Earth: Portrait of a Planet, 3e - W. W. Norton College Books

PREFACE
Prelude
And Just What Is Geology?
P.1 In Search of Ideas
P.2 Why Study Geology?
P.3 What are the Themes of this Book?
Introducing Geotours
Part I: Our Island in Space
Chapter 1: Cosmology and the Birth of Earth
1.1 Introduction
1.2 An Evolving Image of the Earth's Position and Shape
1.3 A Sense of Scale
1.4 The Modern Image of the Universe
1.5 How did the Universe Form?
1.6 Making Order from Chaos
1.7 We Are All Made of Stardust
Featured painting: Forming the Planets and the Earth-Moon System
End-of-chapter material
Geotour 1: Meterorite Impact Sites on Earth
Chapter 2: Journey to the Center of the Earth
2.1 Introduction
2.2 Welcome to the Neighborhood
2.3 The Atmosphere
2.4 Land and Oceans
2.5 What Is the Earth Made Of?
Geotour 2: The Variety of Earth's Surface
2.6 How do we know that Earth has Layers?
2.7 What Are the Layers Made Of?
Featured painting: The Earth, from Surface to Center
2.8 The Lithosphere and Asthenosphere
End-of-chapter material
Chapter 3: Drifting Continents and Spreading Seas
3.1 Introduction
3.2 What Was Wegener's Evidence for Continental Drift?
Geotour 3: Wegener's Evidence
3.3 Setting the Stage for the Discovery of Sea-Floor Spreading
3.4 Harry Hess and His "Essay in Geopoetry"
3.5 Marine Magnetic Anomalies: Evidence for Sea-Floor Spreading
Featured painting: Magnetic Reversals and Marine Magnetic Anomalies
3.6 Deep-Sea Drilling: Further Evidence
End-of-chapter material
Interlude A: Paleomagnetism and Apparent Polar-Wander Paths
A.1 Introduction
A.2 Background on Magnets and on Earth's Field
Chapter 4: The Way the Earth Works: Plate Tectonics
4.1 Introduction
4.2 What Do We Mean by Plate Tectonics?
4.3 Divergent Plate Boundaries and Sea-Floor Spreading
4.4 Convergent Plate Boundaries and Subduction
Geotour 4: Plate Boundaries
4.5 Transform Plate Boundaries
4.6 Special Locations in the Plate Mosaic
4.7 How do Plate Boundaries Form and Die?
4.8 What Drives Plate Motion?
Featured painting: The Theory of Plate Tectonics
4.9 The Velocity of Plate Motions
4.10 The Dynamic Planet
End-of-chapter material
Part II: Earth Materials
Chapter 5: Patterns in Nature: Minerals
5.1 Introduction
5.2 What Is a Mineral?
5.3 Beauty in Patterns: Crystals and Their Structure
5.4 How Can You Tell One Mineral from Another?
5.5 Organizing Our Knowledge: Mineral Classification
5.6 Something Precious—Gems!
Geotour 5: Diamond Mines
End-of-chapter material
Interlude B: Rock Groups
B.1 Introduction
B.2 What Is Rock?
B.3 Rock Occurrences
B.4 The Basis of Rock Classification
B.5 Studying Rock
Chapter 6: Up from the Inferno: Magma and Igneous Rocks
6.1 Introduction
6.2 Why does Magma Form?
6.3 What Is Magma Made Of?
6.4 Moving Magma and Lava
6.5 How do Extrusive and Intrusive Environments Differ?
6.6 Transforming Magma into Rock
6.7 Igneous Rock Textures: What do they tell us?
6.8 Classifying Igneous Rocks
6.9 Where Does Igneous Activity Occur, and Why?
Geotour 6: Exposures of Igneous Rocks
Featured painting: The Formation of Igneous Rocks
End-of-chapter material
Chapter 7: A Surface Veneer: Sediments, Soils, and Sedimentary Rocks
7.1 Introduction
7.2 How does Weathering Lead to Sediment Formation?
7.3 Soil: Sediment Interwoven with Life
7.4 Introducing Sedimentary Rocks
7.5 Clastic Sedimentary Rocks
7.6 Biochemical and Organic Sedimentary Rocks: Byproducts of Life
7.7 Chemical Sedimentary Rocks
7.8 Sedimentary Structures
7.9 How do we recognize Depositional Environments?
Featured painting: The Formation of Sedimentary Rocks
7.10 Sedimentary Basins
Geotour 7: Sedimentary Rocks and Environments
7.11 Diagenesis
End-of-chapter material
Chapter 8: Metamorphism: A Process of Change
8.1 Introduction
8.2 What Happens During Metamorphism?
8.3 What Causes Metamorphism?
8.4 How do we Classify Metamorphic Rocks?
8.5 Describing the Intensity of Metamorphism
8.6 Where does Metamorphism Occur?
Featured painting: Environments of Metamorphism
8.7 Where Do You Find Metamorphic Rocks?
Geotour 8: Precambrian Metamorphic Terranes
End-of-chapter material
