Geology of the North-West European Continental Shelf Vol. 1 – Naylor & Mounteney – 1975

Published in 1975, Geology of the North-West European Continental Shelf, Volume 1 by D. Naylor and S. N. Mounteney documents the geology and geophysical understanding of the continental shelf west of Britain and Ireland during a particularly consequential period in Earth science.

The volume covers the region’s structural setting, plate tectonic margins, major rift systems, geophysical characteristics, and stratigraphy, with sections devoted to areas including the Channel Basin, Western Approaches, Celtic Sea, Rockall Plateau, Porcupine region, and Irish Sea.

Beyond its technical content, the book is an interesting artifact of the scientific and industrial history of the 1970s. Advances in marine geophysics and plate tectonics were rapidly transforming scientists’ understanding of continental margins, while the offshore petroleum industry was expanding into the North Sea and surrounding waters. Books such as this preserve a snapshot of that intersection between fundamental geological research and humanity's accelerating search for fossil-fuel resources—before the atmospheric consequences of their large-scale combustion were broadly understood by the public.

Today, it can be appreciated as a historical record of how geologists mapped and interpreted the submerged geology of northwestern Europe during a formative period in modern geoscience, rather than simply as a guide to resource exploration.

Publication details:
Geology of the North-West European Continental Shelf, Volume 1
D. Naylor & S. N. Mounteney
Graham Trotman Dudley Publishers Ltd., London
First published 1975
ISBN: 0-86010-009-X
Printed and bound in Great Britain

Condition: Vintage hardcover with expected institutional and handling wear. Previous library/research markings and handwritten notation are visible. Interior appears generally clean from the photographs provided. Please review photos for exact condition.

A distinctive addition to a collection focused on historical geology, geophysics, plate tectonics, marine geology, North Sea history, or the history of petroleum science.