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EARTH
SCIENCE
An Illustrated Guide to Science
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Authors:
Editors:
Design:
Illustration:
Peter Wilkinson
Picture research:
Neil McKenna
Indexer:
Martin Hargreaves
All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced or utilized in any form
or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, or
by any information storage or retrieval systems, without permission in writing from
the publisher. For information contact:
Chelsea House
An imprint of Infobase Publishing
132 West 31st Street
New York NY 10001
For Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication data,
please contact the publisher.
ISBN 0-8160-6164-5
Chelsea House books are available at special discounts when purchased in bulk
quantities for businesses, associations, institutions, or sales promotions. Please call
our Special Sales Department in New York at 212/967-8800 or 800/322-8755.
You can find Chelsea House on the World Wide Web at
http://www.chelseahouse.com
Printed in China
CP Diagram 10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2
This book is printed on acid-free paper.
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Contents
1 EARTH AND SPACE
8
9
10
11
12
13
14
15
16
17
Earths orbit
Earths shape and size
Day and night time zones
The seasons
Latitude and longitude
The solar system
Structure of the Sun
The Suns energy
The Moon
The Moon: surface
18
19
20
21
22
23
24
25
41
42
43
44
45
46
47
48
49
50
51
52
53
54
55
56
Ordovician period
Silurian period
Devonian period
Mississippian period
Pennsylvanian period
Permian period
Triassic period
Jurassic period
Cretaceous period
Paleocene epoch
Eocene epoch
Oligocene epoch
Miocene epoch
Pliocene epoch
Pleistocene epoch
Holocene (recent) epoch
2 EARTHS HISTORY
26
27
28
29
30
31
32
33
34
35
36
37
38
39
40
Superposition
Unconformities
Complex rock sequences
Paleomagnetic dating
How fossils form
Fossil use in rock
correlation
Correlating rocks
Tree of life
Evolutionary clocks
Mass extinctions
Geologic time
Archean eon
Proterozoic eon
Phanerozoic eon
Cambrian period
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3 EARTHS ROCKS
57
58
59
60
61
62
63
64
65
66
67
68
69
70
71
72
73
74
75
76
77
78
79
80
81
82
Origins
Elements
Internal heat
Periodic table
Atoms
Compounds
Isotopes and ions
Crystals and minerals
Crystal systems
Rock forming minerals
Hardness
Igneous rocks
Intrusive igneous rocks
Magma production
Volcanoes: active
Volcanic types
Volcanoes: caldera
Volcanoes: lava forms
Volcanoes: central
Volcanoes: fissure
Volcanoes: shield
Geysers and hot springs
Sedimentary rocks:
formation
Sedimentary rocks: clastic
Sedimentary rocks:
organic and chemical
Sedimentary rocks:
bedding
83 Metamorphism
84 Progressive
metamorphism
85 The rock cycle
86 Continental drift: fit
87 Continental drift: geology
88 Continental drift: biology
89 Continental drift: polar
paths
90 Wegeners theory
91 Continents: 250 million
years ago
92 Continents: 180 million
years ago
93 Continents: 60 million
years ago
94 Lithospheric plates
95 Plate tectonics
96 Crust and lithosphere
97 Oceanic crust
98 Hawaiian Islands
99 Dating the seafloor
100 Spreading ridges
101 Continental crust
102 Continent growth
103 Isostasy
104 Ore
105 Coal
106 Oil and gas
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Atmosphere: structure
Atmosphere: layers
Radio waves
The nitrogen cycle
The carbon and oxygen
cycles
Heat transfer processes
Sunshine
Temperature belts
Pressure belts
The Coriolis effect
Wind circulation
Jet streams
Coastal breezes
The Beaufort scale of
wind speeds
Humidity
Fog
Cloud types
Rain, snow, and sleet
Rain types
Thunderstorm
Cyclones
128
129
130
131
132
133
134
135
136
137
138
139
140
141
142
143
144
145
146
147
148
149
Hurricanes
Tornadoes
Pressure systems
Air masses
Water
Oceans
Ocean temperatures
The ocean floor
Seafloor profiling
Tides
Ocean currents
Wave features
Wave types
Bays and headlands
Sea cliffs
Waves and beaches
Longshore drift
Spits and bars
Raised coastlines
Submerged coastlines
Coral reefs
Atolls and guyots
157
158
159
160
161
162
163
164
165
Mechanical weathering
Mechanical and organic
weathering
Chemical weathering
Chemical weathering:
hydration
From granite to sand
Soil formation
Soil textures
166
167
168
169
170
171
172
173
174
175
176
177
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River flow
River valleys
Drainage
Watersheds
Meanders
Oxbow lakes
Lakes
Flood plains
Deltas
River profiles
River rejuvenation
Hills and valleys
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178
179
180
181
182
183
184
185
186
187
188
189
Ice sheets
Glacier features
Glacial erosion
Glacial deposits
Cold landscapes
Permafrost
Deserts
Deserts of the USA
Desert landforms
Wind erosion
Sand dunes
Desertification
6 COMPARISONS
190
191
192
193
194
Continents
Lakes
Islands
Mountains
Seas and oceans
APPENDIXES
198
205
207
Key words
Internet resources
Index
195
196
197
Submarine features
Volcanoes and
earthquakes
Rivers
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Introduction
Earth Science is one of eight volumes in the Science Visual
Resources set. It contains six sections, a comprehensive glossary,
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8
EARTH AND SPACE
Key words
aphelion
asteroid
comet
gravity
orbit
perihelion
planet
Earths orbit
Gravity and inertia
tendency
to move
actual orbit
Earth, speed
18.2 miles per second
(29.8 kmps)
force of
gravitation
Sun
Earths path
Earth
Earths path
annual circuit
Earth
Sun
perihelion
(about
January 3)
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Earths size
Alexandria
ellipsoid
equator
geoid
Alexandria,
Egypt: pillar
casts shadow
of 7.5
Syene
axis
Suns rays
at noon,
longest day
Earths size
Earths
center
equator
Syene, Egypt:
Sun vertically
over well
polar diameter
equatorial diameter
ellipsoid
The diagram shows an
ellipsoid against a perfect
sphere. Earth is almost an
ellipsoid.
North Pole
South Pole
Around
200 BCE
Eratosthenes
calculated Earths
circumference by
measuring angles
made by the Suns
rays at noon at two
places a known distance
apart, one south of the
other. Parallel sunrays cast a
shadow at midsummer noon, which at
Alexandria, Egypt, was at 7.5 to the
vertical. At the same time, in the south
at Syene (present-day Aswan), the
Suns rays fell vertically down a well.
+18.9
miles
perfect ellipsoid
geoid
-25.8
miles
South Pole
North Pole
The geoid
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10
longitude
meridian
prime meridian
Sun
time zone
midnight
noon
Suns rays
midnight
noon
Suns rays
Earth
Time zones
The
sunrise
prime meridian
3 12
3 12
+1
+2
+3
4 12 5 12 6 12
+4
+5
+6
9 12
+7
+8
+9
+10
+11
+12
11
10
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The seasons
Summer solstice
equinox
solstice
June 21
North Pole
Arctic Circle
(6630' N)
rotation
of Earth
rays of
the Sun
Sun
equator
rays of the Sun
Seasons
Seasons
Earth
orbit
Night
Day
Earth orbit
rays of
the Sun
Earth
orbit
Sun
rays of
the Sun
Earth
orbit
equator
Winter solstice
December 22
Earth orbit
Earth
orbit
North Pole
Arctic Circle
(6630' N)
rays of
the Sun
Sun
rays of
the Sun
rotation
of Earth
Summer
At
Fall (autumn)
equator
At
Arctic Circle
(6630' N)
Earth
orbit
rotation
of Earth
At
rays of
the Sun
rays
of the
Sun
Winter
the winter solstice, the Northern
Hemisphere is tilted away from the
Sun. Winter is the coldest time of year.
Daytime hours are shortest. Plant
growth slows or stops.
Sun
equator
Spring
At
North Pole
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12
EARTH AND SPACE
Key words
Earth
equator
latitude
longitude
prime meridian
pole
Longitude
North
Pole
resulting
parallel of
latitude
prime meridian
(longitude 0)
resulting
meridian
Latitude
Latitude
is a position on Earths
surface north (N) or south (S) of the
equator, the imaginary line around the
middle of Earth.
Degrees of latitude are measured as
angles from the center of Earth. A
degree () of latitude is divided into 60
minutes ('). A minute is divided into 60
seconds (").
A line joining locations with the same
latitude is called a parallel. Parallels
are so called because they run parallel
to the equator and to one another.
The equator is at latitude 0. The
North and South poles lie at latitudes
90 N and S.
Earths
center
Earths
axis
angle of
longitude
equator
(latitude 0)
South
Pole
measured angle
of latitude
Degrees of latitude
90
resulting
meridian
prime meridian
(longitude 0)
Degrees of longitude
75
60
45
Longitude
30
Longitude
15
north
latitude
(N)
90 60
0
15
30
30
30
60 90
south
latitude
(S)
west
longitude (W)
Key latitudes
Arctic Circle
66 30' N
east
longitude (E)
Key longitude
tropic of
Cancer
23 27' N
equator 0
tropic of
Capricorn
23 27' S
Antarctic Circle
66 30' S
Greenwich
(prime) meridian 0
World time is calculated from the prime
meridian (0).
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13
Planetary orbits
Pluto
Uranus
Saturn
Jupiter
Mars
Earth Venus
Neptune
Mercury
asteroid
comet
gas giant
inner planet
moon
outer planet
terrestrial
Types of planets
The
Jupiter
Saturn
Uranus
Los
Angeles
Neptune
Pluto
New
York
Mercury
Venus
Earth
Mars
Jupiter
Saturn
Uranus
Neptune
Pluto
Miles
36,000,000
67,200,000
93,000,000
141,600,000
483,800,000
890,800,000
1,784,800,000
2,793,100,000
3,647,200,000
Kilometers
57,900,000
108,100,000
149,700,000
227,900,000
778,600,000
1,436,600,000
2,872,600,000
4,494,900,000
5,869,600,000
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EARTH AND SPACE
Key words
chromosphere
convection
core
corona
nuclear fusion
photosphere
Sun
solar flare
Core
convective zone
At
radiative zone
core
Radiative
zone
Energy
produced in
the core radiates
toward the surface of
the Sun through this
region.
This energy prevents the
Sun from collapsing under
the force of gravity.
photosphere
chromosphere
Convective zone
corona
Energy
Photosphere
photoshere surface of the Sun is
highly irregular. Temperatures vary
from 7,80016,000F (4,3009,000C).
The
Chromosphere
chromosphere is a highly agitated
zone of thin gases rising to about
6,000 miles (9,700 km) above the
photosphere. This region is constantly
disrupted by solar flares, prominences,
and spiricules.
The
Corona
Extending
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Radiant energy
10
nuclear
fusion
Wavelengths
(meters)
Nuclear fusion
nuclear fusion,
hydrogen atoms fuse to
produce helium.
The mass of helium
produced is less than the
mass of the hydrogen
that produced it.
The mass that is lost is
converted to energy,
given off by the Sun as
light, heat, and invisible
forms of radiation.
During
radio waves
Radiant energy
more than
90% of
the Suns
radiant
energy
infrared
visible light
ultraviolet
6
ENERGY
proton
X-rays
neutron
gamma
rays
positron
almost
10% of
the Suns
radiant
energy
neutrino
10-15
The
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EARTH AND SPACE
Key words
axis
barycenter
Earth
Moon
orbit
The Moon
The MoonEarth barycenter
Sun
Earth
Moon
Both
Earths orbit
Moons orbit
New Moon
Waxing gibbous
Moon
Full Moon
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Lunar seas
Mare Frigoris
Sea of Cold
Mare Imbrium
Sea of Showers
Mare Serenitatis
Sea of Serenity
Mare Crisium
Sea of Crises
Mare Vaporum
Sea of Vapors
Oceanus Procellarum
Ocean of Storms
Mare Tranquillitatis
Sea of Tranquility
Mare Fecunditatis
Sea of Fertility
Mare Nubium
Sea of Clouds
Mare Nectaris
Sea of Nectar
Mare Humorum
Sea of Moisture
Ptolemaeus
Grimaldi
Langrenus
Tycho
Theophilus
Clavius
Kepler
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EARTH AND SPACE
Key words
asteroid
basalt
boulder
core
crust
mantle
regolith
partially-molten
metal zone 220 miles
(350 km) thick
iron-rich core
with a radius of
190 miles (300 km)
Structure of a plain
rigid mantle
600 miles (1,000 km)
This
thick crust
45 miles (70 km) thick
fault scarp
crater chain
volcanoes
impact crater
impact crater
wrinkle ridge
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Solar eclipses
Total eclipse
Earth
eclipse
Moon
penumbra
planet
Sun
umbra
Eclipse
eclipse occurs when one
heavenly body blocks the light
shining from a second onto a
third.
An
Earth
Sun
Solar eclipse
Partial eclipse
area of partial eclipse
total eclipse shadow misses Earth
Earth
Sun
Moon
Lunar eclipses
Moon enters Earths total shadow
total shadow cast by Earth
Sun
Partial eclipse
Earth
Sun
Earth
Lunar eclipse
A
Total eclipse
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EARTH AND SPACE
Key words
core
crust
Earth
element
mantle
rock
Structure of Earth
Structure of Earth
Composition
solid metal inner
core with a radius of
1,000 miles (1,600 km)
Earth facts
Earth
Earths crust
Earth's crust is a shell of solid rock that floats on a sea of molten magma.
continental crust
lithosphere
magma
oceanic crust
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core
Earth
geomagnetism
Earths mantle
Earths core
lines of force
Earth as a magnet
Earths
lines of force
Inside Earth
eddies in the
outer core
Regional variations
Earths
rotation of mantle
The planet sectioned
at the equator shows
internal differences
of rotation producing
the magnetic field.
