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Brian Skinner was born and raised in Australia, studied at the University of Adelaide in South Australia, worked in the mining industry in Tasmania, and in 1951 entered the Graduate School of Arts and Sciences, Harvard University, from which he obtained his Ph.D. in 1954. Following a period as a research scientist in the United States Geological Survey in Washington D.C., he joined the faculty at Yale in 1966, where he continues his teaching and research as the Eugene Higgins Professor of Geology and Geophysics. Brian Skinner has been president of the Geochemical Society, the Geological Society of America, and the Society of Economic Geologists, He holds an honorary Doctor of Science from Toronto University, and an honorary Doctor of Engineering from the Colorado School of Mines.
Relative Age 66
Stratigraphy 66
Gaps in the Record 68
�� WHAT A GEOLOGIST SEES: A Grand View Of Stratigraphy 70
Fossils and Correlation 71
The Geologic Column 73
Eons and Eras 73
Periods and Epochs 76
Numerical Age 77
Early Attempts 77
Radioactivity and Numerical Ages 78
Magnetic Polarity Dating 82
�� CASE STUDY: Dating Human Ancestors 84
The Age of Earth 85
�� WHERE GEOLOGISTS CLICK: The U.S. Geological Survey 85
�� AMAZING PLACES: Famous Unconformities 87
Plate Tectonics
A Revolution in Geology 94
Wegener’s Hypothesis of Continental Drift 94
The Puzzle-Piece Argument 95
Matching Geology 97
Apparent Polar Wandering Paths 99
The Missing Clue: Seafloor Spreading 99
The Plate Tectonic Model 102
Plate Tectonics in a Nutshell 103
Types of Plate Margins 104
�� WHAT A GEOLOGIST SEES: The Red Sea and the Gulf of Aden 106
�� WHERE GEOLOGISTS CLICK: Interactive Tectonic Map 108
The Search for a Mechanism for Plate Motion 108
�� AMAZING PLACES: The Hawaiian Islands: A Growing Island Chain 110
The Tectonic Cycle: Past, Present, Future 112
Earthquakes and Earth’s Interior
Earthquakes and Earthquake Hazards 120
Earthquakes and Plate Motion 120
�� CASE STUDY: Proving the Elastic Rebound Theory 122
Earthquake Hazards and Readiness 123
Earthquake Prediction 126
The Science of Seismology 129
Seismographs 129
Seismic Waves 130
Locating Earthquakes 130
�� WHERE GEOLOGISTS CLICK: Earthquakes at Your Fingertips 132
Measuring Earthquakes 132
�� WHAT A GEOLOGIST SEES: Richter Magnitude and Modified Mercalli Intensity Scales 134
Studying Earth’s Interior 135
How Geologists Look into Earth’s Interior: Seismic Methods 135
How Geologists Look into Earth’s Interior: Other Methods 137
A Multilayered Planet 140
The Crust 140
The Mantle 142
�� AMAZING PLACES: Point Reyes, California 143
The Core 144
Volcanoes and Igneous Rocks Volcanoes and Volcanic Hazards 152
�� WHERE GEOLOGISTS CLICK: The Hawaiian Volcano Observatory 153
Eruptions, Landforms, and Materials 153
Volcanic Hazards 158
�� CASE STUDY: Plinian Eruption in the Philippines 159
Predicting Eruptions 161
�� AMAZING PLACES: Mt. St. Helens 164
How, Why, and Where Rock Melts 166
Heat and Pressure Inside Earth 167
Magma and Lava 170
Cooling and Crystallization 174
Rate of Cooling 174
�� WHAT A GEOLOGIST SEES: Putting Rocks Under a Microscope 175
Chemical Composition 176
Fractional Crystallization 178
Plutons and Plutonism 179
Batholiths and Stocks 180
Dikes and Sills 180
Weathering and Erosion
Weathering—The First Step in the Rock Cycle 190
How Rocks Disintegrate 191
