Download or read book The Book of Unconformities written by Hugh Raffles and published by Verse Chorus Press. This book was released on 2022-04-18 with total page 415 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: From the author of lnsectopedia, a powerful exploration of loss, grief, endurance, and the absences that permeate the present. Unconformities are gaps in the geological record, physical evidence of breaks in time. For Hugh Raffles, these holes in history are also fissures in feeling, knowledge, memory, and understanding. In this endlessly inventive, riveting book, Raffles enters these gaps, drawing together threads of geology, history, literature, philosophy, and ethnography to trace the intimate connections between personal loss and world historical events, and to reveal the force of absence at the core of contemporary life. Through deeply researched explorations of Neolithic stone circles, Icelandic lava, mica from a Nazi concentration camp, petrified whale blubber in Svalbard, the marble prized by Manhattan's Lenape, and a huge Greenlandic meteorite that arrived in New York City along with six Inuit adventurers in 1897, Raffles shows how unconformities unceasingly incite human imagination and investigation yet refuse to conform, heal, or disappear. A journey across eons and continents, The Book of Unconformities is also a journey through stone: this most solid, ancient, and enigmatic of materials, it turns out, is as lively, capricious, willful, and indifferent as time itself.
Download or read book Insectopedia written by Hugh Raffles and published by Vintage. This book was released on 2011-03-22 with total page 482 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: A New York Times Notable Book A stunningly original exploration of the ties that bind us to the beautiful, ancient, astoundingly accomplished, largely unknown, and unfathomably different species with whom we share the world. For as long as humans have existed, insects have been our constant companions. Yet we hardly know them, not even the ones we’re closest to: those that eat our food, share our beds, and live in our homes. Organizing his book alphabetically, Hugh Raffles weaves together brief vignettes, meditations, and extended essays, taking the reader on a mesmerizing exploration of history and science, anthropology and travel, economics, philosophy, and popular culture. Insectopedia shows us how insects have triggered our obsessions, stirred our passions, and beguiled our imaginations.
Download or read book In Amazonia written by Hugh Raffles and published by Princeton University Press. This book was released on 2002-10-27 with total page 324 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The Amazon is not what it seems. As Hugh Raffles shows us in this captivating and innovative book, the world's last great wilderness has been transformed again and again by human activity. In Amazonia brings to life an Amazon whose allure and reality lie as much, or more, in what people have made of it as in what nature has wrought. It casts new light on centuries of encounter while describing the dramatic remaking of a sweeping landscape by residents of one small community in the Brazilian Amazon. Combining richly textured ethnographic research and lively historical analysis, Raffles weaves a fascinating story that changes our understanding of this region and challenges us to rethink what we mean by "nature." Raffles draws from a wide range of material to demonstrate--in contrast to the tendency to downplay human agency in the Amazon--that the region is an outcome of the intimately intertwined histories of humans and nonhumans. He moves between a detailed narrative that analyzes the production of scientific knowledge about Amazonia over the centuries and an absorbing account of the extraordinary transformations to the fluvial landscape carried out over the past forty years by the inhabitants of Igarapé Guariba, four hours downstream from the nearest city. Engagingly written, theoretically inventive, and vividly illustrated, the book introduces a diverse range of characters--from sixteenth-century explorers and their native rivals to nineteenth-century naturalists and contemporary ecologists, logging company executives, and river-traders. A natural history of a different kind, In Amazonia shows how humans, animals, rivers, and forests all participate in the making of a region that remains today at the center of debates in environmental politics.
Download or read book Ossianic Unconformities written by Eric Gidal and published by University of Virginia Press. This book was released on 2015-08-25 with total page 308 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: In a sequence of publications in the 1760s, James Macpherson, a Scottish schoolteacher in the central Highlands, created fantastic epics of ancient heroes and presented them as genuine translations of the poetry of Ossian, a fictionalized Caledonian bard of the third century. In Ossianic Unconformities Eric Gidal introduces the idiosyncratic publications of a group of nineteenth-century Scottish eccentrics who used statistics, cartography, and geomorphology to map and thereby vindicate Macpherson's controversial eighteenth-century renderings of Gaelic oral traditions. Although these writers primarily sought to establish the authenticity of Macpherson's "translations," they came to record, through promotion, evasion, and confrontation, the massive changes being wrought upon Scottish and Irish lands by British industrialization. Their obsessive and elaborate attempts to fix both the poetry and the land into a stable set of coordinates developed what we can now perceive as a nascent ecological perspective on literature in a changing world. Gidal examines the details of these imaginary geographies in conjunction with the social and spatial histories of Belfast and the River Lagan valley, Glasgow and the Firth of Clyde, and the Highlands and Western Isles of Scotland, regions that form both the sixth-century kingdom of Dál Riata and the fabled terrain of the Ossianic poems. Combining environmental and industrial histories with the reception of the poems of Ossian, Ossianic Unconformities unites literary history and book studies with geography, cartography, and geology to present and consider imaginative responses to environmental catastrophe.
