It may well be asked if there is room for yet another book on geophysical exploration. The short answer is 'there was', and this book has filled the niche. Few books on applied geophysics have in fact appeared in the last decade; during this time the subject has acquired several growth points, which the authors have identified. They have cast their net wide enough to appeal to a general readership including not only geophysicists, but geologists, physicists, engineers, and archaeologists.
After a few pages of introduction, geophysical data processing (a steady growth point) is outlined succinctly. There follows a fairly extensive (120 pages) account of seismic surveying, a method which is emphasized in this book, since seismic techniques are used so widely in prospecting for hydrocarbons. The 'potential field' methods come next, with a chapter each on gravity and magnetic surveying. These are followed by electrical and electromagnetic surveying and the book is ended with a chapter illustrating applications of geophysical exploration in fields as diverse as hydrology, offshore engineering, and the search for metallic ores. To keep such a book within bounds, some topics have had to be omitted, among them borehole logging, radiometric surveying, and remote sensing.
The chapters on seismic surveying cover the basis principles adequately and include useful sections on seismic sources and their spectra, and wavefront construction and ray tracing (another recent development). The methodology of planning surveys (not always covered in textbooks) is treated well, and there is a 12-page section on the interpretation of seismic reflections, including the 'growth point' of seismic stratigraphy. The novel use of the reflection method for investigating the deep crust and upper mantle is shown in the final chapter.