Geodynamics of the Lithosphere An Introduction
The large scale structure of the earth is caused by geodynamic processes which are explained using energetic, kinematic and dynamic descriptions. While "geodynamic processes" are understood to include a large variety of processes and the term is used quit
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Kurt Stiiwe
Geodynamics of the LIthosphere An Introduction Second Edition with 270 Figures, 16 in color
Springer
Kurt Stiiwe University of Graz Institute of Earth Science Heinrichstr. 26 8010 Graz
Austria Email: kurt.stuewe@uni-graz,at
Library of Congress Control Number: 2007921988 ISBN ISBN
978-3-540-71236-7 Springer Berlin Heidelberg New York 978-3-540-41726-2 (1st. Edition) Springer Berlin Heidelberg New York
This work is subject to copyright. All rights are reserved, whether the whole or part of the material is concerned, specifically the rights of translation, reprinting, reuse of illustrations, recitation, broadcasting, reproduction on microfilm or in any other way, and storage in data banks. Duplication of this publication or parts thereof is permitted only under the provisions of the German Copyright Law of September 9,1965, in its current version, and permission for use must always be obtained from Springer-Verlag. Violations are liable to prosecution under the German Copyright Law. Springer is a part of Springer Science+Business Media springer.com © Springer-Verlag Berlin Heidelberg 2007 The use of general descriptive names, registered names, trademarks, etc. in this publication does not imply, even in the absence of a specific statement, that such names are exempt from the relevant protective laws and regulations and therefore free for general use. Cover design: deblik, Berlin Production: Almas Schimmel Typesetting: camera-ready by the author Printed on acid-free paper
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I dislike very much to consider any quantitat i v e problem set by a geologist. In nearly every case, the conditions given are much too vague for the m a t t e r to be in any sense satisfactory, and a geologist does not seem to mind a few millions of years in m a t t e r s relating to time... John Perry, 1895 (In the paper in which he calculated the age of the earth - previously estimated by Lord Kelvin to be 90 my - to the correct age of 4.5 Gy.)
Foreword to 2nd edition
I was invited by SPRINGER publishers to write a 2nd edition of this textbook days before departing for the EGU conference in Vienna in spring 2006. Naturally, the idea roamed around my mind whilst sitting through a variety of great talks which presented new results from the field of geodynamics. Many talks presented incredibly realistic results from advanced numerical models and I quickly got the feeling that - in order to remain up to date - a new edition should contain much more on some of these sophisticated models. Quite clearly, geodynamics is a rapidly developing field that makes more and more use of computing skills to cope with an ever growing number of processes that scientists want to consider simultaneously to explain large data sets. However, as exciting as this development is, it also bears a danger: Shouldn't a good model provide a weighted balance between simplicity and realistic description? Do we really help the field geologists, our undergraduates or even ourselves by producing models that look more and more like natu
