea, and heretofore unimaginable creatures live along superheated vents. Erickson explains how the ocean's dynamics affect and are affected by the extravagantly sculptured ocean floor as he describes this vast, mysterious, and decidedly inhuman realm within the context of geologic history as well as the history of deep-sea research and exploration.