96 BOOK REVIEWS

planetary sciences’, the introductory chapters (1-6) on magmatism and volcanism are rather lightweight for serious geologists, but may be appropriate for physicists, although the geological jargon would be a stumbling block here. The specifically volcanic chapters are particu- larly disappointing, and it is significant that Ch. 5 on lava rheology has to be reinforced at a later stage (Ch. 13), while the subject of volcanic landforms (Ch. 6) - largely terrestrial - is dealt with very briefly a t this stage but reappears here and there in the remaining chapters which are predominantly concerned with extra-terrestrial matters.

The author appears to have had difficulty in deciding whether to concentrate on volcanological topics or on particular planets. Chapter 8 deals with volcanic plains. ranging from terrestrial ocean floor and continental flood basalts to Martian examples, but excluding the lunar maria. However, Chapter 9 is entirely devoted to the Moon. Chapter 10 is essentially about shield volcanoes and is largely concerned with a comparison of Hawaiian and Martian edifices. Chapter 11 deals with the distinc- tive sulphur volcanoes on 10. and Chapter 12 with very low temperature outgassing phenomena (here termed ‘cryovolcanism’) although the validity of describing such activity as volcanic is open to question. From the geo- logist’s point of view, there is a wealth of valuable extra-

terrestrial information in Chapters 8-12, but it is not always easy to see how the volcanic aspects tit into the broader geological context of each planet’s evolutionary history. Sadly lacking is any clear statement of the prin- cipal structural and morphological features of the planets (and their satellites) to compare with Earth. This is a pity, since comparison is the basis of the book.

Minor irritations are the numerous typographic errors and spelling mistakes (particularly regrettable when scientists’ names are persistently spelled wrongly - e.g. Sheridan, Dalrymple); the casual use of first names here and there; and the extraordinarily wasteful chapter-by- chapter reference lists a t the end of the book. These lists include such gems as ‘Kaula and several others’ (p. 41 8). The ‘several others’ actually number 4, whereas all 10 authors of a single paper are listed by name on p. 401).

The prose is on the purplish side in places, notably when referring to ‘tremendously exciting’ prospects and ‘amazing achievements’ in the epilogue (Ch. 14). Most eye-catching of all is the comment about the Moon being the only extra-terrestrial planet ‘blessed with a series of human visits’ (p. 5) . It makes Blackpool sound like para- dise.

W. J. WADSWORTH

THE SURFACE WATERS ACIDIFICATION PRO- GRAMMEedited by B. J. Mason, Cambridge University Press, Cambridge, 1990. No. of pages: 522. Price E55.00. ISBN 052139533X.

The operation of the water cycle means that any major alteration, perhaps any alteration, in the composition of the atmosphere is likely to have effects which tumble down through the composition of rain and snow, the chemistry of soils and the biology of their denizens to parallel effects on rivers and lakes and their communities. Subject boundaries in the study and solution of such environmental problems became unhelpful barriers and an interdisciplinary approach more useful. This book contains the main results of an international programme originally designed to establish what the interactions of acid precipitation were on catchments in northwest Europe. The programme was itself a scion of the political controversy arising out of the strong indications that power station sulphur dioxide was a major contribution to acidification and part of the industry’s strategy to buy time.

This book is a compilation of papers arising from the programme that were presented at a meeting in March 1990 under the auspices of the Royal Society. The papers are contained in sections on hydrochemical studies in

catchments, catchment processes, catchment manipula- tion experiments, chemical processes, palaeolimnological studies, effects of acidification on fish and other aquatic life, modelling studies and conclusions. There is much that is new and interesting in detail but perhaps little that fundamentally changes the picture of the problem that was extant even before the programme. Though brevity is always to be praised, it is perhaps significant that the main conclusions of the programme could be summarized in just two pages by the management group. The conclusions were clear cut, confirm the relationship between sulphur compounds and acidification, the ensu- ing mobilization of aluminium from poorly-buffered soils, and the consequent reduced recruitment or death of fish. The emphasis is very much on subtleties of the chemical and hydrological interactions with far less attention to the subtleties of the ecological consequences, or on details of approaches that might be taken to remove the problem at source or alleviate the present conse- quences in a sophisticated way. A s always, the problems that involve living organisms, human or nonhuman, are the most difficult.

BRIAN Moss