Table of Contents
Meet the Authors vi
Preface xiii
The Modern Theory and Practice of Geology
The Earth System 1
The Scientific Method 2
Earth's Shape and Surface 3
The Geologic Record 4
Peeling the Onion: Discovery of a Layered Earth 6
Earth as a System of Interacting Components 10
An Overview of Geologic Time 14
Plate Tectonics: The Unifying Theory 18
The Discovery of Plate Tectonics 19
The Mosaic of Plates 22
Rates and History of Plate Motions 30
The Grand Reconstruction 35
Mantle Convection: The Engine of Plate Tectonics 37
The Theory of Plate Tectonics and the Scientific Method 42
Basic Geologic Processes
Earth Materials: Minerals and Rocks 44
What Are Minerals? 45
The Atomic Structure of Matter 46
Chemical Reactions 47
Chemical Bonds 49
The Atomic Structure of Minerals 49
Rock-Forming Minerals 52
Physical Properties of Minerals 56
What Are Rocks? 62
Igneous Rocks 63
SedimentaryRocks 64
Metamorphic Rocks 66
The Rock Cycle: Interactions Between the Plate Tectonic and Climate Systems 66
Minerals Occur in Rocks as Valuable Resources 68
Earth Issues: Sulfide Minerals React to Form Acid Waters on Earth and Mars 57
Igneous Rocks: Solids from Melts 76
How Do Igneous Rocks Differ from One Another? 78
How Do Magmas Form? 83
Where Do Magmas Form? 85
Magmatic Differentiation 85
Forms of Magmatic Intrusions 88
Igneous Activity and Plate Tectonics 91
Sedimentation: Rocks Formed by Surface Processes 100
Sedimentary Rocks Are Produced by Surface Processes in the Rock Cycle 102
Sedimentary Basins: The Sinks for Sediments 106
Sedimentary Environments 108
Sedimentary Structures 111
Burial and Diagenesis: From Sediment to Rock 114
Classification of Siliciclastic Sediments and Sedimentary Rocks 116
Classification of Chemical and Biological Sediments and Sedimentary Rocks 119
Earth Policy: Darwin's Coral Reefs and Atolls 124
Metamorphism: Modification of Rocks by Temperature and Pressure 130
Metamorphism and the Earth System 132
Causes of Metamorphism 133
Types of Metamorphism 134
Metamorphic Textures 136
Regional Metamorphism and Metamorphic Grade 141
Plate Tectonics and Metamorphism 144
Deformation: Modification of Rocks by Folding and Fracturing 150
Mapping Geologic Structure 152
How Rocks Deform 154
Basic Deformation Structures 156
Styles of Continental Deformation 163
Unraveling Geologic History 165
Earth and Planets Through Geologic Time
Clocks in Rocks: Timing the Geologic Record 168
Reconstructing Geologic History from the Stratigraphic Record 170
Geologic Time Scale: Relative Ages 178
Measuring Absolute Time with Radioactive Clocks 180
Geologic Time Scale: Absolute Ages 183
Timing the Earth System 184
Earth Issues: The Grand Canyon Sequence and Regional Correlation of Strata 176
Early History of the Terrestrial Planets 188
Origin of the Solar System 190
Early Earth: Formation of a Layered Planet 192
Diversity of the Planets 195
What's in a Face? The Age and Complexion of Planetary Surfaces 197
Mars Rocks! 204
Exploring the Solar System and Beyond 210
Evolution of the Continents 214
The Tectonics of North America 216
Tectonic Provinces Around the World 221
How Continents Grow 224
How Continents Are Modified 226
The Formation of Cratons 235
The Deep Structure of Continents 236
Geobiology: Life Interacts with the Earth 240
The Biosphere as a System 242
Microbes: Nature's Tiny Chemists 246
Geobiological Events in Earth's History 254
Astrobiology: The Search for Extraterrestrial Life 265
Earth Issues: The Mother of all Mass Extinctions: Whodunit? 264
Internal Geosystems
Volcanoes 270
Volcanoes as Geosystems 272
Lavas and Other Volcanic Deposits 273
Eruptive Styles and Landforms 277
Geosystem Interactions 282
The Global Pattern of Volcanism 284
Volcanism and Human Affairs 288
Earth Policy: Mount St. Helens: Dangerous but Predictable 292