Regional variations
Variations in strength of Earths magnetic field from
(high) to 11 (low)
3
4
4
5
6
7
8
9
8
10
9
6
5
11
4
3
2
1
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Earths magnetosphere
solar wind
atmosphere
The
limit of magnetosphere
upwind magnetosphere
bow
shock
wave
polar cusp
downwind magnetosphere
magnetopause
atmosphere
5 Earth diameters
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Meteors
Meteors
Key words
enters Earths
atmosphere
reduces speed
atmosphere
comet
Earth
meteor
meteoroid
Classification
Occasionally
Perseid trail
Geminid trail
Meteors
Quadrantid trail
Sun
Earths orbit
Regular showers
Comets
Shower
Date
Parent comet
Meteor frequency
(maximum number visible per hour)
Quadrantids
January 4
unknown
110
Lyrids
April 22
Thatcher
Eta Aquarids
May 5
Halley
18
Delta Aquarids
July 3
unknown
30
Perseids
August 12
Swift-Tuttle
65
Orionids
October 21
Halley
25
Taurids
November 8
Encke
10
Leonids
November 17
Temple-Tuttle
15
Geminids
December 14
Asteroid 3200
55
Ursids
December 23
Tuttle
20
Note: Dates given are for peak activity and meteor frequencies apply to those dates.
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24
EARTH AND SPACE
Key words
Meteorites
Bombs from space: major impact craters
atmosphere
bolide
impact crater
meteorite
Popigai, Siberia
Siljan, Sweden
Kara, Russia
Carswell, Canada
Meteorites
Puchezh-Katunki, Russia
Manicouagan, Canada
Meteorites
Sudbury,
Canada
Charlevoix, Canada
Chicxulub, Mexico
Woodleigh, Australia
Types of meteorite
irons (5%)
stony irons
(2%)
fused rock
shock front
shattered rock
ejected debris
The meteorite and surrounding
rock fuse and cause a large
ejection of debris.
stony (93%)
fallback debris
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25
Elements: universal
abundance
Atomic number
hydrogen
helium
electron
element
neutron
nucleosynthesis
proton
star
lithium
carbon
oxygen
Varying abundance
There
neon
10
silicon
15
calcium
scandium
20
iron
25
Evolving elements
30
35
40
45
50
missing elements
55
60
The
How we know
70
75
80
lead
bismuth
85
thorium
90
uranium
100
10
100
1000
104
105
106
107
108
109
1010
1011
Knowledge
65
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EARTHS HISTORY
Key words
erosion
folding
layer
stratum
superposition
tilting
uplift
Superposition
Sequence of formation of sedimentary rocks
a
Superposition
oldest
oldest
next oldest
oldest
next oldest
youngest
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Unconformities
EARTHS HISTORY
Key words
b Sinking
angular
unconformity
dip
disconformity
erosion
c Renewed deposition
stratum
strike
Angular
unconformities and
tilted rock layers
angular
unconformity
b Sinking
c Renewed deposition
angular
unconformity
Angular
unconformities and
folded rock layers
Disconformity
disconformity
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EARTHS HISTORY
Key words
dike
faulting
folding
igneous rock
intrusion
nonconformity
sill
tilting
dike
sill
Complex sequences
e sandstone
d limestone
c shale
b sandstone
a granite
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Paleomagnetic dating
EARTHS HISTORY
Key words
geologic time
magnetic pole
S
Reversed polarity
N
Normal polarity
Paleomagnetic dating
S
10
Pole reversals
From time to time through geologic time, Earths magnetic field has suddenly become reversed,
switching its magnetic poles around. At each reversal, what had been the south magnetic
pole becomes the north magnetic pole and vice versa.
20
30
normal
reversed
40
60
70
normal
reversed
50
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EARTHS HISTORY
Key words
cast
fossil
sediment
Types of fossil
Most
sediment
layers of sediment
uplift
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31
EARTHS HISTORY
Key words
fossil
Marine fossils
Many such index fossils belong to groups
whose timelines and relative abundances
are indicated below.
Ca
m
br
ia
n
Pr
ot
er
oz
oi
rd
ov
ic
ia
n
Si
lu
ria
n
D
ev
on
ia
n
Ca
rb
on
ife
Pe
rm rou
s
Tr ia
ia n
s
Ju sic
ra
ss
ic
Cr
et
ac
eo
us
Te
rt
ia
ry
Q
ua
te
rn
ar
y
formaniferans
sponges
corals
bryozoans
brachiopods
pelacypods
gastropods
nautiloids
ammonoids
belemnites
trilobites
ostracods
sea urchins
65
24
8
20
6
14
4
29
0
35
4
44
3
41
7
49
0
3
54
2,
50
graptolites
crinoids
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32
EARTHS HISTORY
Key words
granite
igneous rock
sedimentary rock
Correlating rocks
Physical correlation of rock sequences
Iowa
Missouri
shale
dolomite
South Dakota
Physical correlation
sandstone
The
granite
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Tree of life
EARTHS HISTORY
Key words
Evolving organisms
period
abundance of species
an
lu
ria
ci
Si
rd
ov
i
O
Ca
m
br
ia
n
Pr
ot
er
oz
oi
Geologic period
n
ev
on
ia
n
Ca
rb
on
ife
Pe
rm rou
s*
i
Tr an
ia
ss
Ju ic
ra
ss
ic
Cr
et
ac
eo
us
Te
rt
ia
ry
Q
ua
te
rn
ar
y
flowering plants
Plants
From
green algae
evolved liverworts,
mosses, club
mosses, and
eventually flowering
plants.
conifers
horsetails
club mosses
liverworts
mosses
algae
fungi
bacteria
scorpions, spiders
insects
starfish
graptolites,
pterobranchs
sea squirts
birds
65
24
8
20
6
14
4
29
0
mammals
35
4
Among
these diverse
groups of singlecelled organisms
were the ancestors
of animals.
This
reptiles
3
41
7
Protists
Invertebrates
amphibians
44
divided
into Eubacteria and
Archaebacteria,
these life forms are
ancestral to all
others.
lampreys
bony fish
49
0
are organisms
perhaps more
closely related to
animals than plants.
lancelets
cartilaginous fish
Fungi
Arguably
crustaceans and
myriapods
54
Fungi
Bacteria
mollusks
50
0
diverse group
includes the green,
red, and brown
seaweeds.
sponges
segmented worms
2,
This
protists
jellyfish
Algae
loose term
embraces all animals
from sponges
through lancelets.
Vertebrates
These
backboned
animals range from
lampreys through
mammals.
ferns
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EARTHS HISTORY
Evolutionary clocks
Key words
geologic time
12
On
11
10
Evolving life
On
8
7
Earth formed
first hominids
first trilobites
12
first primates
11
10
first fish
first birds
8
7
first mammals
first insects
first amphibians
first reptiles
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35
Mass extinctions
EARTHS HISTORY
Key words
Life lines
period
archosaurian
reptiles
Geologic
period
Tertiary
Life lines
Vertical
ammonoids
Cretaceous
bivalves
Jurassic
Major extinctions
Paleontologists
Triassic
Permian
trilobites
Carboniferous
Causes of extinctions
Devonian
tabulate
corals
Silurian
reef-forming
stromatolites
archeocyathids
Cambrian
Ordovician
Various
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36
EARTHS HISTORY
Key words
eon
epoch
era
period
Geologic time
The geologic column
Dates are in millions of years before the present
Eras
Periods
CENOZOIC
65present
Quaternary
1.8present
Neogene or
Late Tertiary 23.81.8
Time units
Earth
MESOZOIC
24865
Paleogene or
Early Tertiary
6523.8
Epochs
Holocene (Recent)
0.01present
Pleistocene
1.80.01
Pliocene
5.31.8
Miocene
23.85.3
Cretaceous
14465
Oligocene
3423.8
Eocene
5534
Jurassic
206144
PALEOZOIC
543248
Triassic
248206
Permian
290248
Proterozoic eon
2.5 billion543
million years ago
Carboniferous
354290
Pennsylvanian
320-290
Mississippian
354320
Devonian
417354
Archean eon
42.5 billion
years ago
Hadean eon
4.54 billion
years ago
Silurian
443417
Ordovician
490443
Cambrian
543490
Paleocene
6555
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37
Archean eon
EARTHS HISTORY
Duration
Archean eon
42.5 billion years ago
present day
Archean rock
present-day continents
Key words
Emerging microcontinents
atmosphere
craton
crust
igneous rock
Convection currents within the mantle may have separated and resorted different rocks in
the primal crust, giving rise to the microcontinents of Archean rock around which the continents
then formed.
primal crust
bulge of greenstone
ocean
mantle
Mantle currents meeting and descending may
have tugged at the primal crust, triggering a
bulge of light granitic rock, the craton or
core for a new continent.
oceanic crust
craton (microcontinent)
Primeval times
greenstone island
(one of a belt)
Early oceanic crust of heavier rock can form between a craton and a greenstone island belt.
metamorphic
rock
microcontinent
ocean
rock
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EARTHS HISTORY
Proterozoic eon
Proterozoic eon
2.5 billion543 million years ago
Duration
present day
Proterozoic rock
present-day continents
Key words
atmosphere
plate
plate tectonics
subduction
Green alga
Sponge
Coelenterate
Pteridinium
Prearthropod
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Phanerozoic eon
EARTHS HISTORY
Duration
Phanerozoic eon
543 million years agopresent day
Phanerozoic rock
present-day continents
Key words
Phanerozoic organisms
continental drift
ice sheet
Arthropod
Bird
Phanerozoic time
continental drift saw continents
coalesce and break up. Uplift and
erosion raised and wore down chains
of mountains. Seas and oceans spread
and shrank. Ice sheets waxed and
waned.
All of the major groups of living things
became established early on. In time
fish gave rise to amphibians, reptiles,
birds, and mammals. From the first
lowly land plants came trees and later
flowers.
Amphibian
Fish
Reptile
Land plant
Through
Mammal
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EARTHS HISTORY
Cambrian period
Key words
Burgess shale
Gondwana
orogeny
period
North
South
possible
equator
under sea
sedimentary rocks
land
Cambrian life
Cambrian life-forms
These fossil organisms lived in Cambrian times (not shown to scale).
Annelid worm
Coelenterate
Mollusk
Lancelet
Trilobite
Onychophoran
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41
Ordovician period
EARTHS HISTORY
Key words
period
North
South
possible
equator
Ordovician life
under sea
mountains
Ordovician life-forms
These fossil organisms lived in Ordovician times (not shown to scale).
Brachiopod
Coelenterate
Mollusks
Graptolite
Echinoderms
Arthropod
land
sedimentary rocks
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EARTHS HISTORY
Key words
Silurian period
Alignment of the land of the USA in Silurian times
coral
orogeny
period
reef
South
possible
equator
under sea
land
sedimentary rocks
mountains
Silurian life-forms
These fossil organisms lived in Silurian times (not shown to scale).
Early scorpion
Cephalopod
Silurian life
Crinoid
Sea scorpion
Jawless fish
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43
Devonian period
EARTHS HISTORY
Key words
orogeny
period
North
South
possible
equator
under sea
sedimentary rocks
land
mountains
Devonian life-forms
These fossil organisms lived in Devonian times (not shown to scale).
Fern ancestor
Early amphibian
Cephalopod
Devonian life
Shark
Bony fish
Early insect
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44
EARTHS HISTORY
Key words
Mississippian period
Alignment of the land of the USA in Mississippian times
limestone
Pangaea
period
tropic
North
South
possible
equator
under sea
sedimentary rocks
land
Mississippian life-forms
Land, sea, and the
United States
Giant club
moss
Amphibian
Mississippian life
Crinoid
Brachiopod
Bryozoan
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Pennsylvanian period
EARTHS HISTORY
Key words
coal forest
coal measure
period
North
South
possible
equator
sedimentary rocks
under sea
land
Pennsylvanian life-forms
These fossil organisms lived in Pennsylvanian times (not shown to scale).
Early reptile
Proto-dragonfly
Cordaites tree
Pennsylvanian life
Coal forests included giant club
mosses, horsetails, and Cordaites.
Land animals featured the first small
lizardlike reptiles, amphibians the size
of crocodiles, and huge protodragonflies.
Fish included acanthodians, and
chondrichthyanssharks and
relativeswith a skeleton composed
of cartilage, not bone.
Amphibian
Acanthodian
Chondrichthyan
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46
EARTHS HISTORY
Key words
Permian period
Alignment of the land of the USA in Permian times
Pangaea
period
U.S. rocks formed
North
South
Land and sea
possible
equator
under sea
land
sedimentary rocks
volcanic rock
mountains
Permian life-forms
These fossil organisms lived in Permian times (not shown to scale).
Permian life
Cockroach
Conifer
Bony fish
Amphibian
Carnivorous synapsid
Herbivorous synapsid
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47
Triassic period
EARTHS HISTORY
Key words
desert
equator
period
North
Land and sea
South
sedimentary rocks
possible
equator
under sea
land
volcanoes
Triassic life-forms
These fossil organisms lived in Triassic times (not shown to scale).
