第一章板块构造Plate tectonics.pdfVIP

611005H: 2014 Fall Semester 地球动力学基础 Foundations of Geodynamics Overview Shimin Wang 1 2014/9/10 Teaching Team  Instructor 王世民 Tel: 8825-6237 E-mail: smwang@  Teaching Assistant 庞亚瑾 E-mail: pang.yajin@163.com 2 2014/9/10 Course Description  This course will introduce the field of geodynamics, the study of dynamical processes of the solid Earth . As such, it is rooted in fundamental physics and highly interdisciplinary. Mathematics is the central tool used to apply physical theories and create predictive models of the Earth.  Geodynamics provides the quantitative foundation for the theory of Plate Tectonics, the basic organizing paradigm for our understanding of the solid Earth. 3 2014/9/10 Textbook  D. L. Turcotte and J. Schubert, Geodynamics, Third Edition, Cambridge University Press, 2014. Geodynamics provides the fundamentals necessary for an understanding of the workings of the solid Earth. The Earth is a heat engine, with the source of the heat the decay of radioactive elements and the cooling of the Earth from its initial accretion. The work output includes earthquakes, volcanic eruptions, and mountain building. Geodynamics comprehe