1st Edition

Geology and Environment In Britain and Ireland

By Nigel Woodcock Copyright 1994
    174 Pages
    by CRC Press

    174 Pages
    by CRC Press

    A complete introductory text on an increasingly popular subject, "Geology and Environment in Britain and Ireland" aims to provide suitably broad coverage for students requiring a treatment clearly foucused on familiar examples but retaining a global perspective.  The book summarizes for Earth and environmental scientists the ways in which geology relates to the natural environmentand to the humand activites that it supports.  The natural environment is more than the oceans, the atmosphere and the diversity of the land surface.  It extends below the ground and stretches back in time through the Earth's history.  These environmental dimensions are the concern of geology.  First, the book summarizes the geological influences on society through control of landscape and human geography, and through the threats posed by hazards such as landslides, subsidence and earhquakes.  Next, the many Earth resources that support human activity are described: land, water, construction materials minerals, coal, oil, and gas.  How are they formed or replenished?  Which resources are are sustainable for use over more than the immediate geological future?  Thirdly, the impacts of human activity an the Earth are examined - the results of extracting geological resources, of intentionally engineering the environment, and of carelessly polluting land and underground water supplies.  Perhaps most serious of all is atmospheric pollution caused by burning geological fuels, threatening global change on scales only familiar from the geological record.  This book is published at a pivotal point in the history of geology.  Scientists who, for a century and a half, have been preoccupied with finding Earth resources are increasingly being asked where on Earth to dispose of the effluents from using them.  "Geology and Environment in Britain and Ireland" provides a comapct, abundantly illustrated summary of both sides of this dilemma.  Its final chapter breaks new ground in opening a debate  on the ethical basis of applied geology - a debate which is needed to steer the subject into the 21st century.  The book should be of use to undergraduates in geology or environmental sciences, to accompany a taught course on applied geology  or as supplementary reading to their first year of geology.  A-level students in geology, geography or environmental science should find it a useful reference.  Professional geologists and environmental scientists should value the book as a broad but concise survey of the subject, as a helpful compilation of data, and as a guide to primary date sources.  Readers outside the British Isles should find it an invaluable overview of the application of geology in the region.  Nigel Woodcock teaches geology in both  the Department of Earth Sciences and Clare College in the University of Cambridge.  He has published over 80 scientific papers, mainly in the fields of structural geology, sedimentology and environmental geology, and is a prolific reviewer of geological books.  He has extensive field experience in Turkey, Cyprus, Greece, and particularly  in Britain and Irelansd.  This book is intended for first-year undergraduate students in departments of geology, Earth sciences, environmental sciences, environmental studies, civil engineering, taking an introductory course on environmental geology or geology and the environment.

    Preface
    Sources of illustrations

    Environmental geology
    Environmental geology
    Definition and content
    Further reading
    Geological influences on society
    Geology and landscape
    Geological history of the British Isles
    The geological map of the British Isles
    Landscape and solid geology
    Landscape and Quaternary geology
    Geology and human geography
    Rural geography
    Vernacular architecture
    Urban and industrial geography
    Geology and historical geography
    Further reading
    Geological hazards
    Hazard type and assessment
    Earthquakes
    Volcanoes
    Landslides
    Coastal erosion
    Floods
    Subsidence
    Geomedical hazards
    Future impacts of natural hazards
    Further reading

    Earth resources for society
    Resources
    Types of geological resources
    Resource assessment
    Further reading
    Land
    Land as a resource
    Soil
    Land use in the British Isles
    Global perspectives
    Further reading
    Water
    The hydrological cycle
    Water availability and use in the British Isles
    Behaviour of groundwater
    Management of surface water
    Groundwater in the British Isles
    Water futures in the UK
    Global perspectives
    Further reading
    Construction materials
    Use of construction materials
    Properties of construction materials
    Distribution in the British Isles
    Production in the British Isles
    Global perspectives
    Further reading
    Industrial and metallic minerals
    Nature and use
    Formation processes
    Examples of mineralization processes
    Minerals in the British Isles
    Global perspectives
    Further reading
    Coal and peat
    Requirements for coal and peat formation
    Deltaic coal environment
    Recent peat deposits
    Burial and maturation
    Geography of coal and peat
    Coal consumption and production
    Global perspectives
    Further reading
    Petroleum
    The importance of petroleum
    Requirements for oil and gas
    Exploration and production techniques
    Oil and gasfield examples
    Hydrocarbon plays
    Production in space and time
    Unconventional petroleum
    Uses of petroleum
    Global perspectives
    Further reading
    Energy perspectives
    Energy use
    Fossil fuel reserves and shortfall
    Uranium and nuclear power
    Geothermal energy
    Renewable energy
    Energy futures
    Further reading

    Human impacts on the Earth
    Environmental impacts
    The nature of the environment
    Geological impacts
    Further reading
    Resource extraction
    Extracting geological resources
    Withdrawal of subsurface fluids
    Underground mining
    Surface mining and quarrying
    Impacts in the British Isles
    Global perspectives
    Further reading
    Engineering geology
    Physical principles
    Foundations
    Excavations and embankments
    Water engineering
    Coastal management
    Agriculture
    Urbanization
    Global perspectives
    Further reading
    Land and water pollution
    Wastes and pollution
    Point-source pollution
    Diffuse pollution
    Radioactive wastes
    Global perspectives
    Further reading
    Atmospheric pollution
    Local air pollution
    The greenhouse effect
    Geology and global warming
    Stratospheric ozone depletion
    Further reading

    Geology and society
    Geology and society
    History of applied geology
    Science in society
    Geology and environmental ideas
    Geology and the future
    Further reading
    Glossary
    List of references
    Index

    Biography

    Nigel Woodcock, University of Cambridge, UK.