Describes how seismic tomography is used to analyze the waves produced by earthquakes. The information obtained from the procedure can then be used to map the earth's mantle in three dimensions. The resulting maps are then studied to determine such information as the convective flow that propels the crustal plates. (JN)

Reviews current ideas and research findings related to the flow patterns of mantle rocks. Highlights the components of the two-layer convection and whole-mantle models of mantle flow. Proposes that mantle flow is the key to understanding how the earth has cooled and chemically evolved. (ML)

Reviews seismological studies that provide evidence of the existence of continental roots beneath the continents. Suggests, that through the collisions of plate tectonics, continents stabilized part of the mobile mantle rock beneath them to form deep roots. (ML)

Reviews various topics and research studies on the geology of volcanoes. Areas examined include volcanoes and weather, plate margins, origins of magma, magma evolution, United States Geological Survey (USGS) volcano hazards program, USGS volcano observatories, volcanic gases, potassium-argon dating activities, and volcano monitoring strategies.…

Points out that large earthquakes can take place not only on faults that cut the earth's surface but also on blind faults under folded terrain. Describes four examples of fold earthquakes. Discusses the fold earthquakes using several diagrams and pictures. (YP)

Offers explanations on the origin of the North American Atlantic continental margin. Provides an analysis and illustrations of structural and strategraphic elements of cross sections of the Atlantic continental margin. Also explains the operations and applications of seismic-relection profiles in studying ocean areas. (ML)

Presented is a summary of the remarks made by the president of the International Union of Geological Sciences at the 25th International Geological Congress held August 16-25, 1976, Sydney, Australia. Remarks concentrate upon recent and on going worldwide research in all fields of geology. (SL)

Investigates the nature of catastrophic volcanism and the rifting process. Describes two kinds of evidence: quantitative descriptions of rock melting and a wide range of observations. Discusses examples of continent growth in the North Atlantic, India and the Seychelles islands, and the South Atlantic. (YP)

Continental geology and tectonics are explored through this study of modern beach sands of South America. This report assesses how well petrographic studies of sandstones can recreate continental geography. Data on the petrography of 218 modern South American beach sands are presented and analyzed. The five major mineral associations of light…

Summarizes representative quantitative tectonic-geomorphology studies made during the last century, focusing on fault-bounded mountain-front escarpments, marine terraces, and alluvial geomorphic surfaces (considering stream terraces, piedmont fault scarps, and soils chronosequences). Also suggests where tectonic-geomorphology courses may best fit…

Suggests that there is a close relationship between deformation in the western United States and the large-scale motions of tectonic plates. Introduces very-long-baseline interferometry (VLBI) as one of the space-geodetic techniques, vector addition of the VLBI data and geological data, and a new geodetic network. (YP)

Describes a laboratory exercise testing the Vine-Matthews-Morley hypothesis of plate tectonics. Includes 14 questions with explanations using graphs and charts. Provides a historical account of the current plate tectonic and magnetic anomaly theory. (MVL)

The East Gobi Basin (EGB), which covers over 1.5 million square kilometers in southeastern Mongolia, is one of several basins in eastern China and Mongolia that was formed by extension and intracontinental rifting during the late Mesozoic. For reasons that are poorly understood, the continental lithosphere covering areas that are now known as…

Develops an exercise in which students use magnetic-profile data gathered in the South Pacific to test the Vine-Matthews-Morley hypothesis. Uses the Eltanin 19N and 20N profiles. Relates the exercise to 20 current geology texts. (MVL)