Geophysical Continua is designed to present a systematic treatment of deformation in the Earth from seismic to geologic time scales. In this way we demonstrate the linkages between different aspects of the Earth's interior that are commonly treated separately. We provide a coherent presentation of non-linear continuum mechanics with a uniform notation, and then specialise to the needs of particular topics such as elastic, viscoelastic and fluid behaviour. We include the concepts of continuum thermodynamics and link to the properties of material under pressure in the deep interior of the Earth, and also provide the continuum electrodynamics needed for conducting fluids such as the Earth's core.

Following an introduction to continuum methods and the structure of the Earth, Part I of the book takes the development of continuum techniques to the level where they can be applied to the diverse aspects of Earth structure and dynamics in Part II. At many levels there is a close relation between microscopic properties and macroscopic consequences such as effective rheology, and so Part II opens with a discussion of the relation of phenomena at the atomic scale to continuum properties. We follow this with a treatment of geological deformation at the grain and outcrop scale.