�� WHAT A GEOLOGIST SEES: Joint Formation 192
Mechanical Weathering 192
�� AMAZING PLACES: Monadnock—and Monadnocks 194
Chemical Weathering 196
Factors Affecting Weathering 198
Products of Weathering 201
Soil 202
Soil Profiles 203
�� WHERE GEOLOGISTS CLICK: Soils of Canada and the United States 204
�� CASE STUDY: Bad and Good Soil Management 205
Erosion and Mass Wasting 206
Erosion by Water 206
Erosion by Wind 206
Erosion by Ice 208
Gravity and Mass Wasting 208
Slope Failures 210
Flows 210
Factor of Safety and Landslide Prediction 211
From Sediment to Sedimentary Rock Sediment 220
Clastic Sediment 220
Chemical and Biogenic Sediments 222
Transport and Deposition of Sediment 223
Depositional Environments on Land 224
Depositional Environments in and near the Ocean 226
�� WHERE GEOLOGISTS CLICK: The Geological Society of London 228
Sedimentary Rock 229
Rock Beds 229
�� AMAZING PLACES: The Navajo Sandstone 231
Lithification 232
Types of Sedimentary Rocks 233
�� WHAT A GEOLOGIST SEES: A Change in the Atmosphere 235
Interpreting Environmental Clues 236
Sedimentary Facies 238
�� CASE STUDY: Thinking Critically About Sedimentation and Human History 239
How Plate Tectonics Affects Sedimentation 240
Divergent Plate Boundaries—Rift Valleys 240
Convergent Plate Boundaries—Collisional Type 240
Convergent Plate Boundaries—Subduction Type 240
Folds, Faults, and Geological Maps Rock Deformation 250
Stress and Strain 250
Brittle and Ductile Deformation 251
Where Rock Deformation Occurs 256
Structural Geology 258
Strike and Dip 258
Faults and Fractures 261
�� AMAZING PLACES: The Canadian Rockies 262
Folds 263
�� WHAT A GEOLOGIST SEES: Monocline 264
Geologic Maps 268
�� CASE STUDY: The Map That Changed the World 269
Making and Interpreting Geologic Maps 271
Geologic Cross Sections 272
�� WHERE GEOLOGISTS CLICK: National Geologic Maps Database 273
Metamorphism: New Rock from Old What Is Metamorphism? 280
The Limits of Metamorphism 281
Factors Influencing Metamorphism 282
�� WHAT A GEOLOGIST SEES: At the Roadside 285
�� CASE STUDY: Metamorphism and Billiards 287
Metamorphic Rock 289
Rock with Foliation 289
�� WHERE GEOLOGISTS CLICK: Smithsonian Institution’s National Museum of Natural History 289
�� AMAZING PLACES: The Source of Olmec Jade 291
Rock Without Foliation 292
Metamorphic Processes 293
Types of Metamorphism 293
Metasomatism 297
Metamorphic Facies 298
Water On and Under the Ground The Hydrologic Cycle 308
Water in the Earth System 308
Pathways and Reservoirs 309
�� WHERE GEOLOGISTS CLICK: Exploring the Water Cycle 311
How Water Affects Land 312
Streams and Channels 312
Stream Deposits 315
Large-Scale Topography of Stream Systems 317
�� WHAT A GEOLOGIST SEES: Drainage Basins 318
Lakes 319
Water as a Hazard and a Resource 320
Floods 320
Surface Water Resources 325
�� CASE STUDY: Mono Lake and the Los Angeles Water Supply 328
Fresh Water Underground 329
The Water Table 329
How Groundwater Moves 330
Where Groundwater Is Stored 332
Groundwater Depletion and Contamination 334
When Groundwater Dissolves Rock 336
Caves and Sinkholes 337
�� AMAZING PLACES: Lechuguilla Cave 338
12 The Ocean and the Atmosphere The Ocean 346
Ocean Basins 346
The Composition of Seawater 348
Layers in the Ocean 348
Ocean Currents 350
Where Ocean Meets Land 352
Changes in Sea Level 352
�� WHAT A GEOLOGIST SEES: What Causes Tides? 354
Waves 355
