Understanding Earth,9780716766827

Understanding Earth

by ; ; ;
Edition: 5th
ISBN13: 9780716766827
ISBN10: 0716766825
Format: Paperback
Pub. Date: 2006-02-24
Publisher(s): W. H. Freeman
Upgraded Edition: Click here!
List Price: $148.34

Rent Textbook

Select for Price
Add to Cart
There was a problem. Please try again later.

New Textbook

We're Sorry
Sold Out

Used Textbook

We're Sorry
Sold Out

eTextbook

We're Sorry
Not Available

Buy from our Marketplace starting at $16.46

How Marketplace Works:

  • This item is offered by an independent seller and not shipped from our warehouse
  • Item details like edition and cover design may differ from our description; see seller's comments before ordering.
  • Sellers much confirm and ship within two business days; otherwise, the order will be cancelled and refunded.
  • Marketplace purchases cannot be returned to eCampus.com. Contact the seller directly for inquiries; if no response within two days, contact customer service.
  • Additional shipping costs apply to Marketplace purchases. Review shipping costs at checkout.

Summary

The guide helps students prepare for lectures and exams, with a heavy emphasis on utlizing the book's Web resources.

Table of Contents

Meet the Authors vi
Preface xiii
PART I The Modern Theory and Practice of Geology
The Earth System
1(17)
The Scientific Method
2(1)
Earth's Shape and Surface
3(1)
The Geologic Record
4(2)
Peeling the Onion: Discovery of a Layered Earth
6(4)
Earth as a System of Interacting Components
10(4)
An Overview of Geologic Time
14(4)
Plate Tectonics: The Unifying Theory
18(26)
The Discovery of Plate Tectonics
19(3)
The Mosaic of Plates
22(8)
Rates and History of Plate Motions
30(5)
The Grand Reconstruction
35(2)
Mantle Convection: The Engine of Plate Tectonics
37(5)
The Theory of Plate Tectonics and the Scientific Method
42(2)
PART II Basic Geologic Processes
Earth Materials: Minerals and Rocks
44(32)
What Are Minerals?
45(1)
The Atomic Structure of Matter
46(1)
Chemical Reactions
47(2)
Chemical Bonds
49(1)
The Atomic Structure of Minerals
49(3)
Rock-Forming Minerals
52(4)
Physical Properties of Minerals
56(6)
What Are Rocks?
62(1)
lgneous Rocks
63(1)
Sedimentary Rocks
64(2)
Metamorphic Rocks
66(1)
The Rock Cycle: Interactions Between the Plate Tectonic and Climate Systems
66(2)
Minerals Occur in Rocks as Valuable Resources
68(8)
3.1 Earth Issues Sulfide Minerals React to Form Acid Waters on Earth and Mars
57(19)
Igneous Rocks: Solids from Melts
76(24)
How Do lgneous Rocks Differ from One Another?
78(5)
How Do Magmas Form?
83(2)
Where Do Magmas Form?
85(1)
Magmatic Differentiation
85(3)
Forms of Magmatic Intrusions
88(3)
Igneous Activity and Plate Tectonics
91(9)
Sedimentation: Rocks Formed by Surface Processes
100(30)
Sedimentary Rocks Are Produced by Surface Processes in the Rock Cycle
102(4)
Sedimentary Basins: The Sinks for Sediments
106(2)
Sedimentary Environments
108(3)
Sedimentary Structures
111(3)
Burial and Diagenesis: From Sediment to Rock
114(2)
Classification of Siliciclastic Sediments and Sedimentary Rocks
116(3)
Classification of Chemical and Biological Sediments and Sedimentary Rocks
119(11)
5.1 Earth Policy Darwin's Coral Reefs and Atolls
124(6)
Metamorphism: Modification of Rocks by Temperature and Pressure
130(20)
Metamorphism and the Earth System
132(1)
Causes of Metamorphism
133(1)
Types of Metamorphism
134(2)
Metamorphic Textures
136(5)
Regional Metamorphism and Metamorphic Grade
