Ice sheets as vast accumulations of frozen water on land are a direct expression of energy distribution on our planet. They form from the interplay of intensive accumulation of frozen water and insufficient melt during the summer. They define global sea-level and affect the geochemical composition of the ocean. This book presents current research in the study of the dynamics, formation and environmental concerns relating to ice sheets.

In this book, the authors gather and present topical research in the study of the occurrence, mineralogy and origin of granite. Topics discussed in this compilation include the occurrence of Th, U, Y, Zr and REE-bearing accessory minerals in granites and their petrogenetic significance; contrasting petrological attributes of granites in Nigeria; non-linear acoustic phenomena in granite; experimental methods of determining thermal properties of granite; and the mineralogy of the rare-earth element-bearing granites from Central India.

Now in a new edition, this book is fully revised from previous issues and includes four main themes that run throughout the text: plate tectonics; earth as a system; natural disasters; and human-induced environmental change.

Some 250 million years ago, at the beginning of the Secondary or Mesozoic era - the age of the large saurians - all the continents were grouped into a single supercontinent known as Pangaea. The Changing Face of the Earth shows the nine most important stages in the break-up of this supercontinent.