Shorelines and Coastal Landforms 359
�� CASE STUDY: Thinking Critically About the Effects of Oil Spills 363
�� AMAZING PLACES: The Florida Keys Reef 364
The Atmosphere 366
Composition of Earth’s Atmosphere 367
Layers in the Atmosphere 368
�� WHERE GEOLOGISTS CLICK: Ozone Hole Watch 371
Movement in the Atmosphere 371
Where Ocean Meets Atmosphere 374
Ocean–Atmosphere–Climate Interactions 374
Tropical Cyclones 376
El Niño and La Niña 378
Climatic Extremes: Deserts and Glaciers Deserts and Drylands 386
Types of Deserts 386
Wind Erosion 388
Desert Landforms 390
Desertification and Land Degradation 395
Changing Deserts 395
Mitigating Land Degradation 395
�� CASE STUDY: The Sahel and the Dust Bowl 396
�� WHERE GEOLOGISTS CLICK: Desertification 398
Glaciers and Ice Sheets 398
Components of the Cryosphere 398
�� AMAZING PLACES: Glacier Bay National Park and Wilderness, Alaska 402
Ever-Changing Glaciers 402
The Glacial Landscape 407
�� WHAT A GEOLOGIST SEES: Periglacial Landforms 410
Earth’s Climates: Past, Present, Future The Climate System 418
Components of the Climate System 418
Present-Day Climates 419
Natural Causes of Climate Change 420
External Influences on Climate 420
�� CASE STUDY: Wetter Times in Wadi Kufra 421
Internal Influences on Climate 423
�� AMAZING PLACES: Fossil Forests of the High Arctic 428
Feedbacks 429
The Record of Past Climate Change 431
Evidence of Climate Change 431
�� CASE STUDY: Using Isotopes to Measure Past Climates 436
�� WHAT A GEOLOGIST SEES: Ice Cores 438
Earth’s Past Climates 439
Predicting the Future 442
What We Know 442
What We Think We Know 445
�� WHERE GEOLOGISTS CLICK: The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change 447
The Big Uncertainties 447
A Brief History of Life on Earth Ever-Changing Earth 456
Early Life 459
Life in Three Not-So-Easy Steps 460
Archean and Proterozoic Life 462
Evolution and the Fossil Record 464
Evolution and Natural Selection 465
�� WHERE GEOLOGISTS CLICK: Evolution 101 467
How Fossils Form 468
Life in the Phanerozoic Eon 470
The Paleozoic Era 472
�� WHAT A GEOLOGIST SEES: A Sample of Cambrian Life 472
�� AMAZING PLACES: The Burgess Shale 473
From Sea to Land 474
The Mesozoic Era 478
The Cenozoic Era 478
Mass Extinctions 481
15 16Understanding Earth’s Resources
Renewable and Nonrenewable Resources 494
Natural Resources and Ancient History 494
�� AMAZING PLACES: Saugus Iron Works 496
Resources and Modern Society 496
Fossil Fuels 498
Peat and Coal 499
Petroleum 502
Nontraditional Sources of Oil: Tar Sands and Oil Shales 505
Nontraditional Sources of Gas: Coal Beds and Shale 506
Relying on Fossil Fuels 506
Renewable Energy Resources 507
Power from Sun, Wind, and Water 508
Nuclear and Geothermal Power 509
�� CASE STUDY: Thinking Critically About Nuclear Power 510
Mineral Resources 511
Finding and Assessing Mineral Resources 512
How Mineral Deposits Are Formed 515
�� WHAT A GEOLOGIST SEES: Mineral Deposits in Progress 517
Plate Tectonic Controls on Ore Deposits 518
Will We Run Out? 519
�� WHERE GEOLOGISTS CLICK: Natural Resources Canada 520
Appendix A: Units and Their Conversions 526
Appendix B: Periodic Table of the Elements 528
Appendix C: Tables of the Properties of Selected Common Minerals 529
Appendix D: Self-Test Answers 532
Glossary 533
Table and Line Art Credits 538
Photo Credits 540
Index
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