Earth : portrait of a planet / 3rd ed.

Table Of Contents:
Preface xvi

Prelude And Just What Is Geology?

In Search of Ideas 2(1)

Why Study Geology? 3(2)

What Are the Themes of This Book? 5(9)

Box P.1 Science Toolbox: The Scientific Method 7(2)

Introducing Geotours 9(5)

PART I Our Island in Space

Cosmology and the Birth of Earth 14(22)

Introduction 15(1)

An Evolving Image of the Earth's Position and Shape 15(2)

Box 1.1 The Rest of the Story: How Do We Know that Earth Rotates? 16(1)

A Sense of Scale 17(2)

The Modern Image of the Universe 19(1)

How did the Universe Form? 19(2)

Making Order from Chaos 21(3)

We Are All Made of Stardust 24(12)

Box 1.2 The Rest of the Story: Discovering and Defining Planets 25(1)

Featured painting: Forming the Planets and the Earth-Moon System 26(4)

Box 1.3 The Rest of the Story: Comets and Asteroids --- The other Stuff of the Solar System 30(1)

End-of-chapter material 31(1)

Geotour 1: Meterorite Impact Sites on Earth 32(4)

Journey to the Center of the Earth 36(20)

Introduction 37(1)

Welcome to the Neighborhood 37(2)

The Atmosphere 39(1)

Land and Oceans 40(1)

What Is the Earth Made Of? 41(3)

Geotour 2: The Variety of Earth's Surface 42(2)

How Do We Know That the Earth Has Layers? 44(3)

What Are the Layers Made Of? 47(6)

Box 2.1 The Rest of the Story: Meteors and Meteorites 48(2)

Featured painting: The Earth, from Surface to Center 50(3)

The Lithosphere and Asthenosphere 53(3)

End-of-chapter material 53(3)

Drifting Continents and Spreading Seas 56(21)

Introduction 57(1)

What Was Wegener's Evidence for Continental Drift? 58(4)

Geotour 3: Wegener's Evidence 60(2)

Setting the Stage for the Discovery of Sea-Floor Spreading 62(4)

Harry Hess and His ``Essay in Geopoetry'' 66(1)

Marine Magnetic Anomalies: Evidence for Sea-Floor Spreading 66(8)

Featured painting: Magnetic Reversals and Marine Magnetic Anomalies 72(2)

Deep-Sea Drilling: Further Evidence 74(3)

End-of-chapter material 74(3)

Interlude A Paleomagnetism and Apparent Polar-Wander Paths 77(67)

Introduction 77(1)

Background on Magnets and on Earth's Field 77(8)

Box A.1 The Rest of the Story: Generating Earth's Magnetic Field 79(3)

Box A.2 The Rest of the Story: Finding Paleopoles 82(3)

The Way the Earth Works: Plate Tectonics 85(35)

Introduction 86(1)

What Do We Mean by Plate Tectonics? 86(3)

Box 4.1 Science Toolbox: Archimedes' Principle of Buoyancy 88(1)

Divergent Plate Boundaries and Sea-Floor Spreading 89(5)

Convergent Plate Boundaries and Subduction 94(6)

Geotour 4: Plate Boundaries 98(2)

Transform Plate Boundaries 100(3)

Special Locations in the Plate Mosaic 103(3)

How Do Plate Boundaries Form and Die? 106(1)

What Drives Plate Motion? 107(5)

Featured painting: The Theory of Plate Tectonics 108(4)

The Velocity of Plate Motions 112(1)

The Dynamic Planet 113(7)

End-of-chapter material 114(6)

PART II Earth Materials

Patterns in Nature: Minerals 120(24)

Introduction 121(1)

What Is a Mineral? 122(2)

Box 5.1 Science Toolbox: Some Basic Definitions from Chemistry 123(1)

Beauty in Patterns: Crystals and Their Structure 124(7)

Box 5.2 Science Toolbox: How Do We ``See'' the Arrangement of Atoms in a Crystal? 128(3)

