From tidal waves and sandstorms to lava flows and glaciers, natural geological processes are often hazardous to human life. This book examines the scientific principles behind these processes, explaining how and why they pose a frequent threat. Twelve chapters cover such topics as:
- Earthquakes
- Volcanic eruptions
- Tsunami
- Mass wasting
- Streams and floods
- Coastal hazards
- Deserts, droughts, and wind
- Glaciers and glaciation
- Hazardous geologic materials, such as asbestos and radon gas
- Natural geologic subsidence, such as sinkholes
- Sudden catastrophic geologic events, such as asteroid impacts
Each chapter includes an extensive list of additional resources, featuring books, journal articles, Web sites, and contact information for relevant organizations. In addition to a general introduction, the volume also contains a detailed subject index and over 60 photographs, tables, and charts.
Written in a clear, engaging manner with numerous examples of famous or recent geological disasters, the Sourcebook is an excellent introduction to the topic for high school and college students, as well as a valuable resource for teachers, professors, journalists, and interested general readers. Government agencies and private relief organizations that deal with natural disasters will also find the book useful.
About the Author: Timothy M. Kusky is a professor at St. Louis University in Missouri, where he teaches courses in geologic hazards, environmental geology, structural geology, remote sensing, tectonics, and Precambrian crustal evolution. He has an active, award-winning research program, including projects in Asia, Africa, the Middle East, the United States, Canada, and Australia. Kusky received his BSc and MSc in geological sciences from the State University of New York at Albany, and his MS and PhD in earth and planetary sciences from Johns Hopkins University. He did post-doctoral studies in the Department of Mechanical Engineering at the University of California, Santa Barbara, and worked as a visiting professor in the Department of Geological Sciences and the Allied Geophysical Laboratories at the University of Houston. He also worked an an assistant professor at the Center for Remote Sensing and Department of Geology at Boston University.
