E-Book Overview
Nine years has passed since the 1992 second edition of the encyclopedia was published. This completely revised third edition, which is a university and professional level compendium of chemistry, molecular biology, mathematics, and engineering, is refreshed with numerous articles about current research in these fields. For example, the new edition has an increased emphasis on information processing and biotechnology, reflecting the rapid growth of these areas. The continuing Editor-in-Chief, Robert Meyers, and the Board prepared a new topical outline of physical science and technology to define complete coverage. Section editors are either Nobel Laureates or editors of key journals in their fields. Additional Board members representing the global scientific community were also recruited.
E-Book Content
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Encyclopedia of Physical Science and Technology
EN004L-191
June 8, 2001
19:25
Earth Sciences, History of Naomi Oreskes University of California, San Diego
I. II. III. IV.
Earth History and Geological Time Extinction, Evolution, and the Age of the Earth Continental Drift and Plate Tectonics Oceanography, Meteorology, Seismology, and Planetary Sciences V. Historiographic Reflections
GLOSSARY Asthenosphere A region of the earth’s upper mantle at a depth of approximately 75–150 km, characterized by low mechanical strength, attenuation of seismic shear waves, and partial melting. The term was coined in the 1910s by geologist Joseph Barrell to describe the zone in which isostatic adjustment occurs and basaltic magmas are generated. With the development of plate tectonics in the 1960s, the asthenosphere is now understood as the plastic zone over which the rigid plates move. Bathymetry Measurement of ocean depths. Benioff zones Zones of intermediate and deep-focus e