Geomagnetism is the study of the earth's magnetic field: its measurement, variation in time and space, origins, and its use in helping us to understand more about our Earth. Paleomagnetism is the study of the record left in the rocks; it has contributed much to our understanding of the geomagnetic field's past behavior and many other aspects of geology and earth history.

Geographic Information Systems date from the 1960s, when computers were mostly seen as devices for massive computation. Very significant technical problems had to be solved in those early days: how did one convert the contents of a paper map to digital form (by building an optical scanner from scratch); how did one store the result on magnetic tape (in the form of a linear sequence of records representing the geometry of each boundary line as sequences of vertices); and how did one compute the areas of patches (using an elegant algorithm involving trapezia). Most of the early research was about algorithms, data structures, and indexing schemes, and, thus, had strong links to emerging research agendas in computer science.

The Encyclopedia of Islands is a comprehensive, complete, and authoritative reference dealing with all of the physical and biological aspects of islands and island habitats. Articles are written by researchers and scientifi c experts and provide a broad overview of the current state of knowledge on these fascinating places. Biologists, ecologists, geologists, climatologists, oceanographers, geographers, and zoologists have contributed reviews intended for students as well as the interested general public. In order for the reader to easily use this reference, the following summary describes the features, reviews the organization and format of the articles, and is a guide to the many ways to maximize the utility of this Encyclopedia. <...>

This volume is offered in tribute to the memory of Rhodes W. Fairbridge, Senior Editor of the Encyclopedia of Earth Sciences Series, who sadly passed away before this encyclopedia could be completed. It was upon his recommendation and inspiration that this project was undertaken. Rhodes Fairbridge took a keen interest in paleoclimatology, which ties together many aspects of the geosciences. He wrote several articles especially for this encyclopedia, including a detailed history of paleoclimatology and “Earth Laws and Paleoclimatology”, which summarizes many of the ideas he had covered in his long and distinguished career. He was way ahead of his time in his early acceptance of Wegener's theory of continental drift, the role of orbital cycles in climate change (i.e., the Milankovitch theory), solar influences on climate, and recognition of general aridity during glacial periods.