Interlude C: The Rock Cycle
C.1 Introduction
C.2 The Rock Cycle in the Context of the Theory of Plate Tectonics
C.3 Rates of Movement through the Rock Cycle
C.4 What Drives the Rock Cycle in the Earth System?
Featured painting: Rock-Forming Environments and the Rock Cycle
Part III: Tectonic Activity of a Dynamic Planet
Chapter 9: The Wrath of Vulcan: Volcanic Eruptions
9.1 Introduction
9.2 The Products of Volcanic Eruptions
9.3 The Architecture and Shape of Volcanoes
9.4 Eruptive Styles: Will It Flow, or Will It Blow?
Featured painting: Volcano
9.5 Hot-Spot Eruptions
9.6 Eruptions Along Plate Boundaries and Rifts
9.7 Beware: Volcanoes Are Hazards!
Geotour 9: Volcanic Features
9.8 Protection from Vulcan's Wrath
9.9 The Effect of Volcanoes on Climate and Civilization
9.10 Volcanoes on Other Planets
End-of-chapter material
Chapter 10: A Violent Pulse: Earthquakes
10.1 Introduction
10.2 What Causes Earthquakes to Happen? Faulting
Featured painting: Faulting in the Crust
10.3 How does Earthquake Energy Travel? Seismic Waves
10.4 How do we Measure and Locate Earthquakes?
10.5 Where and Why Do Earthquakes Occur?
10.6 How do Earthquakes Cause Damage?
Geotour 10: Seismically Active Faults
10.7 Can we Predict the "The Big One"?
10.8 Earthquake Engineering and Zoning
End-of-chapter material
Interlude D: Seeing Inside the Earth
D.1 Introduction
D.2 The Movement of Seismic Waves Through the Earth
D.3 Seismic Study of Earth's Interior
D.4 Seismic-Reflection Profiling
Chapter 11: Crags, Cracks, and Crumples: Crustal Deformation and Mountain Building
11.1 Introduction
11.2 Mountain Belts and the Concept of Orogeny
11.3 Rock Deformation in the Earth's Crust
11.4 What Structures Form During Brittle Deformation?
11.5 What Structures Form Due to Ductile Deformation?
11.6 Igneous, Sedimentary, and Metamorphic Processes in Orogenic Belts
11.7 Uplift and the Formation of Mountain Topography
11.8 Causes of Mountain Building
11.9 Cratons and the Deformation within Them
Featured painting: The Collision of India with Asia
Geotour 11: Mountains and Structures
11.10 Life Story of a Mountain Range: A Case Study
11.11 Measuring Mountain Building in Progress 358
End-of-chapter material
Part IV: History before History
Interlude D: Memories of Past Life: Fossils and Evolution
E.1 The Discovery of Fossils
E.2 Fossilization
E.3 Classifying Life
E.4 Classifying Fossils
E.5 The Fossil Record
E.6 Evolution and Extinction
Chapter 12: Deep Time: How Old Is Old?
12.1 Introduction
12.2 Time: A Human Obsession
12.3 The Concept of Geologic Time
12.4 Principles for Defining Relative Age
12.5 Unconformities: Gaps in the Record
12.6 Stratigraphic Formations and Their Correlation
12.7 The Geologic Column
12.8 How do we Determine Numerical Age? The Radiometric Clock
Geotour 12: The Strata of the Colorado Plateau
Featured painting: The Record in Rocks: Reconstructing Geologic History
12.9 How do we Add Numerical Ages to the Geologic Column?
12.10 What is the Age of the Earth?
End-of-chapter material
Chapter 13: A Biography of Earth
13.1 Introduction
13.2 Methods for Studying the Past
13.3 The Hadean Eon: Hell on Earth?
13.4 The Archean Eon: The Birth of the Continents and the Appearance of Life
13.5 The Proterozoic Eon: Transition to the Modern World
13.6 The Phanerozoic Eon: Life Diversifies, and Today's Continents Form
13.7 The Paleozoic Era: From Rodinia to Pangaea
13.8 The Mesozoic Era: When Dinosaurs Ruled
13.9 The Cenozoic Era: The Final Stretch to the Present
Featured painting: The Evolution of Earth
Geotour 13: Earth has a History
End-of-chapter material
Part V: Earth Resources
Chapter 14: Squeezing Power from a Stone: Energy Resources
14.1 Introduction
14.2 Sources of Energy in the Earth System
14.3 Oil and Gas
14.4 Hydrocarbon Systems: The Making of a Reserve
14.5 Oil Exploration and Production
14.6 Alternative Reserves of Hydrocarbons
14.7 Coal: Energy from the Swamps of the Past
Geotour 14: Sources of Energy
14.8 Nuclear Power
14.9 Other Energy Sources
Featured Painting: Power from the Earth
14.10 Energy Choices, Energy Problems