Earthquakes 296
What Is an Earthquake? 298
Studying Earthquakes 301
Earthquakes and Patterns of Faulting 309
Earthquake Destructiveness 313
Can Earthquakes Be Predicted? 320
Earth Issues: The Great Indian Ocean Tsunami of 2004 312
Earth Issues: Seven Steps to Earthquake Safety 319
Exploring: Earth's Interior 324
Exploring the Interior with Seismic Waves 325
Layering and Composition of the Interior 328
Earth's Internal Heat and Temperature 332
The Three-Dimensional Structure of the Mantle 338
Earth's Magnetic Field and the Geodynamo 337
Earth Issues: The Uplift of Scandinavia: Nature's Experiment with Isostasy 331
Earth Issues: The Geoid: Shape of Planet Earth 338
Surficial Geosystems
The Climate System 346
Components of the Climate System 348
The Greenhouse Effect 352
Climate Variability 355
The Carbon Cycle 362
Twentieth-Century Warming: Human Fingerprints of Global Change 366
Earth Issues: Vostok and GRIP: Ice-Core Drilling in Antarctica and Greenland 358
Earth Issues: El Nino: The Wayward Child 360
Weathering, Erosion, and Mass Wasting: Interface Between Climate and Tectonics 370
Weathering, Erosion, Mass Wasting, and the Rock Cycle 372
Controls on Weathering 372
Chemical Weathering 373
Physical Weathering 378
Soil: The Residue of Weathering 381
Mass Wasting 384
Classification of Mass Movements 388
Understanding the Origins of Mass Movements 395
The Hydrologic Cycle and Groundwater 400
Flows and Reservoirs 402
Hydrology and Climate 404
The Hydrology of Runoff 406
Groundwater 408
Water Resources from Major Aquifers 415
Erosion by Groundwater 417
Water Quality 418
Water Deep in the Crust 421
Earth Issues: Water Is a Precious Resource: Who Should Get It? 404
Earth Issues: When Do Groundwaters Become Nonrenewable Resources? 416
Stream Transport: From Mountains to Oceans 426
Stream Valleys, Channels, and Floodplains 428
Drainage Networks 432
Where Do Channels Begin? How Running Water Erodes Solid Rock 435
How Stream Waters Flow and Transport Sediment 437
Deltas: The Mouths of Rivers 440
Streams as Geosystems 443
Earth Issues: The Development of Cities on Floodplains 432
Winds and Deserts 452
Wind as a Flow of Air 454
Wind as a Transport Agent 455
Wind as an Agent of Erosion 458
Wind as a Depositional Agent 460
The Desert Environment 464
Earth Issues: Martian Dust Storms and Dust Devils 457
Coastlines and Ocean Basins 472
Basic Differences Between Ocean Basins and Continents 474
Coastal Processes 474
Shorelines 485
Sea Level Change as a Measure of Global Warming 488
Continental Margins 491
The Deep Oceans 494
Ocean Sedimentation 500
Earth Policy: The Great New Orleans Flood 480
Earth Issues: Preserving Our Beaches 490
Glaciers: The Work of Ice 504
Ice as a Rock 506
How Glaciers Form 508
How Glaciers Move 511
Glacial Landscapes 515
Glaciations and the Climate System 522
Earth Issues: Isostasy and Sea-Level Change 524
Landscapes: Tectonic and Climate Interaction 530
Topography, Elevation, and Relief 532
Landforms: Features Sculpted by Erosion and Sedimentation 535
Interacting Geosystems Control Landscape 541
Models of Landscape Evolution 545
Earth Issues: Uplift and Climate Change: A Chicken-and-Egg Dilemma 544
Earth Science and Society
The Human Impact on Earth's Environment 550
Civilization as a Global Geosystem 552
Fossil-Fuel Resources 556
Alternative Energy Resources 564
Global Change 569
Welcome to the Anthropocene: A New Geologic Epoch 574
Earth System Engineering and Management 575
Earth Policy: Subsurface Toxic and Nuclear Waste Contamination 566
Earth Policy: The Kyoto Accords and the Politics of Climate Change 577
Conversion Factors AP-1
Numerical Data Pertaining to Earth AP-2
Chemical Reactions AP-3
Properties of the Most Common Minerals of Earth's Crust AP-4
Glossary GL-1
Suggested Readings SR-1
Index I-1
loading...