In general, the term “size effect” refers to the influence of sample size on mechanical characteristics such as strength. Size effects in rock engineering have been of particular interest over the last four decades and many studies have been undertaken to understand the phenomenon. Size effects are not limited to rock. Almost all quasibrittle and brittle materials such as concrete, ceramic, and ice have shown some form of size effect.

The World Stress Map (WSM) compiles information of the contemporary crustal stress using a wide range of very different stress indicator which can be grouped into four categories:
• Earthquake focal mechanisms
• Well bore breakouts and drilling-induced fractures
• In-situ stress measurements (overcoring, hydraulic fracturing, borehole slotter)
• Young geologic data (from fault-slip analysis and volcanic vent alignments)

Studies of the magnetic anomalies paralleling ocean ridges have furnished partisans of continental drift with decisive arguments. To take stock of this important question, my colleague Thellier and I decided in the early summer of 1967 to make it the subject of the annual seminar on Earth physics for the school year 1967-68. Although research was still developing rapidly, the General Assembly of the International Union of Geodesy and Geophysics held in Switzerland in September, particularly some of the meetings in Zurich under the auspices of the International Committee for the Upper Mantle, appeared to confirm that we had made no important omissions. At the conclusion of the seminar, where I had been responsible for most of the lectures, I resolved to write the present volume for the non-specialized scientific reader.

In October 1985, SEPM sponsored a four-day conference entitled "Sea-Level Changes—An Integrated Approach." The conference was organized by Everest Geotech, Inc., and hosted by Transco Exploration Company in Houston, Texas. Co-conveners of the conference were Dr. Cheryl Wilgus of Everest Geotech, Inc., Dr. Walter C. Pitman of Lamont-Dougherty Oceanographic Institute, and Dr. Christopher G. St. C. Kendall of the University of South Carolina.