Theropod dinosaur
Lycopsid
Cycad
Early mammal
Crocidilian
Triassic life
Prosauropod dinosaur
Ichthyosaur
Turtle
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48
EARTHS HISTORY
Jurassic period
Alignment of the land of the USA in Jurassic times
Key words
Pangaea
period
North
possible
equator
under sea
mountains
sedimentary rocks
land
volcanoes
volcanic rock
Jurassic life-forms
Pterosaur
Cycadeoid
Early bird
Jurassic life
Ornithischian dinosaur
Cephalopod
Sauropod dinosaur
Plesiosaur
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49
Cretaceous period
EARTHS HISTORY
Key words
continental drift
Laurasia
oceanic crust
Pangaea
period
subduction
volcano
North
Land and sea
South
sedimentary rocks
possible
equator
under sea
mountains
land
volcanoes
Cretaceous life-forms
These fossil organisms lived in Cretaceous times (not shown to scale).
Flowering tree
Toothed bird
Pterosaur
Horned dinosaur
Theropod dinosaur
Crablike
arthropod
Plesiosaur
Insectivorous mammal
Cretaceous life
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50
EARTHS HISTORY
Paleocene epoch
Alignment of the land of the USA in Paleocene times
Key words
epoch
equator
period
volcanic
North
Land and sea
South
possible
equator
igneous plutons
under sea
mountains
sedimentary rocks
land
volcanoes
volcanic rock
Paleocene life
Paleocene life-forms
These fossil organisms lived in Paleocene times (not shown to scale).
Dermopteran
Odd-toed ungulate
Rodent
Condylarth
Primate
Pantodont
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51
Eocene epoch
EARTHS HISTORY
Key words
basin
epoch
volcano
North
Land and sea
South
possible
equator
under sea
igneous plutons
sedimentary rocks
land
volcanic rock
volcanoes
Eocene life-forms
Early carnivore
Flightless bird
Bat
Eocene life
Odd-toed ungulate
Proboscidean
Dinocerate
Whale
mountains
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52
EARTHS HISTORY
Oligocene epoch
Alignment of the land of the USA in Oligocene times
Key words
epoch
sediment
temperate
tropical
North
South
possible
equator
Oligocene life
under sea
mountains
sedimentary rocks
land
volcanoes
volcanic rock
Oligocene life-forms
These fossil organisms lived in Oligocene times (not shown to scale).
Swift
Even-hoofed
ungulate
Creodont
Brontothere
Pyrothere
Giant rhinoceros
Embrithopod
Primate
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53
Miocene epoch
EARTHS HISTORY
Key words
epoch
grassland
uplift
volcanic
North
possible
equator
under sea
igneous plutons
land
mountains
sedimentary rocks
volcanic rock
volcanoes
Miocene life-forms
These fossil organisms lived in Miocene times (not shown to scale).
Hippopotamus
Flightless bird
Primate
Hyena
Miocene life
Chalicothere
Platypus
Deinothere
Seal
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54
EARTHS HISTORY
Key words
Pliocene epoch
Alignment of the land of the USA in Pliocene times
epoch
equator
lava
uplift
volcanic
North
South
possible
equator
under sea
mountains
sedimentary rocks
land
volcanoes
volcanic rock
Pliocene life-forms
Land, sea, and the
United States
Pliocene life
Litoptern
Vulture
Hominid
Even-toed ungulate
Edentate
Desmostylan
Marsupicarnivore
Hare
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55
Pleistocene epoch
EARTHS HISTORY
Key words
epoch
erosion
ice sheet
ocean
mountains
land
volcanoes
extended coastline
ian ial
ton ac
Af tergl
in
ian
ian
on
sin
on
am cial
c
g
s
l
a
n
Wi acia
Sa tergl
gl
in
ial
lac
ian
uth ial
o
c
rm a
Ya tergl
in
an
ns l
Ka acia
gl
g
ian
no
Illi
Warm
Cold
2,0
00
,00
1,7
00
,00
0
1,4
00
,00
0
90
Years ago
0,0
0
55
0,0
00
40
20
0,0
0
0,0
0
Pleistocene life-forms
These fossil organisms lived in Pleistocene times (not shown to scale).
Brown bear
Pleistocene life
Giant sloth
Woolly rhinoceros
Sabertooth cat
Woolly mammoth
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56
EARTHS HISTORY
Key words
coast
epoch
ice sheet
earthquake
eruption
sea level
Cascade
Range
eruptions
glacial drift
deposits left by
melting ice
In
low coasts
drowned
Mississippi Delta
growth
feet
0
30
100
Below sea
level now
60
200
90
300
The
20
15
10
Post-glacial lakes
ice sheet
river outlets
300 miles
lakes
Atlantic Ocean
500 km
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57
Origins
EARTHS ROCKS
Key words
atmosphere
element
meteorite
planetesimal
the Sun.
2 Where there were areas of extra-
Planetesimals
iron-nickel core
Heating up
iron-nickel core
matter as in a carbonaceous
chondrite meteorite
mantle forming from
melted chondrite
primeval crust
primeval ocean
primeval atmosphere
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58
EARTHS ROCKS
Elements
Key words
degassing
element
Abundances
compared
The universe
Earths crust
Whole Earth
Three diagrams
contrast the relative
abundances by
weight of elements
in the universe,
Earths crust, and
Earth as a whole:
Universe
Percentage weights
in order
of abundance
Percentage weights
in order
of abundance
Percentage weights
in order
of abundance
iron 35.0
Earths crust
hydrogen 61.0
oxygen 46.6
oxygen 30.0
silicon 27.7
Whole Earth
silicon 15.0
helium 36.8
aluminum 8.1
iron 5.0
oxygen 1.0
carbon 0.25
others 0.95
magnesium 13.0
calcium 3.6
sodium 2.8
nickel 2.4
potassium 2.6
sulfur 1.9
magnesium 2.1
aluminum 1.1
titanium 0.4
calcium 1.1
others 1.1
others 0.5
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59
Internal heat
EARTHS ROCKS
Key words
mantle
outer core
convection
crust
isotope
mantle
plate
inner core
5,000
(9,032)
spreading ridge
trench
Temperature
4,000
(7,232)
3,000
(5,432)
kilometers 1,000
(621)
(miles)
2,000
(1,242)
3,000
(1,864)
4,000
(2,485)
5,000
(3,107)
6,000
(3,728)
Depth
Heat sources
The chief source of heat escaping from
Earths interior is the radioactive decay
of isotopes of the heavy elements
potassium, uranium, and thorium.
Some 40 percent of continental heat
flow comes from these elements
located within the upper continental
crust.
Below the oceans, heat flow stems
largely from the mantle.
Heat escapes from Earths interior
mainly by convection.
5
4
3
2
1
spreading
ridge
volcano
ocean
trench
volcanic
island arc
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Periodic table
EARTHS ROCKS
Key words
Elements
element
Calcium
The
Hydrogen
Elements
Inert
gases
2
He
Nonmetals
Light metals
3
Li Be
11
12
13
14
N
15
Si
Al
Na Mg
16
10
18
17
Ne
Cl
Ar
Heavy metals
19
20
K Ca
37
38
Rb Sr
55
56
Cs Ba
87
88
Fr Ra
21
22
23
Sc Ti
39
40
89
103
25
26
27
28
29
30
73
42
43
44
45
74
75
76
77
Hf Ta W Re Os Ir
104
105
31
32
33
46
47
48
106
107
108
109
78
79
80
49
50
34
51
52
82
83
I
85
84
At
Pt Au Hg Tl Pb Bi Po
110
111
112
113
114
115
116
Rare earths
57
58
59
60
61
62
63
64
65
66
67
68
69
70
71
La Ce Pr Nd Pm Sm Eu Gd Tb Dy Ho Er Tm Yb Lu
89
90
91
92
93
94
95
96
97
98
99
100
101
102
103
Ac Th Pa U Np Pu Am Cm Bk Cf Es Fm Md No Lr
Kr
54
53
Te
In Sn Sb
81
36
35
As Se Br
Cr Mn Fe Co Ni Cu Zn Ga Ge
Zr Nb Mo Tc Ru Rh Pd Ag Cd
5771 72
41
24
Xe
86
Rn
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Atoms
EARTHS ROCKS
Key words
atom
electron
element
neutron
proton
Protons
(electrically positive)
Electrons
(electrically negative)
Subatomic particles
Neutrons
(electrically neutral)
Different atoms
Examples of atoms
nucleus
electron shells
electron shell
nucleus
Electron shells
Helium atom
Carbon atom
Electron shells
Energy levels each hold a definite number of electrons orbiting the nucleus. For clarity only one orbit per shell is shown here.
Some atoms have as many as seven shells.
One shell
e.g., helium
electron orbit
Two shells
e.g., carbon
Three shells
e.g., aluminum
Four shells
e.g., calcium
nucleus
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62
Compounds
EARTHS ROCKS
Key words
compound
The numbers of outer-shell electrons in common reactive elements are shown (e.g. argon has
eight). Elements combine as compounds to gain a full complement of electrons.
Compounds
argon
hydrogen,
potassium
magnesium, calcium,
nickel, iron (one form)
aluminum,
iron (one form)
carbon, silicon
nitrogen
oxygen, sulfur
chlorine
Covalent bonding
Separate atoms
hydrogen
atom (H)
+6
+6
The bonding of four hydrogen atoms and one carbon atom forms
one methane molecule (CH4).
Ionic bonding
Separate atoms
+11
+17
+11
+17
The bonding of one sodium atom and one chloride atom forms one
sodium chloride molecule (NaCl).
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63
Key words
EARTHS ROCKS
Isotopes
isotope
radioisotope
Some
Ions
Hydrogen isotopes
Positively charged
sodium ion
Mass number: 2
Negatively charged
chlorine ion
proton (+)
electron (-)
neutron
Mass number: 3
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64
EARTHS ROCKS
Key words
crystal
igneous rock
magma
mineral
cooling magma
first mineral crystallizing
Crystals in rock
second mineral
third mineral
Sequence of minerals
first
Iron-magnesium
silicate minerals
falling temperatures
anorthite
olivine
pyroxene
amphibole
labradorite
3
7
biotite mica
Diagram Visual Information Ltd.
Feldspar
minerals
1, 2, 3, 4
iron-magnesium
silicates
Intrusive
rocks
Extrusive
rocks
gabbro
basalt
diorite
andesite
granite
rhyolite
andesine
albite
orthoclase
10
muscovite
5, 6, 7, 8 feldspars
9, 10, 11 residual
minerals
last
11
quartz
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Crystal systems
System
Example
Cubic
(isometric)
Ideal shape
EARTHS ROCKS
Lengths
of axis
Angles of
axes'
intersection
all equal
90
Key words
axis
crystal
mineral
Crystals
halite
two
horizontal
equal;
third
different
Tetragonal
90
Crystal systems
zircon
three
equal
horizontal
axes;
fourth axis
different
Hexagonal
60
90
quartz
three
axes;
unequal
90
three axes;
unequal
only two
90
three
axes;
unequal
none
90
sulfur
Monoclinic
orthoclase
Triclinic
albite
Orthorhombic
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66
EARTHS ROCKS
Key words
feldspar
silicate
plagioclase 39%
olivine 3%
Minerals in rocks
clay 4.6%
amphibole 5%
mica 5%
pyroxene 11%
quartz 12%
orthoclase 12%
Oxygen-silicon tetrahedron
Schematic representation
of a tetrahedron
e.g., olivine
Double tetrahedron
e.g., epidote
Ring
e.g., tourmaline
Chain
e.g., pyroxene
Double chain
e.g., amphibole
Sheet
e.g., mica
Three-dimensional network
e.g., quartz
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Hardness
EARTHS ROCKS
Mohs scale
diamond
Key words
Mohs scale
sclerometer
10
Mohs scale
corundum
9
sample
scratches
steel file
topaz
8
sample is scratched
by steel file
quartz
7
sample is
scratched by
knife with
difficulty
orthoclase
6
apatite
sample is easily
scratched by knife
Field scale
fluorite
4
sample is
scratched
by dime
calcite
3
sample is scratched
by fingernail
Other tests
gypsum
2
sample is
flaked by
fingers
talc
1
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Igneous rocks
EARTHS ROCKS
Key words
igneous rock
27.4%
granite
7.9%
64.7%
metamorphic
sedimentary
basalt and gabbro
igneous
syenite
intermediate
granite
granodiorite
diorite
(very dark)
ultramafic
mafic
gabbro
peridotite
100
orthoclase
feldspar
75
quartz
plagioclase
feldspar
pyroxene
50
olivine
25
biotite
hornblende
Fine
grained
trachyte
rhyolite
rhyodacite
andesite
basalt
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69
EARTHS ROCKS
Key words
batholith
hypabyssal
pluton
Intrusive rocks
Plutonic rocks
Hypabyssal rocks
Laccolith A lens-shaped,
usually acidic, igneous
intrusion that domes
overlying strata.
Stock Like a
batholith but
smaller, with an
irregular surface
area under
40 square miles
(about 100 km2).
