Information Tectonics spatial organization in the electronic age The rapid development and diffusion of information technologies ? telecommunications, computers, the Internet ? is profoundly changing the character, and structure of interaction at the local, national and international level. Information technology is usually viewed as a technical issue, with analysis focusing on hardware, software and engineering concerns for efficient management and operation. Lost from much of the debate and discussion over information technology is the role of geography and the spatial context of information technology. To further understanding and knowledge of the spatial character and geographic impact of information technology, this volume addresses three key aspects of the phenomenon. Conceptualising electronic space and placing it into existing and developing theories of spatial and social interaction. What does electronic interaction mean for our theoretical and perceptual understanding of place and distance? Exploration of the geographic dimensions of electronic commerce, such as financial flows, securities trade, and the re-engineered multinational corporation. How do information technologies change economic and trading relationships? How do electronic relationships change people and places? Analysis of urban and regional development and IT, with emphasis on IT as a policy measure for urban development and regional growth. Can information technologies and intelligent cities provide the lives we want to lead? Contributor list Colin A. Arrowsmith Michael James Blaine Stanley D. Brunn Kenneth E. Corey David Gibbs Andrew E. Gillespie Stephen Graham John V. Langdale Tessa Morris-Suzuki Edward Mozley Roche Ranald Richardson Peter J. Rimmer Keith Tanner Steve Walker Barney Warf Mark I. Wilson

"The Liwu River runs a short course; its channel head at the water divide in Taiwan's Central Range is a mere 35 km from its outflow into the Pacific Ocean. But in those short 35 km, the Liwu has carved one of the world's geographic wonders: the spectacular Taroko Gorge with marble and granite walls soaring nearly 1000 m above the river channel. Taroko Gorge was a fitting venue for a 2003 Penrose Conference that addressed the coupled processes of tectonics, climate, and landscape evolution. The young mountains, extreme weather, and dramatic landforms provided an appropriate backdrop to wide-ranging discussions of geomorphic processes, climate and meteorology, sediment generation and transport, the effects of erosion on tectonics, and new analytical and modeling tools used to address these processes and problems. This volume's papers extend that discussion, reaching across fields that have experienced rapid advances in the past decade."--Publisher's website.

Plate Tectonics, Revised Edition fully explains the theory that provides a single guiding principle to the earth's geological history.

"Inspired by a GSA Penrose Conference held in Lander, Wyoming, June 14-18, 2006, this volume discusses the beginning and evolution of plate tectonics on Earth, and gives readers an introduction to some of the uncertainties and controversies related to the evolution of the planet. In the first three sections of the book, which cover isotopic, geochemical, metamorphic, mineralization, and mantle geodynamic constraints, a variety of papers address the question of when "modern-style" plate tectonics began on planet Earth. The next set of papers focuses on the geodynamic or geophysical constraints for the beginning of plate tectonics. The volume's final section synthesizes a broad range of evidence, from planetary analogues and geodynamic modeling, to Earth's preserved geologic record. This work provides an excellent graduate level text summarizing the current state of knowledge and will be of interest to a wide range of earth and planetary scientists."--Publisher's website.

Palaeomagnetism, plates, hot spots, trenches and ridges are the subject of this unusual book. Plate Tectonics is a book of exercises and background information that introduces and demonstrates the basics of the subject. In a lively and lucid manner, it brings together a great deal of material in spherical trigonometry that is necessary to understand plate tectonics and the research literature written about it. It is intended for use in first year graduate courses in geophysics and tectonics, and provides a guide to the quantitative understanding of plate tectonics.

This textbook explains how mountains are formed and why there are old and young mountains. It provides a reconstruction of the Earths paleogeography and shows why the shapes of South America and Africa fit so well together. Furthermore, it explains why the Pacific is surrounded by a ring of volcanos and earthquake-prone areas while the edges of the Atlantic are relatively peaceful. This thoroughly revised textbook edition addresses all these questions and more through the presentation and explanation of the geodynamic processes upon which the theory of continental drift is based and which have led to the concept of plate tectonics. It is a source of information for students of geology, geophysics, geography, geosciences in general, general natural sciences, as well as professionals, and interested layman.

This book provides an overview of the history of plate tectonics, including in-context definitions of the key terms. It explains how the forerunners of the theory and how scientists working at the key academic institutions competed and collaborated until the theory coalesced.