Planetary Surface Processes

Book excerpt: Planetary Surface Processes is the first advanced textbook to cover the full range of geologic processes that shape the surfaces of planetary-scale bodies. Using a modern, quantitative approach, this book reconsiders geologic processes outside the traditional terrestrial context. It highlights processes that are contingent upon Earth's unique circumstances and processes that are universal. For example, it shows explicitly that equations predicting the velocity of a river are dependent on gravity: traditional geomorphology textbooks fail to take this into account. This textbook is a one-stop source of information on planetary surface processes, providing readers with the necessary background to interpret new data from NASA, ESA and other space missions. Based on a course taught by the author at the University of Arizona for 25 years, it is aimed at advanced students, and is also an invaluable resource for researchers, professional planetary scientists and space-mission engineers.