Gravity, deformation and the Earth's crust, as studied by centrifuged models : H. Ramberg. Acad. Press, London and New York N.Y., 1967, 214 pp., 125 illus., £2.17.6

Abstract

There is a real need in the science of tectonophysics for a book which analyses the role of gravity in tectonic deformations. The concept of “gravity tectonics” has for a long time and with increasing emphasis been advanced by many geologists, However, their approaches to this idea were generally rather intuitive, so that quite often, they were misunderstood by other earth-scientists. The cause of the hesitancy to accept the mechanical model of gravity tectonics as a general basis for the explanation of geodynamic processes, was the lack of a well-thought-out theoretical analysis and mathematical formulation. Now Ramberg’s book is a valuable attempt to fill up this gap. The book has a well-selected although not very exhaustive bibliography; papers by Gignoux and some others who did pioneering work in the field of scale experiments might have been mentioned. The Subject Index is rather short and even incomplete. For instance, terms of some newly introduced concepts, such as “spatial potential” and I1 heterogeneous convection’? are lacking. In conclusion it can be said that this book should be read by all those who occupy themselves with problems of geodynamics and that it is recommended as supplementary reading for students in tectonics and structural geology.