Dictionary of Earth Sciences (Oxford Paperback Reference) | 
 enlarge | Author: Michael Allaby
Publisher: Oxford University Press, USA
Category: Book
List Price: $18.95
Buy New: $9.49
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Avg. Customer Rating:  3 reviews
Sales Rank: 517139
Media: Paperback
Edition: 3
Number Of Items: 1
Pages: 672
Shipping Weight (lbs): 1.1
Dimensions (in): 7.4 x 5 x 1.7
ISBN: 0199211949
Dewey Decimal Number: 550
EAN: 9780199211944
ASIN: 0199211949
Publication Date: April 7, 2008
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Product Description
This leading dictionary--now in its third edition--offers wide-ranging and authoritative coverage of the earth sciences and related topics. In more than 6,250 clear and accessible entries, it covers geology, oceanography, paleontology, mineralogy, volcanology, and planetary science as well as climatology, geochemistry, and petrology. The third edition is fully updated and includes additional coverage of process geomorphology and physical geography, plus more than 50 new line drawings to accompany descriptions of forms and processes. The new edition also features web links accessed via a companion website, featuring additional information that is regularly updated to ensure that it stays fresh. Finally, the book has a revised bibliography and a number of appendices that include a revised geological time scale, stratigraphic units, lunar and Martian time scales, wind-strength scales, and SI units. It is an essential reference for students of geography, geology, and earth sciences and in related disciplines.
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| Customer Reviews:
 Review of the 2nd edition (1999) October 27, 2004
5 out of 5 found this review helpful
While not an earth sciences person myself, I have had to plow through quite a number of environmental science dictionaries and textbooks over the years as references for various aspects of projects at my job (which has to do with environmental modelling, representation, and simulation). It'd be a shame to let all that "how would an educated layperson cope with this book" experience go to waste...
The authors themselves make clear in their prefaces (that for the first edition is also included) what the intended use of the book is - as a dictionary of words and terms in current use, in order to explain that usage (*not* to express an opinion on what a correct usage should be). (In compiling any sort of dictionary/glossary across multiple disciplines, believe me, it's *very* difficult to agree on The One True Definition (TM) of any term.)
The DICTIONARY isn't intended as a textbook, but might be a useful supplement. There are occasional diagrams, but not many relative to the number of entries.
A DICTIONARY OF EARTH SCIENCES doesn't *just* tackle geologic terms - if it did, it'd be titled differently. The scope includes "terms from climatology, meteorology, economic geology, engineering geology, geochemistry, geochronology, geomorphology, geophysics, hydrology, mineralogy, oceanography, palaeoclimatology, palaeoecology, palaeogeography, palaeontology, pedology, petrology...planetary geology, sedimentology, stratigraphy, structural geology, tectonics, and volcanology."
Having such a broad scope, it's good for general / introductory knowledge, on the whole, but don't expect *too* much of it for more specialized areas.
It passes my personal, idiosyncratic acid test; it not only defines the Udden-Wentworth scale of particle size (which is used to grade sands, silts, gravel, etc.), but gives both its common names. (Far too many textbooks seem to assume that the scale fell out of the sky and don't even give its name.) So it's reasonably good at defining very common terms and tools that are often assumed to need no explanation.
Differences from the first edition: all terms were reviewed, many updated. There were a few removals of terms no longer considered relevant, and a great many additions (this last generated mostly by planetary exploration both in space and for natural resources).
 Good Undergraduate Reference April 26, 2003
2 out of 6 found this review helpful
I found this dictionary very useful for my geology, climate, and meteorology classes as an undergraduate.
Very helpful April 20, 2000
11 out of 12 found this review helpful
Being an Earth Science major in school, I found this book helpful for most general Earth Science terms, but when it gets down to the more advanced terms (ie for mineralogy, petrography, etc), this book is somewhat lacking. Overall helpful with general knowledge.
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