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70
EARTHS ROCKS
Key words
Magma production
Magma loss and production
igneous rock
magma
spreading ridge
constructive plate
boundaries
(spreading ridges)
3.2 cubic miles
(13.5 km3)
Magma output
within
oceanic plates
0.24 cubic miles
(1 km3)
destructive plate
boundaries
(subduction zones)
0.7 cubic miles
(2.7 km3)
Magma loss
Global balance
Diagram Visual Information Ltd.
plate material
consumed at
destructive plate
boundaries
3.36 cubic miles
(14 km3)
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Volcanoes: active
EARTHS ROCKS
Key words
lithosphere
plate tectonics
volcano
Volcanic belts
Volcanic belts
Laki, Iceland
Katmai, Alaska
Vesuvius, Italy
Mount Fuji, Japan
Mauna Loa, Hawaii
Paricutn, Mexico
Famous
volcanoes
Villarrica, Chile
Great eruptions
Volcanic eruptions release very large quantities of energy. This graph compares the
energy released by three of the largest known volcanic events with the energy released
by the most powerful nuclear explosion. Energy release is shown in Joules (J) and the
approximate TNT equivalent in megatons (Mt) is also given.
Volcanic eruptions
8 x 1019 J (20,000 Mt)
BCE)
Nuclear explosions
Novaya Zemlya, USSR (October 1961)
Great eruptions
Rakata (Krakatau)
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EARTHS ROCKS
Volcanic types
= 1 mile (1.6 km)
Key words
caldera
lava
volcano
Volcanic types
Gas eruption
Hawaiian eruption
Strombolian eruption
Shield volcano
Shield volcanoes (e.g., Mauna Loa, Hawaii) are
built almost entirely from fluid lava flows.
Successive eruptions produce lava that flows
in all directions from a central vent. Over time
a broad, gently sloping cone or dome is formed.
Lava may also flow from fractures on the flanks
of the cone. These volcanoes generally have
diameters of 3 to 4 miles (56.5 km) and heights
of 1,500 to 2,000 feet (457610 m).
Volcanic dome
Volcanic domes are formed as very viscous
lava flows from a central vent to form a gradually
expanding dome of material. They are often
found on the outside slopes or within the craters
of composite volcanoes. They can form a dense
plug over the central vent of a volcano that
can lead to pressure build-up and eventually
an explosive eruption.
Caldera
A caldera is a very large crater formed from
the explosive eruption of a large composite
volcano. An eruption that forms a caldera can
eject hundreds of cubic miles (km3) of material.
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73
Volcanoes: caldera
EARTHS ROCKS
Key words
lava plug
caldera
magma
volcano
volcanic cone
Lava plug
Explosion
Caldera
In time pent-up gas pressure blasts off the top of the volcano.
caldera rim
new volcano
crater lake
The explosion leaves a great shallow cavity known as a caldera, or basal wreck.
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74
EARTHS ROCKS
Key words
andesitic lava
basalt
basaltic lava
lava
pyroclast
rhyolitic lava
Basaltic lava
Basaltic lavas are basic lavas low in
silica. Oozing from shield and fissure
volcanoes, they flow far before they
harden. Varying conditions produce
different forms:
Aa has clinkery blocks shaped where
gas spurted from sluggish molten rock
capped by crust.
Pahoehoe has skin wrinkled by molten
lava flowing beneath it.
Pillow lava forms mounds at undersea
spreading ridges.
Columnar basalt forms as lava cools
evenly, contracts, and cracks.
Aa
These are used blocks of lava,
common at Villarrica, Chile.
Pahoehoe
Columnar basalt
Andesitic lava
Rhyolitic lava
Rhyolitic lava is an acid lava with a
high silica content. It is viscous and
hardens before flowing far. It can
produce explosive eruptions from
composite volcanoes.
Solid products of explosive eruptions
are called pyroclasts. Pyroclasts
include spindle bombs and pumice.
Pillow lava
This is formed at underwater
spreading ridges.
Spindle bomb
Pumice
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Volcanoes: central
EARTHS ROCKS
Key words
fissure
volcano
lava
vent
side vent
cone
subsidiary
cone
side vent
pipe
Features of a central
volcano
magma chamber
magma
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Volcanoes: fissure
EARTHS ROCKS
Key words
Fissure volcanoes
basalt
fissure
plateau
Fissure leaks
Lava flows from
cracks (fissures)
to form a long
low layer of
basalt covering
the sedimentary
layers below.
Fissure volcanoes
first
fissures
Basalt plateaus
Later cracks
occur alongside
older extrusions to
form a further
covering of lava,
which is called a
basalt plateau.
later
fissures
Basalt plateaus
Columbia Plateau, USA
Jaipur
PAKISTAN
WASHINGTON
Nagpur
IDAHO
Mumbai
IN
G
OREGON
WY
OM
i f
i c
MONTANA
Arabian
Sea
NEVADA
Hyderabad
UTAH
GOA
CALIFORNIA
basalt
0
200
400 miles
200
400 miles
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Volcanoes: shield
EARTHS ROCKS
Key words
Shield volcanoes
shield volcano
volcano
volcanic islands
Shield volcanoes
magma
sea
Hawaiian Islands
Hawaiian Islands
Kauai
Oahu
Molokai
Maui
Lanai
Kahoolawe
Hawaii
Niihau
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78
EARTHS ROCKS
Key words
fissure
fumarole
geyser
mofette
mud volcano
smoker
solfatara
steam
heat
Cavern geysers
heat
steam
steam
heat
Fumarole
hot rock
water
heat
Hot springs
Related phenomena
steam
Hot spring
Fumarole
moving water
trapped water
hot rock
water
moving
water
impermeable rock
hot rock
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79
Sedimentary rocks:
formation
Compaction
clay
EARTHS ROCKS
Key words
authigenesis
compaction
diagenesis
lithification
space
mineral
fragment
Recrystallization
Compaction
Recrystallization
fine grains
Solution
coarse grains
pieces of shell
shell dissolved
Solution
Authigenesis
Authigenesis
spaces
precipitated mineral
Cementation
Cementation
spaces
natural cement
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80
Sedimentary rocks:
clastic
EARTHS ROCKS
Key words
breccia
clast
conglomerate
Sedimentary rocks in
Earths crust
breccia
conglomerate
(nonclastic)
limestone
and dolomite
25%
shale
53%
sandstone
22%
shale
sandstone
river
large fragments
gravel
sands
sandy
mud
mud
continental
shelf
sea
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Sedimentary rocks:
organic and chemical
EARTHS ROCKS
Key words
coal
coral
evaporite
lignite
limestone
sediment
Organic rocks
dead coral
base of reef
Limestone
coral broken
from the reef
b gypsum
c halite (rock salt)
a dolomite
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EARTHS ROCKS
Key words
bedding
sediment
Sedimentary rocks:
bedding
Parallel bedding
Fine
sand
Medium
sand
Coarse
sand
sediment
unaffected
minor
cross
bedding
Parallel bedding
parallel
bedding
Graded bedding
Graded bedding
Cross bedding
(current bedding)
Cross bedding is caused by
overlapping layers of sand deposited
by wind or moving water at an angle
to underlying layers, such as when
curved slopes develop on an old
storm-beveled bedding plane.
Cross bedding
(current bedding)
ripples
Increase in depth and flow velocity
major
cross
bedding
parallel
bedding
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Metamorphism
How metamorphic rocks are formed
sedimentary rock
Contact metamorphism
In contact metamorphism
igneous rocks intrude
through sedimentary
rocks. Metamorphic rocks
are formed at the point of
contact.
EARTHS ROCKS
Key words
Foliation
In shale, the tiny flakes of
mica are not arranged in a
regular position. After the
process of foliation, (i.e.,
alignment by directed
pressure), they align to form
layers, as happens in slate.
aureole
magma
metamorphic
rock
metamorphism
Rocks remade
igneous
rock
metamorphic rock
pressure
Regional metamorphism
In regional metamorphism,
layered rocks come into
contact with high
temperatures from below,
and high pressures from
above.
Contact metamorphism
heat
hornfels
gneiss
shale
basalt
granite
diorite
conglomerate
marble
schist
limestone
dolomite
shale
basalt
andesite
gabbro
tuff
quartzite
slate
sandstone
shale
tuff
metamorphic rock
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EARTHS ROCKS
Key words
igneous rock
metamorphic
rock
sedimentary rock
Progressive
metamorphism
Metamorphosis of shale
shale
miles (km)
0
slate
schist
Depth
10
(16)
molten
rock
30
(48)
34
(56)
212
(100)
392
(200)
572
(300)
752
(400)
932
(500)
1,112
(600)
1,292
(700)
1,472 F
(800) (C)
Temperature
sandstone
shale
1
1
limestone
2
sandstone
quartzite
slate
4
Depth below surface
gneiss
25
(40)
Metamorphosis of shale
15
(24)
20
(32)
Progressive regional
metamorphism
The sedimentary rocks sandstone,
limestone, and shale each turn into
other rocks when subjected to intense
heat and pressure.
Sandstone becomes quartzite.
Limestone becomes marble.
Under increasing heat and pressure
shale becomes first slate, then phyllite,
then schist, then gneiss.
Similarly, heat and pressure can
convert certain different rocks to one
type of metamorphic rock. Thus shale,
basalt, and granite can all be converted
into schist.
phyllite
5
(8)
marble
quartzite
quartzite
4
7
5
phyllite
marble
quartzite
9
6
10
11
marble
schist
12
8
gneiss
13
Increased heat and pressure
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EARTHS ROCKS
Key words
cementation
compaction
lithosphere
magma
mantle
sedimentary
rocks
sediments
Rocks recycled
compaction
and
cementation
erosion and
deposition
erosion and
deposition
heat and
pressure
metamorphic
rocks
Sediments
Igneous rocks
Magma
2
igneous
rocks
sediment
Sedimentary rocks
melting
5
Metamorphic rocks
cooling and
crystallization
melting
magma
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EARTHS ROCKS
Key words
Continental fit
continent
Pangaea
submerged
continental rims
Continental fit
Africa
South America
submerged
continental rims
Geographical evidence
Europe
North America
Africa
India
South America
Antarctica
Australia
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87
EARTHS ROCKS
Key words
Geologic evidence
craton
Geologic evidence
Africa
South America
Caledonian Mountains
India
Antarctica
Australia
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88
EARTHS ROCKS
Key words
Biological evidence
continent
fossil
glacier
tillite
Glossopteris
Lystrosaurus
Mesosaurus
Africa
India
South America
Antarctica
Australia
Climatic evidence
Climatic evidence
ice
ice flow
Africa
India
South America
Antarctica
Australia
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89
Continental drift:
polar paths
EARTHS ROCKS
Key words
continent
pole
North Pole
South Pole
million
years ago
400
million
years ago
400
350
350
300
300
250
250
relative to South America
relative to Africa
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90
EARTHS ROCKS
Key words
continental drift
Wegeners theory
Late Carboniferous
Late Carboniferous
Eocene
Eocene epoch
Early Pleistocene
shallow seas
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91
Continents:
250 million years ago
EARTHS ROCKS
Key words
continent
period
modern continents
Asia
Permian period
Europe
North
America
equator
South
America
PANTHALASSA
Africa
E
India
A
Australia
Antarctica
Triassic Period
Asia
E
A
G
N
A
equator
P
Europe
P
North
America
A
South
America
Africa
India
Antarctica
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92
EARTHS ROCKS
Key words
batholith
Gondwana
Laurasia
period
Continents:
180 million years ago
180 million years ago (Jurassic period)
true continental rim
continental seas
modern continents
Jurassic period
North
America
Asia
Europe
equator
South
America
G
Africa
India
N
Australia
A
Antarctica
North
America
L
Cretaceous period
R
A
Europe
A
Asia
equator
N A
W A
D
N
G O
South
Africa
America
India
Australia
Antarctica
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Continents:
60 million years ago
EARTHS ROCKS
Key words
continent
epoch
period
continental seas
modern continents
Paleocene epoch
The
North
America
Asia
Europe
equator
South
America
Africa
India
Australia
Antarctica
Paleocene epoch
(6555 million years ago)
saw continents taking on
their present shapes and
locations.
Shallow seas that had
invaded parts of North
America, Africa, and
Australia in the Cretaceous
period now drained away.
North America was still
linked to Asia and Europe.
South America was an
island cut off from North
America.
The subcontinent of India
was heading toward Asia.
Everywhere, mammals
filled ecological niches left
vacant when all non-bird
dinosaurs had died out at
the end of the Cretaceous
period.
Holocene epoch
North
America
Europe
Asia
India
Africa
equator
South
America
Australia
Antarctica
In
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94
Lithospheric plates
EARTHS ROCKS
Key words
asthenosphere
plate tectonics
Lithospheric plate
movement
Eurasian plate
North American plate
Eurasian plate
Arabian plate
Iranian plate
Cocos plate
African
plate
Bismarck plate
Nazca
plate
Indo-Australian
plate
Pacific plate
South
American
plate
Scotia plate
Diagram Visual Information Ltd.
Antarctic plate
Antarctic plate
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95
Plate tectonics
Spreading ridge
Oceanic crust of plates a and b is
spreading apart allowing magma from
the mantle to escape onto the Earths
surface to form constructive margins.
EARTHS ROCKS
Key words
Subduction zone
At the convergence of an oceanic
crustal plate (b) and a continental
crustal plate (c) an oceanic trench
creates a destructive margin.
asthenosphere
lithosphere
plate tectonics
Convection currents
Tectonic
plates
Plate margins
continental
crust
asthenosphere
mantle
mantle currents
moving plates
Conservative margin
Where two lithospheric plates slide past
each other lithosphere is neither made
nor lost.
oceanic crust
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96
EARTHS ROCKS
Key words
Lithosphere
asthenosphere
lithosphere
mantle
Earth in section
Lithosphere
A section
through the
upper Earth
shows
thicknesses of
oceanic crust,
continental crust,
and rigid upper
mantlelayers
that form the
lithosphere.
