A Dictionary Earth Science Oxford (2008)

The second edition of Oxford’s Dictionary of Earth Sciences was published eight years ago, in 1999, and although the dictionary was reprinted with correction sin 2003, it was possible then to make only minor changes. This edition is entirely
new. Every entry has been scrutinized and brought up to date where necessary. New entries have been added and the number of diagrams has increased.
The new entries added in the second edition related predominantly to the expansion of planetary exploration and satellite technology. Those entries have been updated. Many of the new entries in this edition serve to expand the dictionary’s coverage of geomorphological terms.
It is in the nature of dictionaries to grow longer with each revision, and I make no apology for the fact that this one conforms to that rule. Such growth is unavoidable, because the language itself is always growing, but when new terms are introduced it does not mean that older terms are discarded. Even terms that do become obsolete do so gradually, surviving for many years in established and much loved texts.
The first edition was compiled with the help of many contributors and advisers, and a smaller number of contributors assisted in preparing the second edition. The value of their hard work endures, and I gladly and fully acknowledge it, for without it there would have been no dictionary to revise. I have worked alone in preparing this third edition, however, so if any new errors have crept in they are mine alone.