Overview

Isostasy is a simple concept, yet it has long perplexed students of geology and geophysics. This fully updated edition provides the tools to better understand this concept using a simplified mathematical treatment, numerous geological examples, and an extensive bibliography. It starts by tracing the ideas behind local and regional models of isostasy before describing the theoretical background, the observational evidence. It now also includes an exploration of the role of flexure in landscape evolution and dynamic topography and discussions of lithosphere memory, inheritance, and new NASA mission topography and gravity data. The book concludes with a discussion of flexure's role in understanding the evolution of the surface features of the Earth and its neighboring planets. Intended for advanced undergraduate and graduate students of geology and geophysics, it will also be of interest to researchers in gravity, geodesy, sedimentary basin formation, mountain building and planetary geology.

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9781009278928

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Reviews

'The second edition of this classic book offers an in-depth analysis of the numerous land, ocean, and planetary processes that are produced and modified by lithospheric flexure. Topics range from the theory of bending and deformation of thin elastic plates, to the relationships between gravity and topography, to the interaction of flexural and erosional processes and their geological interpretation. Throughout the book there are sections on the historical developments of all these topics. This new edition includes updates on yield strength envelope models for the lithosphere and the interpretation of new gravity and topography measured by satellite missions orbiting the Earth and other planets. Whether you are a geologist, geophysicist, or simply an enthusiast seeking a deeper understanding of the Earth's geological processes, Isostasy and Flexure of the Lithosphere is an invaluable resource.' David Sandwell, University of California, San Diego

Author Information

A. B. Watts is Professor of Marine Geology and Geophysics in the Department of Earth Sciences, at the University of Oxford. He is a Fellow of The Royal Society; a recipient of the Murchison Medal of the Geological Society of London, the Arthur Holmes Medal of the European Geosciences Union and the Maurice Ewing Medal of the American Geophysical Union; and the author of 240 refereed publications.

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