How Can You Tell One Mineral from Another? 131(4)

Organizing Our Knowledge: Mineral Classification 135(2)

Something Precious---Gems! 137(7)

Box 5.3 The Rest of the Story: Where Do Diamonds Come From? 139(1)

Geotour 5: Diamond Mines 140(2)

End-of-chapter material 142(2)

Interlude B Rock Groups 144(113)

Introduction 144(1)

What Is Rock? 145(1)

Rock Occurrences 146(2)

The Basis of Rock Classification 148(2)

Studying Rock 150(2)

Up from the Inferno: Magma and Igneous Rocks 152(31)

Introduction 153(1)

Why Does Magma Form? 154(3)

Box 6.1 The Rest of the Story: Understanding Decompression Melting 157(1)

What Is Magma Made Of? 157(2)

Moving Magma and Lava 159(2)

Box 6.2 The Rest of the Story: Bowen's Reaction Series 160(1)

How Do Extrusive and Intrusive Environments Differ? 161(5)

Transforming Magma into Rock 166(2)

Igneous Rock Textures: What Do They Tell Us? 168(1)

Classifying Igneous Rocks 169(5)

Geotour 6: Exposures of Igneous Rocks 172(2)

Where Does Igneous Activity Occur, and Why? 174(9)

Featured painting: The Formation of Igneous Rocks 176(4)

End-of-chapter material 180(3)

A Surface Veneer: Sediments, Soils, and Sedimentary Rocks 183(45)

Introduction 184(1)

How Does Weathering Lead to Sediment Formation? 185(8)

Soil: Sediment Interwoven with Life 193(5)

Introducing Sedimentary Rocks 198(1)

Clastic Sedimentary Rocks 199(5)

Biochemical and Organic Sedimentary Rocks: Byproducts of Life 204(2)

Chemical Sedimentary Rocks 206(3)

Sedimentary Structures 209(5)

How Do We Recognize Depositional Environments? 214(7)

Featured painting: The Formation of Sedimentary Rocks 216(5)

Sedimentary Basins 221(3)

Geotour 7: Sedimentary Rocks and Environments 222(2)

Diagenesis 224(4)

End-of-chapter material 225(3)

Metamorphism: A Process of Change 228(29)

Introduction 229(1)

What Happens During Metamorphism? 229(2)

What Causes Metamorphism? 231(4)

How Do We Classify Metamorphic Rocks? 235(6)

Describing the Intensity of Metamorphism 241(3)

Box 8.1 The Rest of the Story: Metamorphic Fracies 242(2)

Where Does Metamorphism Occur? 244(5)

Box 8.2 The Human Angle: Pottery Making --- An Analog for Thermal Metamorphism 246(3)

Where Do You Find Metamorphic Rocks? 249(8)

Featured painting: Environments of Metamorphism 250(4)

Geotour 8: Precambrian Metamorphic Terranes 254(1)

End-of-chapter material 255(2)

Interlude C The Rock Cycle 257(93)

Introduction 257(1)

The Rock Cycle in the Context of the Theory of Plate Tectonics 258(4)

Featured painting: Rock-Forming Environments and the Rock Cycle 260(2)

Rates of Movement through the Rock Cycle 262(1)

What Drives the Rock Cycle in the Earth System? 263(3)

PART III Tectonic Activity of a Dynamic Planet

The Wrath of Vulcan: Volcanic Eruptions 266(37)

Introduction 267(1)

The Products of Volcanic Eruptions 267(7)

The Architecture and Shape of Volcanoes 274(2)

Eruptive Styles: Will It Flow, or Will It Blow? 276(5)

Featured painting: Volcano 278(3)

Hot-Spot Eruptions 281(6)

Box 9.1 The Human Angle: Volcanic Explosions to Remember 282(5)

Eruptions along Plate Boundaries and Rifts 287(1)

Beware: Volcanoes Are Hazards! 288(3)

