through the use of Thomsen parameters. Most cited paper in the history of geophysics. Tectonics An influential review of fault properties, dynamics and growth, how they fail, and how this links to seismology. Highly cited (>2700 citations). The first paper to lay out the now widely accepted model for formation of sedimentary basins by tectonic stretching of the lithosphere (mechanical thinning), followed by lowering of the basin by the cooling of upwelled, hot asthenosphere at depth below it (isostatic deepening). Highly cited (>2200 citations). Volcanology Plinius Caecilius Secundus, Gaius (Pliny the Younger)(97–112). Letters of Pliny the Younger, Book Six, 16 and 20. Contains the first detailed description of a volcanic eruption in western culture – the eruption of Mount Vesuvius in what is now known as a plinian eruption in 79 CE. Summarized scientific knowledge obtained from the 1902 eruption of Mount Pelée. The 1980 eruption of Mount St. Helens in Washington state, USA, allowed volcanologists to document first hand a large number of volcanic processes which hitherto had been only inferred. It spurred a revitalization of the whole discipline of volcanology. This anthology of papers was amongst the first to present new data gained during the eruption. See also History of geology List of geologists List of geophysicists List of mineralogists References External links Geology literature Publications Publications in geology Publications in geology Geology Geology books