"The 50 years since the publication of 'Fabric of Geology,' edited by C.C. Albritton Jr., have seen immense changes in both geology and philosophy of science. 'Rethinking the Fabric of Geology' explores a number of philosophical issues in geology, ranging from its nature as a historical science to implications for geological education"--Provided by publisher.

Claude C. Albritton's fascinating book explores the history and science of geology, from the earliest understandings of the earth's composition to modern theories of plate tectonics and seismic activity. With engaging writing and useful diagrams, this book is a must-read for anyone interested in the field of geology or the history of science. This work has been selected by scholars as being culturally important, and is part of the knowledge base of civilization as we know it. This work is in the "public domain in the United States of America, and possibly other nations. Within the United States, you may freely copy and distribute this work, as no entity (individual or corporate) has a copyright on the body of the work. Scholars believe, and we concur, that this work is important enough to be preserved, reproduced, and made generally available to the public. We appreciate your support of the preservation process, and thank you for being an important part of keeping this knowledge alive and relevant.

'Engineering geology' is one of those terms that invite definition. The American Geological Institute, for example, has expanded the term to mean 'the application of the geological sciences to engineering practice for the purpose of assuring that the geological factors affecting the location, design, construction, operation and mainten ance of engineering works are recognized and adequately provided for'. It has also been defined by W. R. Judd in the McGraw-Hill Encyclopaedia of Science and Technology as 'the application of education and experience in geology and other geosciences to solve geological problems posed by civil engineering structures'. Judd goes on to specify those branches of the geological or geo-sciences as surface (or surficial) geology, structural/fabric geology, geohydro logy, geophysics, soil and rock mechanics. Soil mechanics is firmly included as a geological science in spite of the perhaps rather unfortunate trends over the years (now happily being reversed) towards purely mechanistic analyses which may well provide acceptable solutions for only the simplest geology. Many subjects evolve through their subject areas from an interdisciplinary background and it is just such instances that pose the greatest difficulties of definition. Since the form of educational development experienced by the practitioners of the subject ulti mately bears quite strongly upon the corporate concept of the term 'engineering geology', it is useful briefly to consider that educational background.

An Introduction to the Study of Fabrics of Geological Bodies introduces the reader to the method of fabric studies in accordance with the principles of symmetrology, with emphasis on the link between morphological and functional fabrics. Topics covered include affine and non-affine movement-pictures; movement and symmetry of tectonic deformation; tectonics and fluid mechanics; and movement and symmetry of apposition. Some examples of the use and definition of fabric studies are presented. This book is divided into two parts and begins with an overview of the concepts and objectives of fabric studies, paying particular attention to symmetry and rhythm in morphological and functional fabrics; the movement-picture of affine deformations; and non-affine deformation by gliding on a single set of planes. The discussion then turns to the distribution of planar and linear parallel-fabrics in geological bodies; constructive restoration of earlier geometry of tectonic fabrics; tectonics of intrusives with a high susceptibility to componental movement; and mechanical deformation and metamorphism of rocks. The general characteristics of grain-fabrics are also described. This monograph will be a useful resource for geologists and those working in the fields of mineralogy and petrography.

From the author of lnsectopedia, a powerful exploration of loss, grief, endurance, and the absences that permeate the present. Unconformities are gaps in the geological record, physical evidence of breaks in time. For Hugh Raffles, these holes in history are also fissures in feeling, knowledge, memory, and understanding. In this endlessly inventive, riveting book, Raffles enters these gaps, drawing together threads of geology, history, literature, philosophy, and ethnography to trace the intimate connections between personal loss and world historical events, and to reveal the force of absence at the core of contemporary life. Through deeply researched explorations of Neolithic stone circles, Icelandic lava, mica from a Nazi concentration camp, petrified whale blubber in Svalbard, the marble prized by Manhattan's Lenape, and a huge Greenlandic meteorite that arrived in New York City along with six Inuit adventurers in 1897, Raffles shows how unconformities unceasingly incite human imagination and investigation yet refuse to conform, heal, or disappear. A journey across eons and continents, The Book of Unconformities is also a journey through stone: this most solid, ancient, and enigmatic of materials, it turns out, is as lively, capricious, willful, and indifferent as time itself.

This book presents a detailed account of how the discipline of geology developed between the mid-seventeenth century and the early nineteenth century.