End-of-chapter material
Chapter 15: Riches in Rock: Mineral Resources
15.1 Introduction
15.2 Metals and Their Discovery
15.3 Ores, Ore Minerals, and Ore Deposits
Featured Painting: Forming and Processing Earth's Mineral Resources
Geotour 15: Large Open-Pit Mines
15.4 Ore-Mineral Exploration and Production
15.5 Nonmetallic Mineral Resources
15.6 Global Mineral Needs
End-of-chapter material
Part VI: Processes and Problems at the Earth's Surface
Interlude F: Ever-Changing Landscapes and the Hydrologic Cycle
F.1 Introduction
F.2 Shaping the Earth's Surface
F.3 Tools of the Trade: Topographic Maps and Profiles
F.4 Factors Controlling Landscape Development
F.5 The Hydrologic Cycle
F.6 Landscapes of other Planets
Featured painting: The Hydrologic Cycle
Chapter 16: Unsafe Ground: Landslides and Other Mass Movements
16.1 Introduction
16.2 Types of Mass Movement
16.3 Why do Mass Movements Occur?
16.4 Plate Tectonics and Mass Movements
Featured painting: Mass Movement
Geotour 16: Examples of Landslides
16.5 How Can We Protect against Mass-Movement Disasters?
End-of-chapter material
Chapter 17: Streams and Floods: The Geology of Running Water
17.1 Introduction
17.2 Draining the Land
17.3 Discharge and Turbulence
17.4 The Work of Running Water
17.5 How Streams Change along Their Length?
17.6 Streams and Their Deposits in the Landscape
Geotour 17: Fluvial Landscapes
17.7 The Evolution of Drainage
17.8 Raging Waters
Featured painting: River Systems
17.9 Rivers: A Vanishing Resource?
End-of-chapter material
Chapter 18: Restless Realm: Oceans and Coasts
18.1 Introduction
18.2 Landscapes beneath the Sea
18.3 Ocean Water and Currents
18.4 The Tides Go Out . . . the Tides Come In . . .
18.5 Wave Action
18.6 Where Land Meets Sea: Coastal Landforms
Geotour 18:
18.7 Causes of Coastal Variability
Featured painting: Oceans and Coasts
18.8 Coastal Problems and Solutions
End-of-chapter material
Chapter 19: A Hidden Reserve: Groundwater
19.1 Introduction
19.2 Where Does Groundwater Reside?
19.3 Groundwater and the Water Table
19.4 Groundwater Flow
19.5 Tapping the Groundwater Supply
19.6 Hot Springs and Geysers
19.7 Groundwater Usage Problems
19.8 Caves and Karst: A Spelunker's Paradise
Geotour 19:
Featured painting: Caves and Karst Landscapes
End-of-chapter material
Chapter 20: An Envelope of Gas: Earth's Atmosphere and Climate
20.1 Introduction
20.2 The Formation of the Atmosphere
20.3 The Atmosphere in Perspective
20.4 Wind and Global Circulation in the Atmosphere
20.5 Weather and Its Causes
20.6 Storms: Nature's Fury
20.7 Global Climate
Geotour 20:
End-of-chapter material
Chapter 21: Dry Regions: The Geology of Deserts
21.1 Introduction
21.2 What Is a Desert?
21.3 Types of Deserts
21.4 Weathering and Erosional Processes in Deserts
21.5 Depositional Environments in Deserts
21.6 Desert Landscapes
21.7 Life in the Desert
Featured painting: The Desert Realm
21.8 Desert Problems
Geotour 21:
End-of-chapter material
Chapter 22: Amazing Ice: Glaciers and Ice Ages
22.1 Introduction
22.2 Ice and the Nature of Glaciers
22.3 Carving and Carrying by Ice
Geotour 22:
22.4 Deposition Associated with Glaciation
Featured painting: Glaciers and Glacial Landforms
22.5 Other Consequences of Continental Glaciation
22.6 Periglacial Environments
22.7 The Pleistocene Ice Ages
22.8 The Causes of Ice Ages
22.9 Will There Be Another Glacial Advance?
End-of-chapter material
Chapter 23: Global Change in the Earth System
23.1 Introduction
23.2 Unidirectional Changes
23.3 Physical Cycles
23.4 Biogeochemical Cycles
Featured painting: The Earth System
23.5 Global Climate Change
23.6 Human Impact on the Earth System
Geotour 23:
23.7 The Future of the Earth: A Scenario
End-of-chapter material
Metric Conversion Chart
Appendix A Scientific Background: Matter and Energy A-1
Appendix B Additional Maps and Charts B-1
Glossary G-1
Credits C-1
Index I-1

Norton

Independent Publishers Since 1923

Earth: Portrait of a Planet

Third Edition

Stephen Marshak, University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign

Contents