The George A. Thompson: The Lithosphere Of Western North America And Its Geophysical Characterization (International Book)

Held in December of 2001 in honor of Professor George A. Thompson and his work in geophysics and geology, a Stanford University symposium lent its name and 25 papers to this volume. Papers on continental deformation treat faulting, flow, and the strength of the continental lithosphere, GPS constraints on the kinematics of continental deformation, and steady-state equilibrium and deformation of intraplate lithosphere. A section dealing fault mechanics and the San Andreas Fault discusses has papers on such topics as the Mendocino crustal conveyor, transtension in arcs and orogens, and self-organization of crustal faulting and tectonics. The geology of the Western United States is the overarching topic of a group of papers discussing temporal changes in the deformation mode of the Colorado River extensional corridor and the timing and nature of tertiary plutonism and extension in the Grouse Creek Mountains of Utah, among other topics. Applications of isostasy and gravity methods are considered in a trio of papers. The final sections concentrate on the mantle, containing papers on flow and seismic structure, followed by others dealing with geochemistry. Annotation ©2005 Book News, Inc., Portland, OR (booknews.com)