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Radiogenic and stable isotopes are used widely in the earth sciences to determine the ages of rocks, meteorites and archeological objects, and as tracers to understand geological and environmental processes. Isotope methods determine the age of the Earth, help reconstruct the climate of the past, and explain the formation of the chemical elements in the Universe.
This textbook provides a comprehensive introduction to both radiogenic and stable isotope techniques. An understanding of the basic principles of isotope geology is important in a wide range of the sciences: geology, astronomy, paleontology, geophysics, climatology, archeology, and others.
Acknowledgements; Preface; 1. Isotopes and radioactivity; 2. The principles of radioactive dating; 3. Radiometric dating methods; 4. Dating by cosmogenic isotopes; 5. Uncertainties and results of radiometric dating; 6. Radiogenic isotope geochemistry; 7. Stable isotope geochemistry; 8. Isotope geology and dynamic reservoir analysis; References; Appendix; Index.
Claude Allegreis extremely well known globally in the earth science research and teaching community. He is currently an Emeritus Professor at the Institut Universitaire de France, Universite Denis Diderot and the Institut de Physique du Globe de Paris, and has had a long and illustrious career in science. He is a former Director of the Department of Earth Sciences, Universite Paris VII, former Director of the Institut de Physique du Globe de Paris, past President of the French Bureau of Geological and Mining Research (BRGM), and former National Education Minister for Research and Technology for the French government.
In his career he has won most of the available honors and awards in the geosciences, including the Crafoord Prize from the Swedish Royal Academy of Sciences, the Goldschmidt Medal from the Geochemical Society of America, the Wollaston Medal from the Geological Society of London, the Arthur Day Gold Medal from the Geological Society of America, the Medaille d'Or du CNRS, the Holmes Medal from the European Union Geosciences, and the Bowie Medal from the American Geophysical Union. He is also a Commandeur de la Legion d'Honneur, a past President of the European Union of Geosciences, past President of the NATO Earth Sciences committee, and former editor of the journals Physics of the Earth and Planetary Interiors and Chemical Geology. He has written hundreds of research articles, and ten books in French.
'I can rave about many ... aspects of this book. The most striking is Allegre's amazing ability to articulate concepts through simple and elegant figures and prose ... Allegre's book represents a long-awaited contribution, which complements those by Faure and Dickin... This book is accessible to all, not just geochemists, but also geophysicists.' Elements '... written by one of the most recognized and appreciated scientists in the field of geochemistry ... Allegre always stays in close connection with geological or cosmic processes, thus making a reader immediately aware of the relevance and significance of isotopes in earth and planetary sciences.' Robert Anczkiewicz, Polish Academy of Sciences, Krakow, Poland