Protection from Vulcan's Wrath 291(5)

Geotour 9: Volcanic Features 292(4)

The Effect of Volcanoes on Climate and Civilization 296(3)

Volcanoes on Other Planets 299(4)

End-of-chapter material 299(4)

A Violent Pulse: Earthquakes 303(47)

Introduction 304(1)

What Causes Earthquakes to Happen? 305(8)

Featured painting: Faulting in the Crust 310(3)

How does Earthquake Energy Travel? 313(2)

How Do We Measure and Locate Earthquakes? 315(7)

Box 10.1 The Rest of the Story: Quakes on Other Planets 317(5)

Where and Why Do Earthquakes Occur? 322(7)

How Do Earthquakes Cause Damage? 329(10)

Box 10.2 Geologic Case Study: When Earthquake Waves Resonate---Beware! 330(9)

Can We Predict the ``Big One''? 339(7)

Geotour 10: Seismically Active Faults 340(6)

Earthquake Engineering and Zoning 346(4)

End-of-chapter material 347(3)

Interlude D Seeing Inside the Earth 350(52)

Introduction 350(1)

Movement of Seismic Waves Through the Earth 351(1)

Seismic Study of Earth's Interior 352(7)

Seismic-Reflection Profiling 359(3)

Box D.1 The Rest of the Story: Is the Earth Really Round? Introducing the Geoid 360(2)

Crags, Cracks, and Crumples: Crustal Deformation and Mountain Building 362(40)

Introduction 363(1)

Mountain Belts and the Concept of Orogeny 363(1)

Rock Deformation in the Earth's Crust 364(5)

Box 11.1 The Rest of the Story: Describing the Orientation of Structures 367(2)

What Structures Form During Brittle Deformation? 369(6)

What Structures Form Due to Ductile Deformation? 375(5)

Igneous, Sedimentary, and Metamorphic Processes in Orogenic Belts 380(2)

Uplift and the Formation of Mountain Topography 382(4)

Box 11.2 The Rest of the Story: Gravity Anomalies 384(2)

Causes of Mountain Building 386(4)

Geotour 11: Mountains and Structures 388(2)

Cratons and the Deformation within Them 390(1)

Life Story of a Mountain Range: A Case Study 391(4)

Featured painting: The Collision of India with Asia 392(3)

Measuring Mountain Building in Progress 395(7)

End-of-chapter material 395(7)

PART IV History before History

Interlude E Memories of Past Life: Fossils and Evolution 402(142)

The Discovery of Fossils 402(1)

Fossilization 402(6)

Classifying Life 408(2)

Classifying Fossils 410(1)

The Fossil Record 411(1)

Evolution and Extinction 412(3)

Deep Time: How Old Is Old? 415(33)

Introduction 416(1)

Time: A Human Obsession 416(1)

The Concept of Geologic Time 417(1)

Principles for Defining Relative Age 418(5)

Unconformities: Gaps in the Record 423(1)

Stratigraphic Formations and Their Correlation 424(6)

Featured painting: The Record in Rocks: Reconstructing Geologic History 426(4)

The Geologic Column 430(2)

How Do We Determine Numerical Age? The Radiometric Clock 432(9)

Geotour 12: The Strata of the Colorado Plateau 436(3)

Box 12.1 The Rest of the Story: Carbon-14 Dating 439(2)

How Do We Add Numerical Ages to the Geologic Column? 441(1)

What Is the Age of the Earth? 442(6)

End-of-chapter material 445(3)

A Biography of Earth 448(38)

Introduction 449(1)

Methods for Studying the Past 449(2)

The Hadean Eon: Hell on Earth? 451(2)

The Archean Eon: The Birth of the Continents and the Appearance of Life 453(3)

The Proterozoic Eon: Transition to the Modern World 456(4)

Box 13.1 The Rest of the Story: The Mystery of Atmospheric Oxygen 459(1)

The Phanerozoic Eon: Life Diversifies, and Today's Continents Form 460(1)

