Thistextbook on plate tectonics is designed for students in geology and geophysics to acquirein-depth knowledge of quantitative methods in plate kinematics and dynamics. can also be used as a reference book by geoscientists who desire to expand their knowledge beyond their own specialization, or by oil-and-gas professionals and ore deposit specialists that need to investigate the geodynamic context of formation of geologic resources.Finally, this book can be considered as a comprehensive monograph on plate tectonics, which addresses the different quantitative aspects of this broad discipline, which has been traditionally partitioned into separate or quasi-separate branches.Additional material, available at http://extras.springer.com, includes two computer programs for the analysis of marine magnetic anomalies and for plate kinematic modelling,as well as some important geophysical data sets and models.Solutions to the exercises are also included.Giorgio Ranalli, Distinguished Research Professor, Department of Earth Sciences, Carleton university, Ottawa, Canada (author of "Rheology of the Earth", two editions, 1987 and 1995)

Marco Ligi, Senior Researcher, National Research Council of Italy, Istituto di Scienze Marine, Bologna, Italy.