Earth science : an introduction

Cover
Brief Contents
Contents
Preface
Chapter 1: Earth Systems
	Introduction
	The Earth's Four Spheres
	Earth Systems
	Time and Rates of Change in Earth Science
	Threshold and Feedback Effects
	Humans and Earth Systems
	Key Concepts Review
	Important Terms
	Review Questions
Chapter 2: Minerals
	Introduction
	What Is a Mineral?
	The Chemical Composition of Minerals
	The Crystalline Nature of Minerals
	Physical Properties of Minerals
	Mineral Classes and the Rock-Forming Minerals
	Commercially Important Minerals
	Harmful and Dangerous Rocks and Minerals
	Key Concepts Review
	Important Terms
	Review Questions
Chapter 3: Rocks
	Introduction
	Rocks and the Rock Cycle
	Igneous Rocks
	Sedimentary Rocks
	Metamorphic Rocks
	Key Concepts Review
	Important Terms
	Review Questions
Chapter 4: Geologic Time
	Earth Rocks, Earth History, and Mass Extinctions
	Geologic Time
	Relative Geologic Time
	Unconformities and Correlation
	Absolute Geologic Time
	The Geologic Time Scale
	Key Concepts Review
	Important Terms
	Review Questions
Chapter 5: Geologic Resources
	Introduction
	Mineral Resources
	Ore and Ore Deposits
	Mineral Reserves vs. Mineral Resources
	Mines and Mining
	Energy Resources: Coal, Petroleum, and Natural Gas
	Unconventional Petroleum and Gas Reservoirs
	Energy Resources: Nuclear Fuels and Reactors
	Energy Resources: Renewable Energy
	Conservation as an Alternative Energy Resource
	Energy for the 21st Century
	Key Concepts Review
	Important Terms
	Review Questions
Chapter 6: The Active Earth
	The Origins of Continents and Oceans
	Alfred Wegener and the Origin of an Idea: The Continental Drift Hypothesis
	The Earth's Layers
	The Seafloor Spreading Hypothesis
	The Theory of Plate Tectonics
	The Anatomy of a Tectonic Plate
	Why Plates Move: The Earth as a Heat Engine
	Supercontinents
	Isostasy: Vertical Movement of the Lithosphere
	How Plate Tectonics Affect Earth's Surface
	How Plate Tectonics Affect Earth's Climate
	Key Concepts Review
	Important Terms
	Review Questions
Chapter 7: Earthquakes and the Earth's Structure
	Introduction
	Anatomy of an Earthquake
	Earthquake Waves
	Earthquakes and Tectonic Plate Boundaries
	Earthquake Damage and Hazard Mitigation
	Earthquake Prediction
	Studying the Earth's Interior
	Earth's Magnetism
	Key Concepts Review
	Important Terms
	Review Questions
Chapter 8: Volcanoes and Plutons
	Magma
	Basalt and Granite
	Partial Melting and the Origin of Continents
	Magma Behavior
	Plutons
	Volcanoes
	Volcanic Explosions: Ash-Flow Tuffs and Calderas
	Risk Assessment: Predicting Volcanic Eruptions
	Volcanic Eruptions and Global Climate
	Key Concepts Review
	Important Terms
	Review Questions
Chapter 9: Mountains
	Folds and Faults: Geologic Structures
	Mountains and Mountain Ranges
	Island Arcs: Subduction Where Two Oceanic Plates Converge
	The Andes: Subduction at a Continental Margin
	The Himalayas: A Collision between Continents
	Mountains and Earth Systems
	Key Concepts Review
	Important Terms
	Review Questions
Chapter 10: Weathering, Soil, and Erosion
	Introduction
	Weathering and Erosion
	Mechanical Weathering
	Chemical Weathering
	Soil
	Mass Wasting and Landslides
	Types of Rapid Mass Wasting
	Predicting and Avoiding the Effects of Mass Wasting
	Key Concepts Review
	Important Terms
	Review Questions
Chapter 11: Freshwater
	Introduction
	The Water Cycle
	Streams
	Stream Deposition
	Floods
	Lakes
	Wetlands
	Groundwater
	Hot Springs, Geysers, and Geothermal Energy
	Key Concepts Review
	Important Terms
	Review Questions
Chapter 12: Water Resources
	Introduction
	Water Supply and Demand
	Dams and Diversion
	The Great American Desert
	Water and International Politics
	Water Pollution
	How Sewage, Detergents, and Fertilizers Pollute Waterways
	Toxic Pollutants, Risk Assessment, and Cost-Benefit Analysis
	Groundwater Pollution
	Nuclear Waste Disposal
	The Clean Water Act: A Modern Perspective
	Key Concepts Review
	Important Terms
	Review Questions
Chapter 13: Glaciers and Glaciations
	Introduction
	Formation of Glaciers
	Glacial Movement
	Glacial Erosion
	Glacial Deposits
	The Pleistocene Glaciation
	Snowball Earth: The Greatest Glaciation in Earth's History
	The Earth's Disappearing Glaciers
	Key Concepts Review
	Important Terms
	Review Questions
Chapter 14: Deserts and Wind
	Introduction
	Why Do Deserts Exist?
