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Geopedia : a brief compendium of geologic curiosities / Marcia Bjornerud ; illustrations by Haley Hagerman.

by Bjornerud, Marcia, author.

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Princeton, New Jersey : Princeton University Press, [2022]

Geology -- Encyclopedias.

9780691212579 (hardcover) :

0691212570 hardcover

xv, 184 pages : illustrations ; 18 cm

Acasta gneiss: the old world -- Allochthon: rocks that roam -- Amethyst: purple haze -- Amygdule: on the bubble -- Anthropocene: it's about time -- Areology: wars of the worlds -- Benioff-Wadati zone: off the deep end -- Bioturbation: the worm churns -- Boudin: secrets of sausage making -- Breccia: you're breaking up -- Brimstone: volcanic theology -- Chondrite: recipe for a small planet -- Cryogenian: many are cold but few are frozen -- Darcy: a truth universally acknowledged -- Deborah number: beyond measure -- Dreikanter: three, of a kind -- Eclogite: pulling its weight -- Ediacara: peaceable kingdom -- Erg: the sands of time -- Firn: snows of yesteryear -- Gastrolith: from the gizzards of lizards -- Geodynamo: electromagnetic blanket -- Geophagy: raw terroir -- Geosyncline: magic mountains -- Granitization: igneous agnostics -- Grus: things fall apart -- Haboob: dust in the wind -- Hoodoo: hats off -- Jökulhlaup: breaking the ice -- Karst: the holey land -- Katabatic winds: blow me down -- Kimberlite: diamonds are ephemeral -- Klippe: strata gone astray -- Komatiite: the rock that went extinct -- Lahar: abhorrent torrent -- Lazarus taxa: zombie fossils -- Lusi: its name is Mud -- Moho: setting boundaries -- Mylonite: faulty logic -- Namakier: salt - water = taffy -- Nuée ardente: cloud with a white-hot lining -- Nunatak: peaks in a blanket -- Nutation: nodding off -- Oklo: the original Manhattan project -- Ophiolite: crocodile rock -- Panthalassa: oceans of time -- Pedogenesis: dirt rich -- Pingo: young as the hills -- Pneumonoultramicroscopicsilicovolcaniconiosis -- Polynya: window of opportunity -- Porphyry: all crystals great and small -- Pseudotachylyte: hot flashes -- Rapakivi: oddballs -- Scree: slippery slopes -- Skarn: a slow roast -- Slickensides: science fiction -- Speleothem: drip feed -- Stygobite: what lives beneath -- Stylolite: marble marvels -- Sverdrup: current affairs -- Taphonomy: what becomes a fossil most -- Thalweg: the valley below -- Thixotrophy: call me quick -- Tiktaalik: fish out of water -- Tully Monster: alien autopsy -- Turbidite: muddy waters -- Twist hackle: give me a break -- Unconformity: conspicuous absence -- Uniformitarianism: same as it ever was -- Varve: dear diary -- Xenolith: wayfaring stranger -- Yardang: gone with the wind -- Yazoo: parallel lives -- Zircon: I will survive -- Appendix 1. Simplified geologic timescale -- Appendix 2. Entries by language of origin -- Appendix 3. Entries by topical category -- Appendix 4. Entries by geographic location -- Appendix 5. Biographical references.

"A garden of geologic delights for all earthlings, Geopedia is a trove of geologic wonders and the evocative terms that humans have devised to describe them. Featuring dozens of entries -- from Acasta gneiss to Zircon -- this illustrated compendium is brimming with lapidary and lexical insights that will delight rockhounds and word lovers alike. Geoscientists are magpies for words, and with good reason. The sheer profusion of minerals, landforms, and geologic events produced by our creative planet demands an immense vocabulary to match. Marcia Bjornerud shows how this lexicon reflects not only the diversity of rocks and geologic processes but also the long history of human interactions with them. With wit and warmth, she invites all readers to celebrate the geologic glossary -- a gallimaufry of allusions to mythology, imports from diverse languages, embarrassing anachronisms, and recent neologisms. This captivating book includes cross-references at the end of each entry, inviting you to leave the alphabetic trail and meander through it like a river. Its pocket-friendly size makes it the perfect travel companion no matter where your own geologic forays may lead you. With whimsical illustrations by Haley Hagerman, Geopedia is a mix of engaging and entertaining facts about how the earth works, how it has coevolved with life over billions of years, and how our understanding of the planet has deepened over time. Features a real cloth cover with an elaborate foil-stamped design"-- Provided by publisher.

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