Synopsis
For many years, planetary science has been taught as part of the astronomy curriculum, from a very physics-based perspective, and from the framework of a tour of the Solar System - body by body. Over the past decades, however, spacecraft exploration and related laboratory research on extraterrestrial materials have given us a new understanding of planets and how they are shaped by geological processes. Based on a course taught at the University of Tennessee, Knoxville, this is the first textbook to focus on geologic processes, adopting a comparative approach that demonstrates the similarities and differences between planets, and the reasons for these. Profusely illustrated, and with a wealth of pedagogical features, this book provides an ideal capstone course for geoscience majors - bringing together aspects of mineralogy, petrology, geochemistry, volcanology, sedimentology, geomorphology, tectonics, geophysics and remote sensing.
About the Authors
Harry Y. McSween is Chancellor's Professor Emeritus of Planetary Geoscience at the University of Tennessee, Knoxville. He holds degrees from The Citadel (B.S.), the University of Georgia (M.S.), and Harvard University (Ph.D.). His research focuses on meteorites and has resulted in the publications of hundreds of scientific papers on the subject. He has also authored three popular books on planetary science, as well as textbooks in geochemistry and cosmochemistry. He has served as co-investigator for many NASA spacecraft missions, including Mars Pathfinder, Mars Exploration Rovers, Mars Odyssey orbiter, and Dawn asteroid orbiter. McSween has been elected President of the Meteoritical Society and of the Geological Society of America and is a fellow of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences. He is the recipient of the Leonard Medal (Meteoritical Society), the J. Lawrence Smith Medal (US National Academy of Sciences), and the Whipple Award (American Geophysical Union), and is the namesake for asteroid 5223 McSween.
Jeffrey E. Moersch is Professor of Planetary Science at at the University of Tennessee, Knoxville. He holds degrees from Cornell University (B.A. and Ph.D.) and Arizona State University (M.S.). His research focuses on remote sensing, planetary surface geology, instrument development, and terrestrial analog field work. He has served on the science teams for many NASA spacecraft missions, including the Mars Exploration Rovers, Mars Science Laboratory, and Mars Odyssey. Along with Professor McSween, he originally developed the planetary geology course from which this book is derived. Professor Moersch has authored and co-authored more than eighty peer-reviewed scientific articles and book chapters, and served for five years as the Mars editor for the scientific journal Icarus.
Devon M. Burr is Associate Professor of Planetary Science at the University of Tennessee, Knoxville. She holds degrees from the United States Naval Academy (B.S), St. John's College, Santa Fe (M.A.), University of Iowa (M.S.), and University of Arizona (Ph.D.). Her research has been focusing on planetary geomorphology and she currently conducts research on fluvial, aeolian (wind-driven), and tectonic landscapes and processes on planetary bodies, using image analysis and wind tunnel experiments (featured on the cover of National Geographic magazine for kids, entitled Dr E's Super Stellar Solar System!). Burr is the lead editor of the book Megaflooding on Earth and Mars (Cambridge, 2009). She is also a member of the Geological Society of American (and former member of the GSA Planetary Geology Division management board), the AAS Division of Planetary Sciences (serving as Science Organizing Committee Chair for DPS 2018), the American Geophysical Union, and the namesake of asteroid DevonBurr.
William M. Dunne is Professor of Geology at the University of Tennessee, Knoxville. He received his B.S. and Ph.D. in geology from the University of Bristol. His research concerns the development of mountain belts and characterization of fracture networks in rocks. The latter interest has practical importance with regard to hydrocarbon exploration, and groundwater remediation efforts, leading to collaborations with civil engineers. Dunne serves as an editor of the Journal of Structural Geology, is a Fellow of the Geological Society of America (GSA), and has served as chair of the GSA Structural Geology and Tectonics Division and the American Society for Engineering Education (ASEE) Engineering Research Council. He has received teaching awards from the department, college and university.
Joshua P. Emery is the Lawrence A. Taylor Associate Professor of Planetary Science at the University of Tennessee, Knoxville. He received a B.S. from Boston University and a Ph.D. from the University of Arizona. His research focuses on investigating the formation and evolution of the Solar System and the distribution of organic material. As an observational planetary astronomer, he applies the techniques of reflection and emission spectroscopy of primitive and icy bodies in the near- (0.8 to 5.0 micron) and mid-infrared (5 to 50 micron). Current projects include The Jupiter Trojan asteroids, Kuiper Belt objects, icy satellites, and other asteroids. He is leader of the Thermal Analysis Working Group on the OSIRIS-REx asteroid sample return mission and the Surface Composition Working Group on the Lucy Trojan asteroid flyby mission.
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