The Paleozoic Era: From Rodinia to Pangaea 461(7)

Box 13.2 Science Toolbox: Stratigraphic Sequences and Sea-Level Change 462(6)

The Mesozoic Era: When Dinosaurs Ruled 468(5)

The Cenozoic Era: The Final Stretch to the Present 473(13)

Featured painting: The Evolution of Earth 476(2)

Geotour 13: Earth Has a History 478(2)

End-of-chapter material 480(6)

PART V Earth Resources

Squeezing Power from a Stone: Energy Resources 486(36)

Introduction 487(1)

Sources of Energy in the Earth System 488(1)

Oil and Gas 489(2)

Hydrocarbon Systems: The Making of a Reserve 491(2)

Oil Exploration and Production 493(6)

Box 14.1 The Rest of the Story: Types of Oil and Gas Traps 495(1)

Box 14.2 The Human Angle: Spindletop 496(3)

Alternative Reserves of Hydrocarbons 499(1)

Coal: Energy from the Swamps of the Past 500(9)

Geotour 14: Sources of Energy 506(3)

Nuclear Power 509(3)

Other Energy Sources 512(4)

Featured Painting: Power from the Earth 514(2)

Energy Choices, Energy Problems 516(6)

End-of-chapter material 519(3)

Riches in Rock: Mineral Resources 522(22)

Introduction 523(1)

Metals and Their Discovery 523(2)

Ores, Ore Minerals, and Ore Deposits 525(7)

Geotour 15: Large Open-Pit Mines 530(2)

Ore-Mineral Exploration and Production 532(1)

Nonmetallic Mineral Resources 533(3)

Box 15.1 The Human Angle: The Sidewalks of New York 535(1)

Global Mineral Needs 536(8)

Featured Painting: Forming and Processing Earth's Mineral Resources 538(2)

End-of-chapter material 540(4)

PART VI Processes and Problems at the Earth's Surface

Interlude F Ever-Changing Landscapes and the Hydrologic Cycle 544

Introduction 544(1)

Shaping the Earth's Surface 545(1)

Tools of the Trade: Topographic Maps and Profiles 546(2)

Factors Controlling Landscape Development 548(2)

The Hydrologic Cycle 550(1)

Landscapes of Other Planets 551(6)

Featured painting: The Hydrologic Cycle 552(2)

Box F.1 Geologic Case Study: Water on Mars? 554(3)

Unsafe Ground: Landslides and Other Mass Movements 557(25)

Introduction 558(1)

Types of Mass Movement 559(6)

Why do Mass Movements Occur? 565(6)

Box 16.1 Geologic Case Study: The Storegga Slide and the North Sea Tsunamis 566(5)

Plate Tectonics and Mass Movements 571(6)

Featured painting: Mass Movement 572(2)

Geotour 16: Examples of Landslides 574(3)

How Can We Protect against Mass-Movement Disasters? 577(5)

End-of-chapter material 580(2)

Streams and Floods: The Geology of Running Water 582(38)

Introduction 583(1)

Draining the Land 583(4)

Discharge and Turbulence 587(1)

The Work of Running Water 588(3)

How Streams Change along Their Length? 591(2)

Streams and Their Deposits in the Landscape 593(9)

Geotour 17: Fluvial Landscapes 600(2)

The Evolution of Drainage 602(5)

Raging Waters 607(7)

Featured painting: River Systems 608(6)

Rivers: A Vanishing Resource? 614(6)

Box 17.1 The Rest of the Story: Calculating the Threat Posed by Flooding 615(2)

End-of-chapter material 617(3)

Restless Realm: Oceans and Coasts 620(40)

Introduction 621(1)

Landscapes beneath the Sea 622(4)

Ocean Water and Currents 626(5)

Box 18.1 Science Toolbox: The Coriolis Effect 630(1)

The Tides Go Out . . . the Tides Come In . . . 631(4)

Box 18.2 Science Toolbox: The Forces Causing Tides 634(1)

