Finding viable solutions to many of the problems threatening our environment hinges on understanding the rocks below the earth's surface. For those evaluating the relative hazards of radioactive waste sites, investigating energy resources such as oil, gas, and hydrothermal energy, studying the behavior of natural hazards like earthquakes and volcanoes, or charting the flow of groundwater through the earth, this book will be indispensable. Until now, there has been no book that treats the subject of the nature and behavior of rocks in a comprehensive yet accessible manner. Yves Gu guen and Victor Palciauskas first discuss the physical properties of rocks, proceeding by chapter through mechanical, fluid flow, acoustical, electrical, dielectric, thermal, and magnetic properties. Then they provide the theoretical framework for achieving reliable data and making reasonable inferences about the aggregate system within the earth. Introduction to the Physics of Rocks covers the important and most current theoretical approaches to the physics of inhomogeneous media, including theoretical bounds on properties, various effective medium theories, percolation, and fractals. This book will be of use to students and researchers in civil, petroleum, and environmental engineering and to geologists, geophysicists, hydrologists, and other earth scientists interested in the physics of the earth. Its clear presentation, with problems at the end of each chapter and selective references, will make it ideal for advanced undergraduate-or graduate-level courses.

Rock physics encompasses practically all aspects of solid and fluid state physics. This book provides a unified presentation of the underlying physical principles of rock physics, covering elements of mineral physics, petrology and rock mechanics. After a short introduction on rocks and minerals, the subsequent chapters cover rock density, porosity, stress and strain relationships, permeability, poroelasticity, acoustics, conductivity, polarizability, magnetism, thermal properties and natural radioactivity. Each chapter includes problem sets and focus boxes with in-depth explanations of the physical and mathematical aspects of underlying processes. The book is also supplemented by online MATLAB exercises to help students apply their knowledge to numerically solve rock physics problems. Covering laboratory and field-based measurement methods, as well as theoretical models, this textbook is ideal for upper-level undergraduate and graduate courses in rock physics. It will also make a useful reference for researchers and professional scientists working in geoscience and petroleum engineering.

A symbiosis of a brief description of physical fundamentals of the rock properties (based on typical experimental results and relevant theories and models) with a guide for practical use of different theoretical concepts.

N this book the task of summarising modern petrology I from the genetic standpoint has been attempted. The scale of the work is small as compared with the magni tude of its subject, but it is nevertheless believed that the field has been reasonably covered. In conformity with the genetic viewpoint petrology, as contrasted with petrography, has been emphasised throughout; and purely descriptive mineralogical and petrographical detail has been omitted. Every petrologist who reads this book will recognise the author's indebtedness to Dr. A. Harker and Dr. A. Holmes, among British workers; to Prof. R. A. Daly, Dr. H. S. Washington, and Dr. N. L. Bowen, among American petrologists; and to Prof. J. H. L. Vogt, Prof. V. M. Goldschmidt, Prof. A. Lacroix, and Prof. P. Niggli. among European investigators. The emphasis laid on modern views, and the relative poverty of references to the works of the older generation of petrologists, does not imply any disrespect of the latter. It is due to recognition of the desirability of affording the petrological student a newer and wider range of reading references than is usually supplied in this class of work; for refer ences tend to become stereotyped as well as text and illustrations. Furthermore it is believed that all that is good and living in the older work has been incorporated, consciously or unconsciously, in the newer.

Quantitative Seismic Interpretation demonstrates how rock physics can be applied to predict reservoir parameters, such as lithologies and pore fluids, from seismically derived attributes. The authors provide an integrated methodology and practical tools for quantitative interpretation, uncertainty assessment, and characterization of subsurface reservoirs using well-log and seismic data. They illustrate the advantages of these new methodologies, while providing advice about limitations of the methods and traditional pitfalls. This book is aimed at graduate students, academics and industry professionals working in the areas of petroleum geoscience and exploration seismology. It will also interest environmental geophysicists seeking a quantitative subsurface characterization from shallow seismic data. The book includes problem sets and a case-study, for which seismic and well-log data, and MATLAB® codes are provided on a website (http://www.cambridge.org/9780521151351). These resources will allow readers to gain a hands-on understanding of the methodologies.

Introduces a new approach to rock mechanics called ``block theory,'' which formalizes procedures for selecting proper shapes and orientations for excavations in hard jointed rock. Applies block theory to rock slopes and underground excavations, and covers the Q theory of rock classification, the empirical criterion of joint shear strength, rock bolting, properties of weak rocks, statistical frequency of jointing, an empirical criterion of rock strength, and design of underground supports. Contains many new problems with worked-out solutions.