Download or read book Insect Theatre written by Tim Edgar and published by Black Dog Pub Limited. This book was released on 2013 with total page 64 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The result of Tim Edgar photographing the insect life in his home for three years and examining through a close up lens the creatures that were sharing his domestic space, the book provides a uniquely personal view of the insects and the performances they play out. Through macro photography Edgar is able to capture the fragile nature of the insects and the conflict in the chaotic web they reside in. The photographs are contextualised in the essays by anthropologist Hugh Raffles who discusses the life and death situations in the cobweb and the chaos in the domestic insect world. Close observation of natural science is paired with a sense of intrigue and wonder.
Download or read book Geological Objects and Structures in 3D written by Dominique Frizon de Lamotte and published by CRC Press. This book was released on 2020-09-30 with total page 150 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Geologists must be able to “read” a geological map. That means interpreting the vertical dimension through the 2D view represented on the map and at different scales. The main objective of this book is to help students during this difficult learning process. Based on an abundant iconography (field photos, maps, cross-sections) and on basics in mathematics and mechanics, the book dissects the geometry of emblematic geological structures and objects in order to build 3 D models, printable in 3D. The book is dedicated to structural geology with a particular emphasis on kinematics of faulting and folding and on salt tectonics (chapters III, IV and V). The origin of continental great unconformities and oceanic break-up unconformities is also discussed (chapter II). The audience of the book is broad and includes (under)graduate students in Earth Sciences, professors of Natural Sciences, and professional or amateur geologists.
Download or read book Geological Well Logs written by S. Luthi and published by Springer Science & Business Media. This book was released on 2013-03-14 with total page 392 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Logging has come a long way from the simple electrical devices of the early years. Today's tools are considerably more accurate and are used for an increasingly diverse number of tasks. Among these are tools that characterise geological properties of rocks in the borehole. Combined with new technology to drill deviated wells, the geoscientist now has tools which allow him to characterise and develop reservoirs more accurately than ever. This book, written for researchers, graduate students and practising geoscientists, documents these techniques and illustrates their use in a number of typical case studies.
Download or read book A Wilder Time written by William E. Glassley and published by Bellevue Literary Press. This book was released on 2018-02-13 with total page 224 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: John Burroughs Medal for Distinguished Natural History Book New Mexico-Arizona Book Award Winner Saroyan Prize Shortlist Kirkus Reviews "Best Book of the Year" selection "A richly literary account. . . . Anchored by deep reflection and scientific knowledge, A Wilder Time is a portrait of an ancient, nearly untrammeled world that holds the secrets of our planet's deepest past, even as it accelerates into our rapidly changing future. The book bears the literary, scientific, philosophic, and poetic qualities of a nature-writing classic, the rarest mixture of beauty and scholarship, told with the deftest touch." —John Burroughs Medal judges’ citation Greenland, one of the last truly wild places, contains a treasure trove of information on Earth's early history embedded in its pristine landscape. Over numerous seasons, William E. Glassley and two fellow geologists traveled there to collect samples and observe rock formations for evidence to prove a contested theory that plate tectonics, the movement of Earth's crust over its molten core, is a much more ancient process than some believed. As their research drove the scientists ever farther into regions barely explored by humans for millennia—if ever—Glassley encountered wondrous creatures and natural phenomena that gave him unexpected insight into the origins of myth, the virtues and boundaries of science, and the importance of seeking the wilderness within. An invitation to experience a breathtaking place and the fascinating science behind its creation, A Wilder Time is nature writing at its best. William E. Glassley is a geologist at the University of California, Davis, and an emeritus researcher at Aarhus University, Denmark, focusing on the evolution of continents and the processes that energize them. He is the author of over seventy research articles and a textbook on geothermal energy. He lives in Santa Fe, New Mexico.
Download or read book Elemental written by Erika Kobayashi and published by Calico. This book was released on 2021-03-09 with total page 192 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Elemental, the third book in the Calico Series from Two Lines Press, is a whirlwind of fiction and reportage from Japan, Iran, Germany, Israel, Poland, Madagascar, Norway, and Iraq that explores how earth, wind, water, and fire continue to shape our narratives and alter our existence.
