Visualizing Earth Science, 1st Edition

by Merali, Zeeya; Skinner, Brian J.; Strahler, Alan H.

• ISBN13: 9780471747055
• ISBN10: 047174705X
• eBook ISBN(s): 9780470473023, 9780471747055
• Additional ISBN(s): 9781118435946
• Edition: 1st
• Format: Paperback
• Copyright: 2009-01-09
• Publisher: Wiley
• More Book Details

Summary

Visualizing Earth Science relies heavily on the integrating of National Geographic and other rich visuals to expand on concepts for students and solidify their understanding of them. This accessible format, coupled with the assumption that students have little knowledge of earth science, allows students to navigate through the material with greater ease - the goal being to help them understand the world around them and interpret what they see in a meaningful, accurate and exciting way.Authors Zeeya Merali and Brian Skinner focus on visual learning in their debut of their first edition, Visualizing Earth Science. This text weaves illustrated timelines throughout to exemplify how concepts fit together and develop over time. Students will quickly learn difficult concepts with this innovative, visual approach.

Author Biography

Dr. Brian J. Skinner is a Eugene Higgins Prof Geology at Yale University.  His research intrests include the origin and distribution of mineral deposits.

Table of Contents

Introduction to Earth Science

What Is Earth Science?

Using the Scientific Method

Earth System Science

WHAT AN EARTH SCIENTIST SEES: Island or Open System

Earth in Space

The Solar System

The Terrestrial Planets

What Makes Earth Unique?

Humans and Earth

Renewable and Nonrenewable Resources

Why Study Earth Science?

Amazing Places: Earth

Minerals: Earth's Building Blocks

Minerals, Elements, and Compounds

Elements, Atoms, and Ions

Compounds, Molecules, and Bonding

What Is a Mineral?

Composition of Minerals

Telling Minerals Apart

CASE STUDY: Minerals for Adornment

Mineral Families

Minerals of Earth's Crust

Silicates: The Most Important Rock Formers

Mineral Resources

WHAT AN EARTH SCIENTIST SEES: Living in a Mineral World

Amazing Places: The Naica Mine, Chihuahua, Mexico

Rocks: Keepers Of Earth's History

Rocks: A First Look

The Three Rock Families

The Rock Cycle

Igneous Rocks

Rate of Cooling

WHAT AN EARTH SCIENTIST SEES: Putting Rocks Under a Microscope

Chemical Composition

Sedimentary Rocks

Clastic Sediments and Clastic Sedimentary Rocks

Lithification of Clastic Sediment

Chemical Sediments and Chemical Sedimentary Rocks

WHAT AN EARTH SCIENTIST SEES: A Change in the Atmosphere

Biogenic sediments and Biogenic Sedimentary Rocks

Rock Beds

Interpreting Environmental Clues

Sedimentary Facies

CASE STUDY: Sedimentary Facies and the History of Humankind Metamorphic Rocks

The Limits of Metamorphism

The Importance of Stress

Rocks as Resources

Rocks as Construction Materials

Mineral Resources in Igneous Rocks

Mineral Resources in Chemical and Biogenic Sedimentary Rocks

Gold in Metamorphic Rocks

Amazing Places: The Navajo Sandstone

Weathering, Soils, and Mass Wasting

Weathering: The Earth System at Work

Weathering: How Rocks Disintegrate?

Mechanical Weathering: Breaking Rocks Apart

WHAT AN EARTH SCIENTIST SEES: Joint Formation

Chemical Weathering: Breaking Rocks by Chemistry

Factors Affecting Weathering

Soil: The Most Important Product of Weathering

Soil

Soil Profiles

Factors that Influence Soil Formation

CASE STUDY: Bad and Good Soil

Erosion and Mass Wasting: Gravity at Work

Erosion by Water

Erosion by Wind

Erosion by Ice

Gravity and Mass Wasting

Tectonics and Mass Wasting

Resources Formed by Weathering and Erosion

Resources Formed by Chemical Weathering

Resources Formed by Erosion

Amazing Places: Monadnock-and Monadnocks

Water on and Under the Ground

The Hydrologic Cycle

Water in the Earth System

How Water Affects the Land

Streams and Streamflow

Stream Deposits

Large-scale Topography of Stream Systems

WHAT AN EARTH SCIENTIST SEES: Drainage Basins Lakes

Surface Water as a Hazard and Resource

Floods

Surface Water Resources

Global Irrigation and Industrial Water Consumption

CASE STUDY: California's Mono Lake, in the Sierra Nevada

Fresh Water Underground

The Water Table

How Groundwater Moves

Where Groundwater is Stored

Groundwater Depletion and Contamination

When Groundwater Dissolves Rock

Amazing Places: Lechuguilla Cave

Extreme Climatic Regions: Deserts, Glaciers, and ICE Sheets

Deserts and Drylands

Types of Deserts

Wind Erosion

Wind Deposits and Desert Landforms

Stream Erosion and Deposition in Deserts

Desertification

Glaciers and Ice Sheets

Components of the<$$$>

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