Below this lies a
dense, plastic
layer of the
mantlethe
asthenosphere.
The relatively
lightweight rocks
of oceanic and
continental crust
float upon the
mantle.
miles
Earth
3.7
9.6
15
20
32
g/cm3)
miles
0
km
0
lithosphere
62
100
asthenosphere
3.4 (weak upper
mantle zone)
435
700
lower mantle
5.7
1,800
The lithosphere
contains
oceanic crust,
continental
crust, and
rigid upper
mantle
to a depth of
62 miles
(100 km).
2,900
outer core
10.75
62
3,100
Diagram Visual Information Ltd.
km
4,980
inner core
15
3,960
6,370
100
asthenosphere
3.4
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Oceanic crust
EARTHS ROCKS
Key words
carbonates
basalt
gabbro
mantle
oceanic crust
sediment
silica
sima
spreading ridge
Oceanic crust
Sediments
Section through oceanic crust
Composition of basalt
silicon 49%
aluminum 16%
water
Basalt
iron and
magnesium 18%
basalt
1.2 miles
(2 km)
Gabbro
calcium 8%
gabbro
3.1 miles
(5 km)
rigid upper
mantle
Rigid mantle
sodium and
potassium 5%
other elements 4%
sediments
02.5 miles
(4 km)
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98
Hawaiian Islands
EARTHS ROCKS
Key words
Asia
hot spot
seamount
volcano
North America
b
c
lithospheric
plate
island
seamount
movement of
lithospheric plate
mantle
hot spot
volcanic
island
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99
EARTHS ROCKS
Key words
Magnetic reversals
basalt
magnetometer
ocean
normal polarity
reversed polarity
spreading ridge
old seafloor
Striped seafloor
new
rock
rising
spreading ridge
old sea floor
old seafloor
spreading ridge
old seafloor
Basalt seafloor formed during a period of reversed polarity retains that polarity.
Basalt seafloor formed during a period when polarity was the same as today also
retains its polarity.
Banded polarity
upwelling basalt
0 0
Fossil magnetization
spreading ridge
Bands of reversed and normal polarity in the seafloor record polarity reversals
over millions of years, and indicate rates of seafloor spread.
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100
EARTHS ROCKS
Key words
asthenosphere
mantle
spreading ridge
Spreading ridges
Evolution of a spreading ridge
gabbroic lower crust, from lighter
minerals solidifying as lower ocean crust
peridotite upper mantle,
formed from dense minerals
New seafloor
asthenosphere (part-melted)
A ridge is born
central rift
Ridge features
mantle
oceanic crust
rising current
spreading ridge
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101
Continental crust
EARTHS ROCKS
Key words
Structural components
of North America
craton
linear mobile belt
platform
shield
sial
Continents
shield
mobile (mountain)
belts
stable platform
coastal lowlands
Elements in granite
Structural components
Atlantic Ocean
stable platform
coastal plain
Pacific Ocean
12
20
25 40
37 60
mantle
miles km
0
0
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102
EARTHS ROCKS
Key words
accretion
microcontinent
Wilson cycle
Continent growth
Oceanic plate subduction
Colliding continents
1
Island arc and
continent with
offshore sediments
advance on two
plates, one
subducting below
the other.
Subduction and
accretion
Where a continental
plate overrides an oceanic
plate, some oceanic
crust is subducted into
the mantle but land is
also tacked onto the
continent.
A volcanic island arc,
offshore sediment,
pieces of oceanic crust,
and scraps of foreign
continents may all be
swept against the
continent and welded
on as mountains.
Meanwhile, light,
subducted rocks
melting in the mantle
may rise as a chain of
continental volcanoes.
Most of mountainous
western North
America consists of
add-onssuspect
terrainsmighty slabs
of alien rock that
rotated and migrated north along the
continents western edge.
2
Collision squeezes
and rucks up
sediments between
island-arc volcanoes
and a continent,
producing a cordilleran
mountain chain such
as the Andes.
1
Continents advance on
separate plates.
2
Collision rucks up marginal sediments
and the ocean shrinks.
3
The old subduction
zone gradually
disappears.
4
The new subduction
zone is formed.
3
The oceanic crust between is
subducted and the two continents
collide, forming mountain ranges like
the Alps or the Himalayas.
Colliding continents
Modern continents
younger rocks
youngest rocks
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103
Isostasy
EARTHS ROCKS
continental rim
crust
erosion
isostasy
Isostasy
Isostasy is the state of balance of
Earths crust floating on the denser
material of the mantle.
In the nineteenth century it was
argued that high and low mountains
were blocks of rocks of different
density floating above the same
base level.
It was later thought that different
heights meant blocks had the same
density but different thicknesses and
floated at different depths (much like
different-sized icebergs in the sea).
Gravimeter readings showing local
gravity anomalies
confirm this view.
3.4
3.4
J.H. Pratts now abandoned theory: blocks
of different densities produce mountains
of different heights.
Isostatic equilibrium
sea
mantle
oceanic crust
2.9
2.7
3.4
deposited sediment
mantle
oceanic crust
2.9
2.7
upwarped
crust
downwarped
crust
3.4
Isostatic
equilibrium
Erosion
and
deposition can
locally alter isostatic
balance and cause
warpingthe
gentle rise or fall
of crust.
Erosion that wears
away a mountain
mass reduces the
weight of crust
pressing on the
underlying mantle,
so the land surface
bobs up.
Deposition of
eroded sediment
can depress
submerged parts of
a continental rim.
These upwarping
and downwarping
movements restore
isostatic
equilibrium.
Key words
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104
EARTHS ROCKS
Key words
batholith
lode
magma
ore
Ore
Magma and ores
hydrothermal deposits
magma
metamorphosed
minerals
dense minerals
tin
copper
Exposure of iron
mountain
iron-rich pluton
sea
iron oxide
precipitate
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105
Coal
EARTHS ROCKS
Key words
anthracite
coal
peat
peat
Products of pressure
bituminous coal
anthracite
shale
sandstone
chalk
water
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106
EARTHS ROCKS
Key words
Formation of hydrocarbons
anticline
fault
salt dome
unconformity
Formation of hydrocarbons
Salt
dome
impermeable
rocks
gas
oil
water
Recoverable oil
Estimated percentage shares of world
reserves (2003)
Middle East
Africa
Eastern Europe and CIS
Central and South America
North America
Asia and Australasia
Western Europe
65.32
9.96
8.47
7.15
3.95
3.59
1.56
Fault
Unconformity
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107
Atmosphere: structure
Structure of the atmosphere
Pressure
millibars
Composition of the
atmosphere
atmosphere
stratosphere
troposphere
Major components
6
Altitude
km mile
100
The atmosphere
atmosphere is a blanket of
colorless, odorless, and tasteless
gases, water, and fine dust
wrapped around Earth.
It is about 430 miles (700 km)
deep. It has no upper
boundary and simply fades
into space as it gets thinner.
The
60
thermosphere
nitrogen
(78.1%)
90
mesopause
50
80
Atmospheric layers
mesosphere
0.1
70
40
60
50
stratopause
30
Minor components
hydrogen (0.00005%)
krypton (0.0001%)
helium (0.0005%)
40
neon (0.002%)
Lapse rate
20
argon (0.9%)
30
10
stratosphere
Atmospheric composition
50
troposphere
10
100
tropopause
Variable components
10
250
ozone (0.000004%)
500
1,000
0
100
80
60
40
150 120 90 60 30
20
30
Temperature
20 C
60 F
methane (0.0002%)
carbon dioxide (0.035%)
water vapor (0 to 4%)
20
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108
AIR AND OCEANS
Key words
atmosphere
exosphere
ionosphere
mesosphere
stratosphere
thermosphere
troposphere
Atmosphere: layers
Relative
proportions of
gases in four
layers
Lower exosphere
Atmospheric
layers
Proportion of
total air mass
at different
levels
700 km
Above 20 miles
(32 km)
435 miles
Proportion of gases
helium
hydrogen
Ionosphere
500 km
helium
311 miles
oxygen
Below 20 miles
(32 km)
nitrogen
thermosphere
1%
600 km
373 miles
400 km
249 miles
99%
Stratosphere
argon
ozone
300 km
187 miles
ionosphere
The ionosphere
exosphere
oxygen
nitrogen
200 km
124 miles
Troposphere
50%
argon
Diagram Visual Information Ltd.
oxygen
100 km
62 miles
mesosphere
50 km
29 miles
nitrogen
stratosphere
troposphere
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109
Radio waves
Shortwaves
Key words
radio wave
190 miles
(300 km)
Radio waves
Radio
radio
station
Earth
Mediumwaves
68 miles
(110 km)
radio
station
Earth
present by day
Longwaves
50 miles
(80 km)
c
radio
station
Earth
The
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AIR AND OCEANS
Key words
ammonia (NH 3)
produced by lightning
nitrogen cycle
ammonia
from
volcanoes
nitrogen (N2) in
the atmosphere
Nitrogen
The nitrogen cycle converts
nitrogen in the atmosphere into
ammonia, nitrates (a nitric acid
salt), and proteins.
Living things cannot exist without
nitrogen, so the nitrogen cycle is
essential for life.
The atmosphere is about 80
percent nitrogen, but only
bacteria can use nitrogen in this
gaseous form. All other living
things have to use compounds
of nitrogen, such as nitrates.
Most nitrates are produced by
bacteria in the soil.
plants
convert
nitrates to
proteins
bacteria fix
atmospheric
nitrogen
dentrifying
bacteria
release
nitrogen
into the
atmosphere
bacteria
convert
nitrites to
nitrates (salts
of nitric acid
HNO3)
bacteria
convert
ammonia to
nitrites (salts
of nitrous
acid HNO2)
bacteria and
fungi convert
droppings
and dead
organisms
into ammonia
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Photosynthesis
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Heat transfer
atmosphere
convection
Longwave
radiation
Longwave radiation
Shortwave radiation
net
outgoing
radiation
Other processes
Upper atmosphere
incoming solar
radiation
latent heat
released by
condensation
radiation
reflected by
atmosphere
and clouds
UV radiation
absorbed by
ozone layer
Troposphere
heat
distributed by
turbulent
mixing
radiation
from the
clouds
radiation
absorbed by
atmosphere
and clouds
radiation
re-emitted by
atmosphere
and clouds
radiation
reflected
by ground
radiation
from
ground
latent heat
absorbed by
evaporation
Shortwave
radiation
The remaining
nine percent of
solar radiation is
shortwave
radiation, such as
gamma and
Earth
ultraviolet rays,
and X-rays. These
waves cannot be seen but they can
affect the human bodys tissues.
heat conducted
between Earth
and atmosphere
radiation
absorbed
by ground
Earth
Earth
heat conducted
from Earth's interior
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Sunshine
equinox
insolation
solstice
tropic
North Pole
in polar latitudes
atmosphere
Insolation
in mid latitudes
in the tropics
equator
in mid latitudes
in polar latitudes
South Pole
Temperature zones
The
North Pole
Arctic Circle
polar region
temperate zone
Tropic of
Cancer
northern tropics
equator
southern tropics
Tropic of
Capricorn
temperate zone
Antarctic Circle
polar region
South Pole
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AIR AND OCEANS
Temperature belts
Key words
Temperature belts
Nothern
Hemisphere
Southern
Hemisphere
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Pressure belts
Key words
Changing pressure
equatorial low
polar high
Pressure: January
very low
high
low
very high
Pressure: July
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Stationary world
Coriolis effect
North Pole
Stationary world
equator
Spinning world
North Pole
South Pole
equator
Spinning world
Resultant winds
North Pole
60
LOW
Resultant winds
40
South Pole
HIGH
30
5
0
LOW
equator
30
HIGH
40
LOW
South Pole
60
winds
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Wind circulation
Air circulation
equator
pole
polar easterlies
westerlies
high-pressure zone of descending air
(light winds: the horse latitudes)
northeast
trade
winds
low-pressure zone of rising air
(calm region: the doldrums)
southeast
trade
winds
Hadley cell
midlatitude/Ferrel cell
polar cell
polar easterlies
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Jet streams
Formation of upper
air waves
jet stream
Jet streams
Jet streams are narrow
belts of strong westerly
winds that blow up to
230 miles per hour
(370 kmph) at an
altitude of up to
12.4 miles (20 km).
The two main jet
streams are the
subtropical jet stream
between the Hadley
and midlatitude cells,
and the polar front jet
stream between the
midlatitude and polar cells.
Rossby waves
polar cell
jet stream
Ferrel cell
North
Pole
60 N
subtropical
jet stream
30 N
Hadley cell
Earths
surface
equator
cold air
jet axis
warm air
wind
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Coastal breezes
Coastal breezes
Sea breezes
Sea breeze
offshore airflow
cool air
monsoon
solar radiation
dry air
Land breeze
warm air
radiant heat
cool air
onshore airflow
Monsoon winds
Land breeze
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AIR AND OCEANS
Key words
anemometer
hurricane
Range:
Range:
miles per hour kmph
Description
Characteristics
Calm
No wind; smoke
rises vertically.
less
than 1
less
than 1
Light air
13
15
Light
breeze
47
611
Gentle
breeze
812
1219
Modererate
breeze
Small branches
sway; dust and loose
paper blown about.
