Mechanics in the Earth and Environmental Sciences

Rating:
Summary: "Down-to-earth" mechanics for geoscientists
Review: Are you a geoscientist or a student in geosciences? Did you have quite some physics and mathematics during high school and/or college, but never fully understood how earth sciences really connect with them? Are you sometimes annoyed by the difficulty to understand some papers loaded with equations in your professional literature? If the answers to these questions are "yes", than this book can be a very useful one for you, regardless if you are a structural geologist, sedimentologist, hydrogeologist or petroleum geologist. The mathemathical background which you need for the book is only introductory calculus. And, as most books or papers written or co-authored by G.V. Middleton, it is well written, and, despite the not-so-easy subjects, it is easy to follow and understand. You will find a review of elementary mechanics, chapters about dimensional analysis, stress, pressure and buoyancy, flow through porous media, strain, elasticity, viscous fluids, flow of natural materials, turbulence and thermal convection. Of a special value for me were (and still are) the suggested readings, which pick a few good references from a sea of titles, for me an unfamiliar list which made it always problematic to choose the best/right readings. This book can be used as a great textbook and teaching material for upper level undergrads or beginner level graduate students in the earth and environmental sciences.

Rating:
Summary: A text worth investing in
Review: Spending too much money on textbooks this semester? Purchase this text and you'll actually read and utilize it. The authors are concerned with teaching the material, NOT showing the reader how smart they are. That's what counts, LEARNING.