Download or read book Map Interpretation for Structural Geologists written by Narayan Bose and published by Elsevier. This book was released on 2017-08-10 with total page 143 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Map Interpretation for Structural Geologists covers various topics, from deciphering topography using contour patterns to interpreting folds, faults, unconformities and dykes. By interpreting several types of maps, this book gives readers the confidence to solve difficult geologic questions related to map interpretation in the classroom and in the field. Interpreting geological and structural maps is an inseparable part of learning structural geology in the undergraduate curriculum and postgraduate development. Features approximately 30 full-color geological or structural maps and their solutions, from basic to the most complex Includes content appropriate for undergraduate and graduate students and professional geoscientists alike Presents a self-learning guide and teaching manual with minimum instruction required
Download or read book Anthropocene Reading written by Tobias Menely and published by Penn State Press. This book was released on 2017-10-13 with total page 273 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Few terms have garnered more attention recently in the sciences, humanities, and public sphere than the Anthropocene, the proposed epoch in which a human “signature” appears in the lithostratigraphic record. Anthropocene Reading considers the implications of this concept for literary history and critical method. Entering into conversation with geologists and geographers, this volume reinterprets the cultural past in relation to the anthropogenic transformation of the Earth system while showcasing how literary analysis may help us conceptualize this geohistorical event. The contributors examine how a range of literary texts, from The Tempest to contemporary dystopian novels to the poetry of Emily Dickinson, mediate the convergence of the social institutions, energy regimes, and planetary systems that support the reproduction of life. They explore the long-standing dialogue between imaginative literature and the earth sciences and show how scientists, novelists, and poets represent intersections of geological and human timescales, the deep past and a posthuman future, political exigency and the carbon cycle. Accessibly written and representing a range of methodological perspectives, the essays in this volume consider what it means to read literary history in the Anthropocene. Contributors include Juliana Chow, Jeffrey Jerome Cohen, Thomas H. Ford, Anne-Lise François, Noah Heringman, Matt Hooley, Stephanie LeMenager, Dana Luciano, Steve Mentz, Benjamin Morgan, Justin Neuman, Jennifer Wenzel, and Derek Woods.
Download or read book The Geology of Stratigraphic Sequences written by Andrew D. Miall and published by Springer Science & Business Media. This book was released on 2013-06-29 with total page 436 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Sequence stratigraphy represents a new paradigm in geology. The principal hypothesis is that stratigraphie successions may be subdivided into discrete sequences bounded by widespread unconformities. There are two parts to this hypothesis. First, it suggests that the driving forces which generate sequences and their bounding unconformities also generate predietable three-dimensional stratigraphies. In re cent years stratigraphie research guided by sequence models has brought about fundamental im provements in our understanding of stratigraphie processes and the controls of basin architecture. Sequence models have provided a powerful framework for mapping and numerieal modeling, enabling the science of stratigraphy to advance with rapid strides. This research has demonstrated the importance of a wide range of processes for the generation of cyclie sequences, including eustasy, tectonics, and orbital forcing of climate change. The main objective of this book is to document the sequence record and to discuss our current state of knowledge about sequence-generating processes.
Download or read book 3 D Structural Geology written by Richard H. Groshong and published by Springer Science & Business Media. This book was released on 2006-07-09 with total page 411 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The book includes new material, in particular examples of 3-D models and techniques for using kinematic models to predict fault and ramp-anticline geometry. The book is geared toward the professional user concerned about the accuracy of an interpretation and the speed with which it can be obtained from incomplete data. Numerous analytical solutions are given that can be easily implemented with a pocket calculator or a spreadsheet.
Download or read book Designs and Anthropologies written by Keith M. Murphy and published by University of New Mexico Press. This book was released on 2021-11-01 with total page 237 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The chapters in this captivating volume demonstrate the importance and power of design and the ubiquitous and forceful effects it has on human life within the study of anthropology. The scholars explore the interactions between anthropology and design through a cross-disciplinary approach, and while their approaches vary in how they specifically consider design, they are all centered around the design-and-anthropology relationship. The chapters look at anthropology for design, in which anthropological methods and concepts are mobilized in the design process; anthropology of design, in which design is positioned as an object of ethnographic inquiry and critique; and design for anthropology, in which anthropologists borrow concepts and practices from design to enhance traditional ethnographic forms. Collectively, the chapters argue that bringing design and anthropology together can transform both fields in more than one way and that to tease out the implications of using design to reimagine ethnography—and of using ethnography to reimagine design—we need to consider the historical specificity of their entanglements.