1318
2028
Fresh
breeze
1924
2938
Strong
breeze
Large branches
sway; umbrellas
difficult to use.
2531
3949
Near
gale
Whole trees
sway; difficult to
walk against the
wind.
3238
5061
Gale
3946
6274
Strong gale
4754
7588
Storm
Trees uprooted;
extensive damage
to buildings.
5563
89102
Severe
storm
Widespread
damage.
6472
103115
Hurricane
Extreme
destruction.
more than
73
more than
117
1
2
3
The scale
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
11
1217
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Humidity
Relative humidity
absolute humidity
condensation
nucleus
humidity
relative humidity
90
80
Humidity
25
80
temperature
70
15
60
60
10
50
Air temperature
50
relative humidity
5
40
40
0600
1200
1800
Time of day
Absolute humidity
(g/m3)
60
50
Water
40
30
Measuring humidity
20
10
0
40
40
30
20
20
0
10
20
10
40
Air temperature
20
60
30
80
40
50 C
100
120 F
Relative humidity
80
20
dew point
(temperature
below which
air is saturated)
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AIR AND OCEANS
Key words
advection fog
fog
radiation fog
Fog
Normal atmospheric conditions
cold air
Fog
Fog is a dense cloud of water droplets
close to the ground.
Fog is defined as existing where
visibility falls below 0.62 miles (1 km).
warm air
Radiation fog
Radiation fog
foggy temperature inversion layer
atmospheric heat
lost by conduction
warm air
Advection fog
lid
Advection fog
Advection fog is formed when a mass
of warm moist air flows over a cooler
surface. This reduces the temperature
of its lower layers in a temperature
inversion. When the air mass reaches
dew point, condensation occurs.
Advection fog often occurs when
warm sea air moves over a cold land
surface, or when warm land air flows
over a cold sea.
cold air
cold air
warm air
mountains
cold sea
cold land
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Cloud types
feet
meters
40,000
12,000
cirrus
(ice crystals)
Clouds
9,000
High clouds
cirrocumulus
(usually ice crystals,
sometimes mixed)
30,000
altocumulus
altostratus
cirrus
cumulonimbus
nimbostratus
High clouds
High cirrus clouds form at high
altitudes, between 20,000 and 40,000
feet (6,00012,000 m), where the air is
extremely cold.
Cirrus clouds are usually formed of ice
crystals. Strong winds blow them into
wispy formations.
The long trail of ice crystals seen
behind a jet aircraft at this height is
called a contrail, formed by the
exhaust of hot gas and water vapor
emitted from the engine freezing in
the cold air.
cirrostratus
(ice crystals)
20,000
6,000
altocumulus
(water droplets)
altostratus
(usually mixed,
water droplets
and ice-crystals)
Medium clouds
Medium clouds
nimbostratus
(water droplets)
10,000
cumulus
(water
droplets)
3,000
Low clouds
Low clouds
stratocumulus
(water droplets)
stratus
(water droplets)
cumulonimbus
(water droplets
with anvil
of ice-crystal cloud)
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AIR AND OCEANS
Key words
precipitation
Growth of snowflake
ice crystal
large cloud
droplet falling
water
molecules
in cloud
Precipitation
cloud
droplets
microscopic
cloud droplets
large cloud
droplet falling
water
molecules
in cloud
ice crystal
cloud droplets
water
molecules
in cloud
microscopic
cloud droplets
ice crystal
large cloud
droplet falling
cloud droplets
Sleet formation
cold air
snow
melting level
warm air
rain
freezing level
cold air
ground
sleet
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Rain types
Cyclonic rain
convectional rain
cyclonic rain
orographic rain
rain shadow
condensation
level
Rainfall
warm air
cold air
Cyclonic rain
Cyclonic or frontal rain occurs when
warm air rises in warm and cold fronts,
causing it to condense as clouds and
fall as rain.
A warm front is a boundary between
warm and cold air masses where the
warm air is advancing. As it does so,
the warm moist air rides slowly over
the cold air, creating a long, gently
sloping front that brings steady rain.
A cold front is a boundary between
warm and cold air masses where the
cold air is advancing. The mass of cold
air undercuts the warm air, forcing it
to rise sharply. Tall thunderclouds
often develop, bringing short but
heavy rain showers.
Convectional rain
cold air
condensation level
warm air
Convectional rain
Orographic rain
cold air
condensation level
Orographic rain
Orographic rain occurs when warm,
moist air is driven by the wind up the
side of a hill or mountain, causing it to
condense into clouds and fall as rain
on the summit.
The air warms and dries as it descends
the leeward side of the mountain,
creating an effect known as a rain
shadow.
warm air
movement of relatively
warm moist air
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AIR AND OCEANS
Thunderstorm
Key words
cumulonimbus
Thunderstorms
A thunderstorm
glow discharge
discharge between
high and low clouds
cumulonimbus cloud
(thunderhead)
warm air
discharge between
high cloud and ground
cold air
squall cloud
positive charge
negative charge
winds
rain
discharge between
squall cloud and ground
discharge between
low clouds and ground
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Cyclones
Advancing front
feet
cyclone
hurricane
meters
30,000
9,150
COLD FRONT
6,100
warm air
Height
20,000
Growth of a cyclone
WARM FRONT
warm air
10,000 3,050
cool air
ground
Cloud types
As a cyclone (depression) passes over an observer on the ground, the air masses, fronts,
and associated cloud types and weather arrive in this order:
cirrus
cirrostratus
altostratus
altocumulus
cumulonimbus
cumulus
stratus
nimbostratus
Ci
Ci
As, Ac
As
Cs
As
Cb
Ac
Cu
Ns
Cu
St
short
showers
heavy
showers
prolonged
rain
warm air
cold air
Ci
Cs
As
Ac
Cb
Cu
St
Ns
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AIR AND OCEANS
Key words
cyclone
hurricane
typhoon
Hurricanes
Hurricane structure
ice-crystal
clouds
typical height:
up to 10 miles
(16 km)
eye
Hurricanes
A hurricane is a violent tropical
maritime storm, known as a tropical
cyclone in the Indian Ocean and a
typhoon in the Pacific.
Hurricanes revolve counterclockwise
in the Northern
Hemisphere and
clockwise in the
mixed
Southern Hemisphere.
water and
ice clouds
A hurricane develops
from a cluster of
thunderstorms that build
up over a warm, tropical
water droplet
sea. As the storms
clouds
combine, they tighten
into a spiral with a central
freezing
calm ring of low pressure
level
known as the eye. Here
the wind speed is less
than 16 miles per hour
(25 kmph).
A hurricane can be as
wide as 375 miles
(600 km), as high as
10 miles (16 km), and can
last for several days.
The strongest winds
sometimes
more than 100
miles per hour
Principal hurricane
(160 kmph)
are found at
the base of the
storm just
outside the
eye.
Heat from the
warm sea
typhoons
provides the
energy to drive
the storm,
which moves in
a westerly
direction over
the sea, picking
up strength as
it moves.
cloud walls
cloud
layers
rain bands
rain bands
upward spiraling winds
(warm, moist ascending air)
cold descending air
cyclones
hurricanes
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Tornadoes
tornado
waterspout
50 to 100
10 to 50
100 to 200
Tornado formation
tornado is a column of
spiraling wind formed around
a very low-pressure center.
Although the precise causes of
tornado formation are not
fully understood, they appear
to develop when a layer of
warm moist air at low level lies
under a layer of dry air at a
higher level.
A thunderstorm, an intense cold front,
or the Sun heating up the ground can
then trigger the formation of a rapidly
rotating, rising column of air, with
winds blowing up to 250 miles per
hour (400 kmph). The winds form a
counterclockwise spiral with violent
downdraftsa tornado.
Air surrounding the tornado is sucked
into the funnel of the spiral, taking
with it any objects in its path.
A tornado is usually very narrow, but
its base may be as wide as 330 feet
(100 m), resulting in a very narrow
path of destruction. Tornadoes are
erratic and unpredictable in their
behavior.
A
Tornado frequency
Number of tornadoes
55
Average number of tornadoes
recorded per month in the USA
(average over 45 years).
50
45
Tornado location
40
35
30
25
20
15
10
5
0
ry
ua
an
ry
ua
br
Fe
rch
Ma
ril
Ap
Ma
ne
Ju
ly
Ju
Au
r
r
er
er
be tobe
mb
mb
m
e
e
e
c
v
c
O
pt
De
No
Se
st
gu
Waterspouts
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AIR AND OCEANS
Key words
anticyclone
Coriolis effect
cyclone
hurricane
tornado
Cyclones
Pressure systems
Cyclones
Northern Hemisphere
Southern Hemisphere
low
pressure
low
pressure
Anticyclones
Anticyclones
Anticyclones, with descending air
creating high pressure at ground level,
bring settled weather with light winds
and often little cloud.
As a result of the Coriolis effect, the air
spirals out of an anticyclonic system
clockwise in the Northern Hemisphere
and counterclockwise in the Southern
Hemisphere.
diverging winds
converging winds
Anticyclone in
cross section
Northern Hemisphere
Southern Hemisphere
high
pressure
high
pressure
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Air masses
air mass
continental
polar (cP): cold
and dry
Air mass
An air mass is a large section of the
atmosphere where the air is uniformly
warm, cold, wet, or dry. An air mass may
stretch over many thousands of miles
and can stay in place for many days or
weeks. This creates stable, unchanging
weather.
An air mass forms when air stays long
enough over the sea or a plateau of land
to take on its humidity and temperature.
Meteorologists classify air masses
according to where they form and
whether they are warm, cold, moist,
or dry.
Maritime air masses (m) form over
oceans and have high moisture content.
Continental air masses (c) form over
land and are dry. Masses forming in polar
regions (P) are cold, while those forming
in tropical areas (T) are warm.
continental
tropical (cT):
hot and dry
maritime tropical
(mT): warm and
moist
maritime tropical
(mT): warm and
moist
Subgroup
Source region
Properties at source
Polar
(including arctic)
continental
polar (cP)
maritime
polar (mP)
oceans poleward of
4050
continental
tropical (cT)
maritime
tropical (mT)
Tropical
(including
equatorial)
North America
maritime
polar (mP):
cool and
moist
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Water
atmosphere
ocean
Type of water
seas and
oceans
ice
groundwater
freshwater
lakes
atmosphere
Percentage of
total water
97.54
1.81
0.63
0.009
0.001
Percentage of
fresh water
73.9
25.7
0.36
0.04
These figures do not include the tiny fraction of available water contained within living organisms.
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Oceans
Pacific Ocean
convergence
ocean
49%
The Ocean
The term Ocean refers to the
continuous expanse of seawater that
covers 71 percent of the planet. It also
refers to its major subdivisions
contained within ocean basins.
A sea is a more contained expanse of
water. Some seas, such as the Caspian,
are entirely landlocked.
Seawater contains 96.5 percent water;
the rest is mainly dissolved mineral
salts, the most common of which is
sodium chloride (table salt). Seawater
also includes calcium, magnesium,
potassium, sulfur, and traces of most
other elements found on land.
The percentages shown against the
ocean maps to the left indicate the
proportion of the total world ocean
area made up by each named ocean
(excluding adjacent seas).
The worlds four oceans occupy
129,425,150 square miles
(335,220,000 km2) of the worlds
surface. They have an average depth
of 12,240 feet (3,730 m).
Their total volume is 304,288,000 cubic
miles (1,281,396,920 km3).
Atlantic Ocean
25%
Indian Ocean
22%
Arctic Ocean
4%
Southern Ocean
Pacific Ocean
63,800,000
(165,250,000)
14,040
(4,280)
169,610,000
(707,270,000)
Atlantic Ocean
31,830,000
(82,440,000)
10,920
(3,330)
65,830,000
(274,525,000)
Indian Ocean
28,355,000
(73,440,000)
12,760
(3,890)
68,510,000
(285,681,000)
Arctic Ocean
5,440,150
(14,090,000)
3,240
(988)
3,338,000
(13,920,920)
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AIR AND OCEANS
Key words
epilimnion
hypolimnion
thermocline
Ocean temperatures
Tropical
Ocean temperatures
Thermal stratification
Temperate
Polar
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abyssal plain
continental rise
continental shelf
continental slope
guyot
island arc
seamount
spreading ridge
trench
seamount
trench
Mid-ocean features
submarine plateau
abyssal plain
Mid-ocean features
A
spreading ridge
Continental shelf
continental
shelf
continental
slope
Continental shelf
submarine
canyon
Profile of an ocean
mid-ocean features
continental
shelf
continental rise
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Seafloor profiling
Sonar techniques
Passive sonar
Active sonar
ship
ship
receiver
transmitter
detector
sound waves
transmitted
deflected
sound
waves
(echo)
sound waves
from object
object
transmitter/
receiver
explosive sound
source
receiver on ship
sound waves
reflected
waves
scanner
on ship
c
a
sound
waves
b
sound
waves
transmitter
reflected
waves (echo)
Echo sounders
Side-scan sonars
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Tides
Key words
Earths orbital path
equinox
neap tide
perigee
spring tide
New Moon:
spring tide
Moon
First quarter:
neap tide
Sun
Full Moon:
spring tide
Third-quarter:
neap tide
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Ocean currents
equator
gyre
ocean
salinity
d Mediterranean water
N
60
S
60
40
20
20
Deep-ocean currents
40
warm water
Water
cold water
d
c
Surface currents
A
Surface currents
a Kamchatka
j Peru (Humboldt)
s Brazil
b Kuro Siwo
k Labrador
t Falkland
c North Pacific
l East Greenland
u Benguela
d California
m Gulf Stream
v Aguilhas
e North equatorial
w Monsoon drift
f Equatorial countercurrent
o Canaries
x South equatorial
g South equatorial
p North equatorial
y West Australian
h East Australian
q Guinea
warm currents
r South equatorial
cold currents
l
n
a
a
c
c
North Pacific
Ocean
m
d
North Atlantic o
Ocean
p
North Pacific
Ocean
q
w
f
Diagram Visual Information Ltd.
f
x
Indian Ocean
g
South Pacific
Ocean
h
i
u
s
South Atlantic
Ocean
v
i
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Wave features
Wave features
wave base
(half of wavelength)
crest
fetch
trough
crest
wavelength
Waves
trough
wave height
Wave motion
Wave dimensions
direction of waves
increasing
depth
wave base
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AIR AND OCEANS
Key words
backwash
breaker
swash
tsunami
Wave types
How breakers form
constant wavelengths
in deep water
Breakers
A breaker is a wave that
spills over and breaks up
on the shore.