141(3)
Plate Tectonics and Metamorphism
144(6)
Deformation: Modification of Rocks by Folding and Fracturing
150(18)
Mapping Geologic Structure
152(2)
How Rocks Deform
154(2)
Basic Deformation Structures
156(7)
Styles of Continental Deformation
163(2)
Unraveling Geologic History
165(3)
PART III Earth and Planets Through Geologic Time
Clocks in Rocks: Timing the Geologic Record
168(20)
Reconstructing Geologic History from the Stratigraphic Record
170(8)
Geologic Time Scale: Relative Ages
178(2)
Measuring Absolute Time with Radioactive Clocks
180(3)
Geologic Time Scale: Absolute Ages
183(1)
Timing the Earth System
184(4)
8.1 Earth Issues The Grand Canyon Sequence and Regional Correlation of Strata
176(12)
Early History of the Terrestrial Planets
188(26)
Origin of the Solar System
190(2)
Early Earth: Formation of a Layered Planet
192(3)
Diversity of the Planets
195(2)
What's in a Face? The Age and Complexion of Planetary Surfaces
197(7)
Mars Rocks!
204(6)
Exploring the Solar System and Beyond
210(4)
Evolution of the Continents
214(26)
The Tectonics of North America
216(5)
Tectonic Provinces Around the World
221(3)
How Continents Grow
224(2)
How Continents Are Modified
226(9)
The Formation of Cratons
235(1)
The Deep Structure of Continents
236(4)
Geobiology: Life Interacts with the Earth
240(30)
The Biosphere as a System
242(4)
Microbes: Nature's Tiny Chemists
246(8)
Geobiological Events in Earth's History
254(11)
Astrobiology: The Search for Extraterrestrial Life
265(5)
11.1 Earth Issues The Mother of all Mass Extinctions: Whodunit?
264(6)
PART IV Internal Geosystems
Volcanoes
270(26)
Volcanoes as Geosystems
272(1)
Lavas and Other Volcanic Deposits
273(4)
Eruptive Styles and Landforms
277(5)
Geosystem Interactions
282(2)
The Global Pattern of Volcanism
284(4)
Volcanism and Human Affairs
288(8)
12.1 Earth Policy Mount St. Helens: Dangerous but Predictable
292(4)
Earthquakes
296(28)
What Is an Earthquake?
298(3)
Studying Earthquakes
301(8)
Earthquakes and Patterns of Faulting
309(4)
Earthquake Destructiveness
313(7)
Can Earthquakes Be Predicted?
320(4)
13.1 Earth Issues The Great Indian Ocean Tsunami of 2004
312(7)
13.2 Earth Issues Seven Steps to Earthquake Safety
319(5)
Exploring Earth's Interior
324(22)
Exploring the Interior with Seismic Waves
325(3)
Layering and Composition of the Interior
328(4)
Earth's Internal Heat and Temperature
332(6)
The Three-Dimensional Structure of the Mantle
338
Earth's Magnetic Field and the Geodynamo
337(9)
14.1 Earth Issues The Uplift of Scandinavia: Nature's Experiment with Isostasy
331(7)
14.2 Earth Issues The Geoid: Shape of Planet Earth
338(8)
PART V Surficial Geosystems
The Climate System
346(24)
Components of the Climate System
348(4)
The Greenhouse Effect
352(3)
Climate Variability
355(7)
The Carbon Cycle
362(4)
Twentieth-Century Warming: Human Fingerprints of Global Change
366(4)
15.1 Earth Issues Vostok and GRIP: Ice-Core Drilling in Antarctica and Greenland
358(2)
15.2 Earth Issues EI Nino: The Wayward Child
360(10)
Weathering, Erosion, and Mass Wasting: Interface Between Climate and Tectonics
370(30)
Weathering, Erosion, Mass Wasting, and the Rock Cycle
372(1)
Controls on Weathering
372(1)
Chemical Weathering
373(5)
Physical Weathering
378(3)
Soil: The Residue of Weathering
381(3)
Mass Wasting
384(4)
Classification of Mass Movements
388(7)
Understanding the Origins of Mass Movements
395(5)
The Hydrologic Cycle and Groundwater
400(26)