	Water and Deserts
	Two American Deserts
	Wind
	Desertification
	Key Concepts Review
	Important Terms
	Review Questions
Chapter 15: Ocean Basins
	The Origin of Oceans
	The Earth's Oceans
	Studying the Seafloor
	Features of the Seafloor
	Sediment and Rocks of the Seafloor
	Continental Margins
	Key Concepts Review
	Important Terms
	Review Questions
Chapter 16: Oceans and Coastlines
	Introduction
	Geography of the Oceans
	Seawater
	Tides
	Sea Waves
	Ocean Currents
	The Seacoast
	Emergent and Submergent Coastlines
	Beaches
	Life in the Sea
	Global Warming and Rising Sea Level
	Key Concepts Review
	Important Terms
	Review Questions
Chapter 17: The Atmosphere
	Introduction
	Earth's Early Atmospheres
	The Modern Atmosphere
	Atmospheric Pressure
	Atmospheric Temperature
	Air Pollution
	Depletion of the Ozone Layer
	Key Concepts Review
	Important Terms
	Review Questions
Chapter 18: Energy Balance in the Atmosphere
	Introduction
	Incoming Solar Radiation
	The Radiation Balance
	Energy Storage and Transfer: The Driving Mechanisms for Weather and Climate
	Temperature Changes with Latitude and Season
	Temperature Changes with Geography
	Key Concepts Review
	Important Terms
	Review Questions
Chapter 19: Moisture, Clouds, and Weather
	Moisture in Air
	Cooling and Condensation
	Rising Air and Precipitation
	Types of Clouds
	Fog
	Pressure and Wind
	Fronts and Frontal Weather
	How the Earth's Surface Features Affect Weather
	Thunderstorms
	Tornadoes and Tropical Cyclones
	Hurricane Katrina
	El Nino
	Key Concepts Review
	Important Terms
Chapter 20: Climate
	Introduction
	Global Winds and Climate
	Climate Zones of Earth
	Urban Climates
	Key Concepts Review
	Important Terms
	Review Questions
Chapter 21: Climate Change
	Introduction
	Climate Change in Earth's History
	Measuring Climate Change
	Astronomical Causes of Climate Change
	Water and Climate
	The Natural Carbon Cycle and Climate
	Tectonics and Climate Change
	Greenhouse Effect: The Carbon Cycle and Global Warming
	Feedback and Threshold Mechanisms in Climate Change
	Key Concepts Review
	Review Questions
Chapter 22: Motions in the Heavens
	The Motions of the Heavenly Bodies
	Aristotle and the Earth-Centered Universe
	The Renaissance and the Heliocentric Solar System
	The Motions of the Earth and the Moon
	Modern Astronomy
	Key Concepts Review
	Important Terms
	Review Questions
Chapter 23: Planets and Their Moons
	The Solar System: A Brief Overview
	The Terrestrial Planets
	The Moon: Our Nearest Neighbor
	The Jovian Planets: Size, Compositions, and Atmospheres
	Moons of the Jovian Planets
	Planetary Rings
	Pluto and Other Dwarf Planets
	Asteroids, Comets, and Meteoroids
	Key Concepts Review
	Important Terms
	Review Questions
Chapter 24: Stars, Space, and Galaxies
	Introduction
	In the Beginning: The Big Bang
	The Nonhomogeneous Universe
	The Birth of a Star
	The Sun
	Stars: The Main Sequence
	The Life and Death of a Star
	Neutron Stars, Pulsars, and Black Holes
	Galaxies
	The Milky Way
	Quasars
	Dark Matter
	The End of the Universe
	Why Are We So Lucky?
	Key Concepts Review
	Important Terms
	Review Questions
Appendix A: English-Metric Conversion Chart
Appendix B: Earth Science Mineral Identification
Glossary
Index