As a wave moves into shallow
water, the wave base touches the
rising seabed and hinders the
circulation of water inside the wave.
This causes the wavelength and speed
to decrease as the waves become
closer together and the wave
height increases.
Eventually the wave height increases
so much that the top spills over. The
wave then rushes up the beach as
swash and falls back as backwash.
wavelength
(and speed) decrease
wavelength
(and speed) decrease
wave height
increases
breaker
topples
forward
wave base
above seabed
Tsunamis
A tsunami is a huge wave set off by a
submarine earthquake. Tsunami is
Japanese for harbor wave.
Tsunamis can also be caused by violent
volcanic eruptions at or below sea
level.
It is incorrect to describe a tsunami as
a tidal wave, as its cause has nothing
to do with tides.
516
tsunami height on
breaking ashore:
approximately
100 feet (30 m)
830
421
678
297
478
93
150
submarine
earthquake
30
48
miles per hour kmph
Decreasing speeds
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bay
bight
blowhole
gulf
headland
soft rock
peninsula
point
promontory
sea cave
Changing coastline
blowhole
sea arch
sea stacks
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AIR AND OCEANS
Key words
Sea cliffs
Cliff and wave-cut platform
tide
beach deposits
sea cliff being formed by
undercutting wave erosion
wave-cut platform
low tide
level
Sea cliffs
Boulder beach
Steep cliffs
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Coastal deposition
backwash
berm
storm beach
swash
swash
backwash
shingle
Types of wave
Beach features
Sand and shingle
beach at high tide
storm beach
cliff
beach cusps
high tide
Tidal differences
A storm beach is a band of sand and
shingle thrown above high-tide mark
by waves during a storm.
A beach ridge or berm is a mass of
sand and shingle on a beach parallel
with the high-water mark that
indicates the limit of the swash at each
high tide. A beach ridge will thus form
at the highest spring tide; below it will
be a descending series of ridges
marking each subsequent high tide
down to the neap tide.
A beach cusp is one of a series of
scallop-shaped deposits of sand
and shingle scooped out by waves
striking the beach at an angle.
As the tide retreats, it carves drainage
channels, sand ripples, and sand
ridges out of the beach down to the
low-water mark.
rock
shingle
berm
sand
drainage channels
sand ripples
sand ridge
low tide
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AIR AND OCEANS
Key words
groin
longshore drift
Longshore drift
Coastal deposition by longshore drift
prevalent
wave
direction
Longshore drift
Longshore
Groins
direction of drift
Longshore
2 The waves backwash drags sand and shingle particles straight back
down the beach.
accumulating
sand or shingle
prevalent
wave direction
Bay beaches
Before
direction of drift
Bay beaches
bay
headland
prevalent
wave direction
sand or
shingle beach
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Boulder beach
A boulder beach is a
narrow belt of boulders
and shingle at the base
of a sea cliff.
(deposition-dominated)
shores receive sediment from eroding
parts of the coastline, discharging
rivers, and biogenous sediments
(those of biological origin) in local
shallow waters.
Longshore currents and longshore
drift generate characteristic coastal
features, particularly where the
coastline is irregular and the water is
relatively shallow.
Deposition beaches
Bay-head beach
A bay-head beach is a sandy crescent lying
in the bay between two rocky promontories.
Lowland beach
A lowland beach is broad, gently sloping,
sandy, and usually features a strip of
shingle on the upper shore backed by
dunes of windblown sand.
Boulder
Spit
A spit forms from sediment deposited on
the down-current side of a promontory.
Bar
A bar is a spit or double-spit that
entirely or almost entirely closes off
a bay. Bars also form as offshore
strips of sand or shingle parallel to
the coast.
Tombolo
A tombolo is formed when sediment
accumulates to form a causeway between
the mainland and a near-shore island.
Barrier islands
These may originate from spits or bars,
or from engulfed coastal sand dunes. They
are characteristic of the east and southeast
coast of the United States, between Long
Island, New York, and southern Texas.
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AIR AND OCEANS
Key words
coast
Raised coastlines
Emergent highland coast
Before emergence
sea cliff
low tide level
sea caves
wave-cut platform
beach
After emergence
old sea
cliff
old sea
caves
raised
beach
exposed wave-cut
platform
gentle slopes
coastline
continental shelf
Before emergence
Emergent
old coastline
new coastal
plain
new coastline
After emergence
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Submerged coastlines
Submerged coastline types
Ria coasts
Ria coasts
Rias
Fjord coasts
Fjords
Fjord coasts
Longitudinal coasts
Longitudinal coasts
coastlines
(also known as drowned
concordant, Dalmatian, or
Pacific coastlines) feature
mountain ridges that are
parallel to the sea.
Flooding forms valleys into sounds
and isolated ridges as long, narrow
offshore islands.
Croatias Dalmatian coast and many
British Columbian islands are shaped
in this way.
Longitudinal
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148
Coral reefs
Fringing reef
coral reef
Barrier reef
high water
mound of
dead coral
living coral
low water
Barrier reef
living coral
high water
low water
edge of land
edge of land
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Atoll
lagoon
slowly sinking
volcanic island
barrier reef
atoll
guyot
seamount
Atolls
atoll is a ring-shaped
island made of a coral reef
surrounding a lagoon.
The origins of atolls are still
unclear, but it is thought that the
coral reef starts as a fringing reef
around a volcanic island.
As the volcano subsides,
or the sea level rises at
the end of an ice age, a
seawater lagoon forms
inside the ring of coral,
turning the fringing reef
into a barrier reef.
After the volcanic island
subsides completely
beneath the sea, the ring of
coral reef known as an atoll
is left.
Over time, vegetation grows on
the atoll, while the sea has eroded
the coral into fine sand.
Coral atolls are particularly common in
the Pacific and Indian oceans.
An
lagoon
low tide
submerged
volcanic island
coral reef
Guyot
1
Guyots
guyot is a flat-topped volcanic
seamount; a lone mountain standing
on the seafloor, totally submerged by
the sea.
Once an active volcano formed at an
oceanic spreading ridge and standing
above sea level, wave action has
subsequently eroded and flattened
its summit.
As the ocean crust moves beneath it,
the flat-topped volcano is submerged
and thereafter considered a guyot.
A
high tide
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SHAPING THE SURFACE
Key words
denudation
erosion
scree
talus
weathering
Weathering
When
Mechanical weathering
caused by low
temperatures
Mechanical weathering
Effects of low temperatures
In cold regions, frost and
ice action at night or in
winter help to break
down surface rocks.
1 Rainwater lodges
in cracks in
hilltop rocks.
water in cracks
ice in cracks
2 Rainwater in the
cracks expands
when it turns to
ice and thus begins
to fracture the rocks.
Small fragments break
away and fall down.
Extremes
Scree
Severe
talus cones
scree
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Mechanical weathering
Mechanical
Mechanical weathering
caused by high
temperatures
Rocks
Organic weathering
Organic
Organic weathering
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152
SHAPING THE SURFACE
Key words
carbonation
Chemical weathering
How caves are formed
joints
bedding
planes
Chemical weathering
Chemical
Streams plunging
underground widen
crevices into vertical and
horizontal caves. If the
climate changes so that
rainfall drops, many caves
are left quite dry.
Carbonation
The
clint
sinkhole
gallery
grike
sinkhole
pothole
gallery
stalagmite
gour
gallery
stalactite
column
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Chemical weathering:
hydration
1
ground surface
Hydration
Hydration is the breakdown of rocks
as they absorb water.
During this absorption, rocks swell
and soften, leaving them weaker.
Hydration is therefore as much a
process of mechanical weathering as it
is of chemical weathering.
joints
Weathering granite
Granite is one of the hardest of rocks,
but its high feldspar content makes it
susceptible to chemical weathering
and hydration.
In addition, the many joints in granite
enable hydration to carry on well
below the surface.
Hydration in granite occurs as
rainwater trickles down through its
joints. Some minerals in granite take
up rainwater and expand, thus
breaking up the granite block that
contains them.
As the joints widen, the granite block
is split up into smaller blocks
separated by mineral fragments. These
fragments become loose and fall out as
the rock gradually decomposes.
As the weathered rock is washed away,
the original granite block is exposed as
a rocky outcrop known as a tor. These
are usually found on the top of
smooth, grassy hills.
Torlike features found in the tropics
are known as kopjes.
granite split
into blocks
disintegrated
or decomposed
granite
Tor
Tors are massive
blocks of
weathered granite
that stand above
the surrounding
landscape. They
crown hilltops
where the
surrounding
surface has been
worn down by
erosion.
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SHAPING THE SURFACE
Key words
granite
hydration
sand
soil
Crystals in granite
biotite
sand (quartz)
stones
feldspar
Breakdown of granite
There
silt
quartz
amphibole
clay
After solution
After solution
and crushing
After sorting
Quartz crystals
(sand)
After rounding
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155
Soil formation
Soil formation
First stage
Soil types
unweathered
rock
movement of
soluble material
Key words
humus
regolith
soil
Humid climate
humus less
soluble
substances
precipitated
oxides
Soil
Soil
Soil formation
Prior
granite
bedrock
Immature soil
topsoil
rich in humus
Desert climate
weathered rock
humus perhaps
with precipitated
salts
precipitated
calcium
carbonate
unweathered
rock
limestone,
shale,
sandstone
Mature soil
Tropical climate
subsoil
(horizon B)
with dissolved
minerals
weathered rock
(horizon C)
little or
no humus
insoluble
limonite etc.
iron-rich clays
weathered rock
unweathered
rock
igneous bedrock
Soil types
Soil
topsoil
(horizon A)
rich in humus
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SHAPING THE SURFACE
Key words
Soil textures
Soil particle diameters
ped
Soil texture
0.052 mm
sand
Soil classification
silt
1 mm
clay
Texture classes
100
0.0020.05 mm
less than 0.002 mm
Soil structure
clay
Pe
rce
nta
ge
cla
y
t
sil
ge
nta
rce
Pe
silty
clay
sandy
clay
clay loam
silty clay
loam
sandy clay
loam
loam
sandy loam
silt loam
loamy
sand
0
silt
sand
100
100
Percentage sand
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Alaska
Arctic tundra soils dominate northern
Alaska. Mountain soils fringe the
Pacific coast. Between the two lie
regions of forest soils.
Predominant soils
forest
grassland
desert
mountain
tundra
Hawaii
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158
SHAPING THE SURFACE
Mass movement
sloping
strata
Key words
Rockslide
regolith
Mass movement
Mass
Creep
displaced
wall
tilted post
tilted
tree
bent
strata
cliff
Rockfall
In rockfalls, fragments
fall from cliffs.
rotational
slippage
Slump
Hillside rock or soil tilts back as
it slips down a concave surface.
Creep
Mudflow
Mud charged with
water flows down a slope.
terracettes
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159
Slopes
Slope decline
geomorphology
weathering
Slopes
A
Slope decline
Slope
pediment
debris slope
Slope replacement
gentler
slope
steepest slope
In
Slope
gentlest slope
Slope replacement
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160
SHAPING THE SURFACE
Key words
Water cycle
The water cycle
precipitation
Rainwater
When
precipitation
evaporation
evaporation
Diagram Visual Information Ltd.
cloud
formation
wind
sea
rivers
rivers
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161
Groundwater
Aquifer
An aquifer is a water-saturated layer of
permeable rock.
aeration zone
aquifer
artesian basin
artesian well
groundwater
water table
nonsaturated rock
water table
Groundwater
Artesian basin
rainfall
Artesian
well
permeable
rock (aquifer)
impermeable
rock
Water percolates
between the grains
of sand in sandstone,
which is a porous
permeable rock.
Artesian basin
artesian basin is a rock structure
that forms a natural reservoir for
water. It occurs when layers of
sedimentary rock are folded into
a depression.
An aquifer is a layer of permeable rock
that can store water. If the aquifer lies
between two impermeable rock layers,
the water will be under high pressure.
An artesian well is a hole bored down
from the surface into the aquifer,
allowing the water to gush up to the
surface under pressure.
