Visualizing Earth Science

1 Introduction to Earth Science 2

2 Minerals: Earth’s Building Blocks 34

3 Rocks: Keepers of Earth’s History 62

4 Weathering, Soils, and Mass Wasting 98

5 Water On and Under the Ground 132

6 Extreme Climatic Regions: Deserts, Glaciers, and Ice Sheets 168

7 Plate Tectonics: Sculptor of Earth’s Ever-Changing Landscape 200

8 Earthquakes and Earth’s Interior 232

9 Volcanism and Other Igneous Processes 270

10 How Old is Old? The Rock Record and Deep Time 302

11 A Brief History of Life on Earth 334

12 The Oceans 370

13 Where Ocean Meets Land 394

14 The Atmosphere: Composition, Structure, and Clouds 424

15 Global Circulation and Weather Systems 456

16 Global Climates Past and Present 488

17 Earth’s Place in Space 516

Appendix

A Periodic Table of the Elements 553

B Units and Their Conversions 554

C Answers to Self-Tests 556

Glossary 557

Credits 563

Index 569