Download or read book This Is Chance written by Jon Mooallem and published by Random House Trade Paperbacks. This book was released on 2021-03-16 with total page 338 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The thrilling, cinematic story of a community shattered by disaster—and the extraordinary woman who helped pull it back together “A powerful, heart-wrenching book, as much art as it is journalism.”—The Wall Street Journal “A beautifully wrought and profoundly joyful story of compassion and perseverance.”—BuzzFeed (Best Books of the Year) In the spring of 1964, Anchorage, Alaska, was a modern-day frontier town yearning to be a metropolis—the largest, proudest city in a state that was still brand-new. But just before sundown on Good Friday, the community was jolted by the most powerful earthquake in American history, a catastrophic 9.2 on the Richter Scale. For four and a half minutes, the ground lurched and rolled. Streets cracked open and swallowed buildings whole. And once the shaking stopped, night fell and Anchorage went dark. The city was in disarray and sealed off from the outside world. Slowly, people switched on their transistor radios and heard a familiar woman’s voice explaining what had just happened and what to do next. Genie Chance was a part-time radio reporter and working mother who would play an unlikely role in the wake of the disaster, helping to put her fractured community back together. Her tireless broadcasts over the next three days would transform her into a legendary figure in Alaska and bring her fame worldwide—but only briefly. That Easter weekend in Anchorage, Genie and a cast of endearingly eccentric characters—from a mountaineering psychologist to the local community theater group staging Our Town—were thrown into a jumbled world they could not recognize. Together, they would make a home in it again. Drawing on thousands of pages of unpublished documents, interviews with survivors, and original broadcast recordings, This Is Chance! is the hopeful, gorgeously told story of a single catastrophic weekend and proof of our collective strength in a turbulent world. There are moments when reality instantly changes—when the life we assume is stable gets upended by pure chance. This Is Chance! is an electrifying and lavishly empathetic portrayal of one community rising above the randomness, a real-life fable of human connection withstanding chaos.
Download or read book Basin and Range written by John McPhee and published by Farrar, Straus and Giroux. This book was released on 1982-04-01 with total page 166 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The first of John McPhee's works in his series on geology and geologists, Basin and Range is a book of journeys through ancient terrains, always in juxtaposition with travels in the modern world—a history of vanished landscapes, enhanced by the histories of people who bring them to light. The title refers to the physiographic province of the United States that reaches from eastern Utah to eastern California, a silent world of austere beauty, of hundreds of discrete high mountain ranges that are green with junipers and often white with snow. The terrain becomes the setting for a lyrical evocation of the science of geology, with important digressions into the plate-tectonics revolution and the history of the geologic time scale.
Download or read book Making the Geologic Now written by Elizabeth Ellsworth and published by . This book was released on 2012-12-01 with total page 260 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Making the Geologic Now announces shifts in cultural sensibilities and practices. It offers early sightings of an increasingly widespread turn toward the geologic as source of explanation, motivation, and inspiration for creative responses to conditions of the present moment. In the spirit of a broadside, this edited collection circulates images and short essays from over 40 artists, designers, architects, scholars, and journalists who are actively exploring and creatively responding to the geologic depth of "now." Contributors' ideas and works are drawn from architecture, design, contemporary philosophy and art. They are offered as test sites for what might become thinkable or possible if humans were to collectively take up the geologic as our instructive co-designer-as a partner in designing thoughts, objects, systems, and experiences. A new cultural sensibility is emerging. As we struggle to understand and meet new material realities of earth and life on earth, it becomes increasingly obvious that the geologic is not just about rocks. We now cohabit with the geologic in unprecedented ways, in teeming assemblages of exchange and interaction among geologic materials and forces and the bio, cosmo, socio, political, legal, economic, strategic, and imaginary. As a reading and viewing experience, Making the Geologic Now is designed to move through culture, sounding an alert from the unfolding edge of the "geologic turn" that is now propagating through contemporary ideas and practices. Contributors include: Matt Baker, Jarrod Beck, Stephen Becker, Brooke Belisle, Jane Bennett, David Benque, Canary Project (Susannah Sayler, Edward Morris), Center for Land Use Interpretation, Brian Davis, Seth Denizen, Anthony Easton, Elizabeth Ellsworth, Valeria Federighi, William L. Fox, David Gersten, Bill Gilbert, Oliver Goodhall, John Gordon, Ilana Halperin, Lisa Hirmer, Rob Holmes, Katie Holten, Jane Hutton, Julia Kagan, Wade Kavanaugh, Oliver Kellhammer, Elizabeth Kolbert, Janike Kampevold Larsen, Jamie Kruse, William Lamson, Tim Maly, Geoff Manaugh, Don McKay, Rachel McRae, Brett Milligan, Christian MilNeil, Laura Moriarity, Stephen Nguyen, Erika Osborne, Trevor Paglen, Anne Reeve, Chris Rose, Victoria Sambunaris, Paul Lloyd Sargent, Antonio Stoppani, Rachel Sussman, Shimpei Takeda, Chris Taylor, Ryan Thompson, Etienne Turpin, Nicola Twilley, Bryan M. Wilson.