Flows and Reservoirs
402(2)
Hydrology and Climate
404(2)
The Hydrology of Runoff
406(2)
Groundwater
408(7)
Water Resources from Major Aquifers
415(2)
Erosion by Groundwater
417(1)
Water Quality
418(3)
Water Deep in the Crust
421(5)
17.1 Earth Issues Water Is a Precious Resource: Who Should Get It?
404(12)
17.2 Earth Issues When Do Groundwaters Become Nonrenewable Resources?
416(10)
Stream Transport: From Mountains to Oceans
426(26)
Stream Valleys, Channels, and Floodplains
428(4)
Drainage Networks
432(3)
Where Do Channels Begin? How Running Water Erodes Solid Rock
435(2)
How Stream Waters Flow and Transport Sediment
437(3)
Deltas: The Mouths of Rivers
440(3)
Streams as Geosystems
443(9)
18.1 Earth Issues The Development of Cities on Floodplains
432(20)
Winds and Deserts
452(20)
Wind as a Flow of Air
454(1)
Wind as a Transport Agent
455(3)
Wind as an Agent of Erosion
458(2)
Wind as a Depositional Agent
460(4)
The Desert Environment
464(8)
19.1 Earth Issues Martian Dust Storms and Dust Devils
457(15)
Coastlines and Ocean Basins
472(32)
Basic Differences Between Ocean Basins and Continents
474(1)
Coastal Processes
474(11)
Shorelines
485(3)
Sea Level Change as a Measure of Global Warming
488(3)
Continental Margins
491(3)
The Deep Oceans
494(6)
Ocean Sedimentation
500(4)
20.1 Earth Policy The Great New Orleans Flood
480(10)
20.2 Earth Issues Preserving Our Beaches
490(14)
Glaciers: The Work of Ice
504(26)
Ice as a Rock
506(2)
How Glaciers Form
508(3)
How Glaciers Move
511(4)
Glacial Landscapes
515(7)
Glaciations and the Climate System
522(8)
21.1 Earth Issues Isostasy and Sea-Level Change
524(6)
Landscapes: Tectonic and Climate Interaction
530(20)
Topography, Elevation, and Relief
532(3)
Landforms: Features Sculpted by Erosion and Sedimentation
535(6)
Interacting Geosystems Control Landscape
541(4)
Models of Landscape Evolution
545(5)
22.1 Earth Issues Uplift and Climate Change: A Chicken-and-Egg Dilemma
544(6)
PART VI Earth Science and Society
The Human Impact on Earth's Environment
550(2)
Civilization as a Global Geosystem
552(4)
Fossil-Fuel Resources
556(8)
Alternative Energy Resources
564(5)
Global Change
569(5)
Welcome to the Anthropocene: A New Geologic Epoch
574(1)
Earth System Engineering and Management
575
23.1 Earth Policy Subsurface Toxic and Nuclear Waste Contamination
566(11)
23.2 Earth Policy The Kyoto Accords and the Politics of Climate Change
577
Appendix 1 Conversion Factors 1(1)
Appendix 2 Numerical Data Pertaining to Earth 2(1)
Appendix 3 Chemical Reactions 3(1)
Appendix 4 Properties of the Most Common Minerals of Earth's Crust 4
Glossary 1(1)
Suggested Readings 1(1)
Index 1

An electronic version of this book is available through VitalSource.

This book is viewable on PC, Mac, iPhone, iPad, iPod Touch, and most smartphones.

By purchasing, you will be able to view this book online, as well as download it, for the chosen number of days.

Digital License

You are licensing a digital product for a set duration. Durations are set forth in the product description, with "Lifetime" typically meaning five (5) years of online access and permanent download to a supported device. All licenses are non-transferable.

More details can be found here.

A downloadable version of this book is available through the eCampus Reader or compatible Adobe readers.

Applications are available on iOS, Android, PC, Mac, and Windows Mobile platforms.

Please view the compatibility matrix prior to purchase.