Preface
The globally growing demand for energy and mineral
resources, the need for reliable projections of future climate processes, and the necessity for coast protection to
mitigate threats and hazards of disasters require a comprehensive understanding of the genesis and structure of the
marine geosphere and processes involving it. The “classical” research fields in marine geology are being currently
supplemented by the development of more general concepts which strive to integrate marine geophysics, hydrography, climatology, marine biology, and ecology. The term
“marine geosciences” has been broadly accepted to serve
as an “umbrella” for this new complex field of research
and practical solutions in the marine realm.
We have reflected this development by putting together
the Encyclopedia of Marine Geosciences which appears as
a volume of the Encyclopedia in Earth Sciences Series.
When collecting entries for the Encyclopedia of Marine
Geosciences, we intended to provide the current state of
knowledge in marine geosciences and to cover their theoretical, applied, and technical aspects. However, as we
were working on the Encyclopedia, it became clear to us
that one printed volume cannot accommodate all the disciplinary basics of marine geosciences. Therefore, the
reader seeking explanation of a specific scientific term is
advised to consult not only the list of entries, but also to
take a look on the back-of-the-book index. The index
can be used as a search engine for text paragraphs in this
volume dealing with the words of interest. Because of
the complex nature of marine geosciences, we do realize
that some overlap with the “classical” research
geosciences fields, already covered by other volumes
of the Encyclopedia in Earth Sciences Series, must
have occurred in the present volume. We did our best
to avoid repetitions in this volume and we advise the
reader to consult, whenever necessary, other Encyclopedias in the Earth Science Series volumes such as Encyclopedia of Coastal Science, Encyclopedia of Geochemistry,
Encyclopedia of Paleoclimatology and Ancient Environments, or Encyclopedia of Sediments and Sedimentary
Rocks.
With this volume, we hope to reach out to a broad audience of users concerned with marine sciences and technology, from students and scholars in academia to engineers
in the industry to decision makers in administration and
politics.
The editorial team of the Encyclopedia of Marine
Geosciences reflects the diversity of disciplines covered: Martin Meschede took over responsibility for manuscripts related to plate tectonics, Sven Petersen dealt
with those focusing on magmatism, Jörn Thiede was
responsible for entries on deep ocean processes, and
Jan Harff edited the entries related to ocean margins
and associated processes.
Jan Harff
Martin Meschede
Sven Petersen
Jörn Thiede
The globally growing demand for energy and mineral
resources, the need for reliable projections of future climate processes, and the necessity for coast protection to
mitigate threats and hazards of disasters require a comprehensive understanding of the genesis and structure of the
marine geosphere and processes involving it. The “classical” research fields in marine geology are being currently
supplemented by the development of more general concepts which strive to integrate marine geophysics, hydrography, climatology, marine biology, and ecology. The term
“marine geosciences” has been broadly accepted to serve
as an “umbrella” for this new complex field of research
and practical solutions in the marine realm.
We have reflected this development by putting together
the Encyclopedia of Marine Geosciences which appears as
a volume of the Encyclopedia in Earth Sciences Series.
When collecting entries for the Encyclopedia of Marine
Geosciences, we intended to provide the current state of
knowledge in marine geosciences and to cover their theoretical, applied, and technical aspects. However, as we
were working on the Encyclopedia, it became clear to us
that one printed volume cannot accommodate all the disciplinary basics of marine geosciences. Therefore, the
reader seeking explanation of a specific scientific term is
advised to consult not only the list of entries, but also to
take a look on the back-of-the-book index. The index
can be used as a search engine for text paragraphs in this
volume dealing with the words of interest. Because of
the complex nature of marine geosciences, we do realize
that some overlap with the “classical” research
geosciences fields, already covered by other volumes
of the Encyclopedia in Earth Sciences Series, must
have occurred in the present volume. We did our best
to avoid repetitions in this volume and we advise the
reader to consult, whenever necessary, other Encyclopedias in the Earth Science Series volumes such as Encyclopedia of Coastal Science, Encyclopedia of Geochemistry,
Encyclopedia of Paleoclimatology and Ancient Environments, or Encyclopedia of Sediments and Sedimentary
Rocks.
With this volume, we hope to reach out to a broad audience of users concerned with marine sciences and technology, from students and scholars in academia to engineers
in the industry to decision makers in administration and
politics.
The editorial team of the Encyclopedia of Marine
Geosciences reflects the diversity of disciplines covered: Martin Meschede took over responsibility for manuscripts related to plate tectonics, Sven Petersen dealt
with those focusing on magmatism, Jörn Thiede was
responsible for entries on deep ocean processes, and
Jan Harff edited the entries related to ocean margins
and associated processes.
Jan Harff
Martin Meschede
Sven Petersen
Jörn Thiede