This book is a practical, hands-on introduction to numerical geodynamic modelling for inexperienced people, i.e. for young students and newcomers from other fields. It does not require much background in mathematics or physics and is therefore written with a maximum amount of simple technical details. If you are inexperienced – this book is yours! <...>

This book is intended for use in an introductory optical mineralogy course. The objective in preparing the book was to present in a single volume of reasonable size both a thorough treatment of optical theory as it pertains to mineral identification with the petrographic microscope, and detailed mineral descriptions of the common rock-forming minerais. The first seven chapters <leal with optical theory and provide an introduction to the properties oflight, a description of the petrographic microscope, and a discussion of the optical properties of isotropic and anisotropic materiais. Detailed step-by-step procedures have been included to guide students through the measurement of optical properties in both thin section and grain mount. Selected spindle stage techniques also are included. <...>

Given the unprecedented growth of human population over the past century, as well as the related increase in demand for and production of natural resources, it is evident that understanding the nature, origin and distribution of the world’s mineral deposits remains a strategic topic. The discipline of “economic geology,” which covers all aspects pertaining to the description and understanding of mineral resources, is, therefore, one which traditionally has been, and should remain, a core component of the university earth science curriculum. It is also the discipline that underpins the training of professional earth scientists working in the minerals and related industries of the world. A tendency in the past has been to treat economic geology as a vocational topic and to provide instruction only to those individuals who wished to specialize in the discipline or to follow a career in the minerals industry. In more recent years, changes in earth science curricula have resulted in a trend, at least in a good many parts of the world, in which economic geology has been sidelined <...>

The history of life is documented by fossils through the past 3.5 billion years. Paleobiology provides a unique long‐term perspective, which is important for three reasons: ancient life and environments can inform us about global change and the origins of modern biodiversity, and so provide information about how the world might change in the future; extinct plants and animals make up 99% of all species that ever lived, and so we need to know about them to understand the true scope of the tree of life; and extinct organisms did amazing things that no living plant or animal can do, and we need to explore their capabilities to assess the limits of form and function <...>