Wave Action 635(3)

Where Land Meets Sea: Coastal Landforms 638(11)

Geotour 18: Landscapes of Oceans and Coasts 646(3)

Causes of Coastal Variability 649(5)

Featured painting: Oceans and Coasts 652(2)

Coastal Problems and Solutions 654(6)

End-of-chapter material 657(3)

A Hidden Reserve: Groundwater 660(32)

Introduction 661(1)

Where Does Underground Water Reside? 662(3)

Groundwater and the Water Table 665(2)

Groundwater Flow 667(2)

Tapping the Groundwater Supply 669(3)

Hot Springs and Geysers 672(3)

Box 19.1 The Human Angle: Oases 673(2)

Groundwater Usage Problems 675(6)

Caves and Karst: A Spelunker's Paradise 681(11)

Featured painting: Caves and Karst Landscapes 682(4)

Geotour 19: Evidence of Groundwater 686(3)

End-of-chapter material 689(3)

An Envelope of Gas: Earth's Atmosphere and Climate 692(38)

Introduction 693(1)

The Formation of the Atmosphere 693(1)

The Atmosphere in Perspective 694(5)

Box 20.1 The Human Angle: Why Is the Sky Blue? 697(2)

Wind and Global Circulation in the Atmosphere 699(6)

Box 20.2 The Rest of the Story: The Earth's Tilt: The Cause of Seasons 703(2)

Weather and Its Causes 705(6)

Storms: Nature's Fury 711(8)

Global Climate 719(11)

Box 20.3 The Human Angle: Hurricane Katrina! 720(4)

Geotour 20: Climate Belts of the Earth 724(3)

End-of-chapter material 727(3)

Dry Regions: The Geology of Deserts 730(27)

Introduction 731(1)

What Is a Desert? 731(1)

Types of Deserts 732(2)

Weathering and Erosional Processes in Deserts 734(5)

Depositional Environments in Deserts 739(2)

Desert Landscapes 741(5)

Box 21.1 The Rest of the Story: Uluru (Ayers Rock) 745(1)

Life in the Desert 746(4)

Featured painting: The Desert Realm 748(2)

Desert Problems 750(7)

Geotour 21: Desert Landscapes 752(3)

End-of-chapter material 755(2)

Amazing Ice: Glaciers and Ice Ages 757(44)

Introduction 758(1)

Ice and the Nature of Glaciers 758(13)

Box 22.1 The Rest of the Story: Polar Ice Caps on Mars 763(8)

Carving and Carrying by Ice 771(6)

Geotour 22: Glacial Landscapes 774(3)

Deposition Associated with Glaciation 777(5)

Featured painting: Glaciers and Glacial Landforms 778(4)

Other Consequences of Continental Glaciation 782(6)

Periglacial Environments 788(1)

The Pleistocene Ice Ages 789(4)

Box 22.2 The Human Angle: So You Want to See a Glaciation? 792(1)

The Causes of Ice Ages 793(4)

Will There Be Another Glacial Advance? 797(4)

End-of-chapter material 798(3)

Global Change in the Earth System 801

Introduction 802(1)

Box 23.1 The Rest of the Story: The Goldilocks Effect 803(1)

Unidirectional Changes 803(2)

Physical Cycles 805(3)

Featured painting: The Earth System 806(2)

Biogeochemical Cycles 808(2)

Global Climate Change 810(9)

Box 23.2 The Human Angle: Global Climate Change and the Birth of Legends 814(3)

Box 23.3 The Rest of the Story: The Faint Young Sun Paradox 817(2)

Human Impact on the Earth System 819(11)

Geotour 23: Aspects of Global Change 826(4)

The Future of the Earth: A Scenario 830

End-of-chapter material 831
Metric Conversion Chart
Appendix A Scientific Background: Matter and Energy 1(1)
Appendix B Additional Maps and Charts 1(1)
Glossary 1(1)
Credits 1(1)
Index 1