An
Spring
porous rock
impermeable rock
water
table
Groundwater
spring
Spring
A
Ground water
impermeable
rock
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162
SHAPING THE SURFACE
Key words
carbonation
cuesta
karst
Limestone landscapes
limestone pavement
Where
Chalk landscapes
Although
gorge
resurgent streams
clay
Chalk cuesta
A cuesta is a hill or ridge that has a steep scarp on one side and a gentle dip slope
on the other.
dry valley
dip slope
chalk
springs
scarp slope
clay
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Rivers
Headward erosion
rainwash
corrasion
undercutting and soil creep
source of river
upper river
valley
River erosion
Rivers
Headward erosion
Pothole
Pothole
Potholes
V-shaped valley
Where
V-shaped valley
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SHAPING THE SURFACE
Vertical rock
Key words
river
Waterfall features
Waterfalls
A
resistant rock
Features of a
waterfall
Water
speeds up over a
waterfall because of
reduced friction. It then
erodes the soft rock below.
Eroded rocks and boulders
swirling round at the base of the
waterfall undercut the rock and
create a plunge pool.
In places, this erosion might be
extensive enough to create a ledge or
cave behind the waterfall.
undercutting
boulders
plunge pool
weaker rocks
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165
River transport
Suspension
Solution
riverbed
saltation
traction
Load
Traction
Saltation (hopping)
low velocity
Stream velocity
clay
transportation
silt
sand
erosion
deposition
cobbles
boulders
This diagram shows the effects that water flowing at different speeds has on different-sized
objects, in ascending order from clay particles to boulders.
pebbles
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166
Key words
rapid
waterfall
River flow
Capacity at the same point
sediment load
Relative increase
River flow
River capacity
Relative speed
low
volume
channel shape
(width x depth)
low
volume
Increasing
flow
high
volume
high
volume
Capacity upstreamdownstream
sediment load
Relative increase/decrease
speed of water
upstream
speed of water
channel shape
(width x depth)
downstream
slope
upstream
Increasing
flow
downstream
above average
below average
well below
average
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River valleys
Key words
erosion
sediment
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SHAPING THE SURFACE
Key words
anticline
confluence
syncline
tributary
Drainage
Types of drainage
a consequent stream
b subsequent stream
c obsequent stream
Parallel
pattern
Dendritic
pattern
Trellis
patten
Drainage patterns
A tributary is a small river that joins a
larger one. A confluence is where two
streams join.
River drainage patterns vary according
to factors such as rock and soil types,
climate, and human activity.
Parallel drainage occurs when streams
flow in a roughly parallel course due
to the structure of the rock, perhaps
due to its parallel folds.
Dendritic drainage occurs in areas of
uniform rock with little faulting or
folding: it forms a branching network
that looks like a tree. Dendritic
comes from the Greek work dendron,
meaning tree.
Trellised drainage occurs when the
rock structure causes streams to flow
roughly parallel to each other and
tributaries to join them almost at right
angles, forming a trellis pattern. This
occurs when streams flow along bands
of softer rock or in line with the dip of
the rock.
b
a
b
c
Accordant drainage
1
syncline
syncline
anticline
anticline
anticline
syncline
anticline
River capture
1
Headward erosion
of river (a) toward
river (b).
River capture
Diagram Visual Information Ltd.
Accordant drainage
An accordant drainage pattern is
directly related to the dip of the
underlying rock strata, causing rivers
to flow off anticlinal slopes and along
synclinal troughs.
Subsequent erosion lowers the
anticlines to valleys and leaves
synclines upstanding as mountains.
A discordant drainage pattern is
unrelated to the dip of the
underlying rock.
elbow of capture
wind gap
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169
Watersheds
Watersheds
nearby watersheds
river
watershed
divide
nearby
watersheds
divide
Catchment area
A
The MississippiMissouri
watershed
Catchment areas
The
Mississippi watershed
ta
n M
ou
n
Te
Red
l a chia
pa
n
erl a
mb
Cu
Ap
pi
tains
Oh
ansa s
issip
oun
Ark
Mi
ss
Pla
tte
ee
es s
nn
divide
mountains
ky
in
Mi
ss
is
i
pp
si
oc
ur
so
Mi s
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SHAPING THE SURFACE
Meanders
Key words
Valley broadening
erosion
meander
river
Meanders
A meander is a marked curve or
looplike bend in the channel of a river.
Meanders form in any river valley, but
are typical of the lower reaches of a
river valley where the valley is broad
and the slope of the river gentle.
The largest meanders occur where the
river is wide and the material on its
bed and banks is soft and fine.
Meanders form due to the way a river
spirals between its banks, eroding
material from a concave bank and
depositing it on a convex bank. This
process accentuates the curve of the
river to form a meander.
bluffs
Steep valleys
Foot hills
Lowlands
Valley broadening
gravel
Meander
A meander is a marked curve in the channel of a river.
convex bank
river cliff
concave bank
flow on riverbed
sheds sediment
slip-off slope
shingle
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Oxbow lakes
floodplain
oxbow lake
river
Oxbow lakes
An oxbow lake is a crescent-shaped
lake formed on a river floodplain by a
meander (1).
As the meander increases in size, the
river erodes away at the outside bend
of the meander. As a result, the neck
of the meander gets narrower and
narrower (2).
Eventually, the river breaks through
the neck of the meander and
straightens out, bypassing the
meander (3).
Dams of sediment build up between
the rivers new course and the old
meander, sealing the meander off and
creating an oxbow lake (4).
A river crossing a long floodplain can
create many meanders along its
course.
oxbow lake
sediment dams
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SHAPING THE SURFACE
Key words
erosion
glacier
moraine
oxbow lake
rift valley
sediment
volcano
Lakes
Earth-movement lakes
Volcanic lakes
Volcanic lakes
A volcanic lake occurs when water fills
up the crater of a dormant or extinct
volcano, or when a volcanic eruption
causes a lava flow to block up a river,
creating a lake upstream.
Lake Toba in Sumatra, Indonesia, is
one of the worlds largest volcanic
crater lakes.
30 km
20 miles
Earth-movement lakes
An earth-movement lake, such as
those in deep rift valleys, forms as a
result of movements in Earths crust
that create a natural basin or trough in
which water can accumulate.
The Dead Sea, a saltwater lake in the
Great Rift Valley, is one of the best
examples.
25 miles
40 km
Erosion lakes
0
5 miles
10 km
Erosion lakes
Deposition lakes
Deposition lakes
0
0
2 miles
3 km
10 miles
20 km
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Flood plains
Raising riverbanks
alluvium
floodplain
meander
oxbow lake
sediment
Floodplains
floodplain is a broad, flat river valley
at the lower reaches of a river.
As a river flows downstream, it carries
with it large quantities of alluvium or
sediment, depositing much of it on the
riverbed, thus raising its height.
When the river floods, it deposits
sediment on the riverbanks or levees
as it spills over the top of its channel,
increasing their height.
The effect of both depositsduring
normal flow and as a result of repeated
floodingis to raise the river and its
levees high above the surrounding
floodplain.
A
Normal flow
Repeated flooding
Floodplain features
Among
Floodplain features
snaky meander
levees
bluffs
snaky meander
oxbow lake
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SHAPING THE SURFACE
Key words
delta
distributary
erosion
lagoon
levee
river
sediment
Delta formation
A delta is a low-lying area of alluvial
deposits lying at a river mouth.
When a river enters the sea, it slows
down, reducing its capacity to carry
sediment. The heavier sediment is
dropped immediately on the seabed,
while the lighter sediment is carried
further out to sea, slowly creating a
fan-shaped delta.
As the delta forms, the river often
splits up into different branches called
distributaries. Repeated flooding
creates levees, often trapping pools of
seawater behind them in lagoons.
A delta can only form where the
amount of river-deposited sediment
exceeds that removed by coastal
erosion.
Deltas
River splits
a
sea
distributaries
Delta expansion
swamps
Delta expands
a
Types of delta
lagoon
levees
inlled swamps
become dry land
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River profiles
Original course
partly graded
waterfall
rapids
deposition
erosion
river
mouth
Ungraded profile
The
sea
ungraded profile
lake
coastal slope
Later course
Graded profile
Eventually,
a river achieves a
graded profile, one in which erosion
and deposition are balanced along the
course of the river. Once it has
reached this stage, the shape of the
rivers channel only changes if this
balance is upset.
Mature course
graded profile
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SHAPING THE SURFACE
Key words
deposition
erosion
nickpoint
river
river valley
River rejuventation
Terrace formation
sediment
Long-profile
development
of rejuvenated river
Terrace formation
sea level
nickpoint
nickpoint
Long-profile development
nickpoint
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escarpment
dip slope
Hogback
anticline
cuesta
erosion
fold
hogback
resistant rock
stratum
syncline
Rock strata
Ridge hills
A cuesta is a ridge that results from
layers of rock folded at an angle to the
surface. Erosion and weathering wear
away the softer layers to create valleys,
while the harder layers resist to form
the long parallel cuestas. A cuesta has
a dip or gentle slope on one side and
an escarpment or steep slope on the
other.
If the layers dip very steeply, both
sides of the ridge may be equally
steep, forming a hogback.
Plateau
desert plateau
desert plateau
canyon cut
by river
Plateaus
syncline
synclines
Before erosion
Erosion
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SHAPING THE SURFACE
Key words
ice cap
ice sheet
Ice sheets
Arctic ice sheet
Greenland
exposed land
ice
Russia
Ice
An ice sheet covers a large area of
land. An ice cap is a smaller dome
of ice covering a mountain.
Pack ice is an area of ice floating
on the sea next to, but not
necessarily attached to, an ice sheet.
Drift ice is floating ice that has
broken free of its point of origin and
broken up into smaller pieces such
that ships can still sail through.
North Pole
Greenland
Canada
North Pole
500 miles
800 km
ice
South Pole
South Pole
Antarctica
Africa
ice
0
0
800 miles
1,000 km
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Glacier features
Ice-worn hummocks
Roche moutonne
lee
bergschrund
crevasse
erosion
moraine
volcano
stoss
Ice-worn hummocks
Anatomy of a glacier
Anatomy of a glacier
headwall
bergschrund
firn eld
cirque oor
rock step
crevasses
subglacial moraine
ice fall
lateral moraine
medial
moraine
subglacial
stream
glacier snout
terminal
moraine
Diagram Visual Information Ltd.
Crag-and-tail
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SHAPING THE SURFACE
Key words
Glacial erosion
Cirque formation
Before glaciation
cirque
nv
During glaciation
ice
After glaciation
ice
lake
Gnawed by ice
lake
Gnawed by ice
Before glaciation
During glaciation
V-shaped
cross section
After glaciation
glacier
ice-deepened
valley oor
ice-scoured
valley sides
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Glacial deposits
Glacial valley
crevasse
esker
glacier
kame
till
crevasses containing
sediment shed by
streams
ice-margin lake
surface streams
deltas
glacier
Glacial valley
As
Post-glacial valley
lake lled
by sediment
subglacial stream
blocks of melting ice
Postglacial valley
kame-deltas
esker from
englacial
stream
esker from
subglacial
stream
streams
exposed
valley oor
streams
kame-terrace
(old lake bed)
kames (formerly
crevasse deposits)
kame-terrace
(old lake bed)
kettles (formerly
ice-lled hollows)
englacial stream
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SHAPING THE SURFACE
Key words
periglacial
permafrost
pingo
soil creep
tundra
Periglacial landscapes
Cold landscapes
Patterned ground
polygons
parallel lines
of stones
Patterned ground
Pingo formation
a
b
ice
pond
Pingo formation
A pingo is a mound of earth with a
permanent core of ice and can be up
to 160 feet (50 m) high. The ice core
may once have been frozen
groundwater or part of a lake (a).
As the ice expands underground (b), it
pushes the dome up in the land
surface (c). Tension cracks in the
dome expose the ice (d). As the ice
melts, it creates a pond (e) that
deposits sediment (f).
sediment
Ice-wedge landforms
pond
raised rims
Ice-wedge
landforms
Cracks in a
periglacial
landscape often
form when
frozen ground
contracts. Meltwater
fills the cracks and expands
when it freezes to create deep
ice wedges.
Ponds and raised rims are also
common.
active layer
ice wedge
permafrost
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Permafrost
sporadic permafrost
discontinuous permafrost
active layer
ice wedge
periglacial
permafrost
Permafrost
Permafrost
North Pole
Sectioned landscapes
a Section through North Asia
down to 1,500 feet (450 m)
is
permanently frozen
ground and occurs in
periglacial areas.
In such areas, only the
ice on or near the
surface ever melts; the
land beneath is
permanently frozen.
The distinctive
landscape of periglacial
regions occurs because
the melting of the ice
above the permafrost
stirs up the ground in a
process called
cryoturbation. This
churns the soil into
involutions, or buckled
layers, which form
ponds, bogs, and ice
wedges.
A periglacial climate has
long cold winters where
temperatures never rise
above freezing and can
drop to 58F (50C).
Summers are short and mild and allow
the ice above the permafrost to melt.
Only mosses, lichens, grasses, and
small shrubs can grow. The absence
of plants allows wind action to shape
the landscape unimpeded.
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SHAPING THE SURFACE
Key words
desertification
evapotranspiration
precipitation
Deserts
Desert features
Features of deserts
Few plants cover the ground
because there is so little water.
Clear skies mean that the
ground heats up quickly
during the day, and cools
down fast at night.
The ground may be rocky or
covered with sand.
Loose sand is easily whipped
up by the wind to form a
sandstorm.
Deserts
Takla Makan
desert
North
American
desert
Sahara
desert
Peruvian and
Atacama deserts
Namib
desert
Arabian
desert
Very arid
Turkestan
desert
Iranian
desert
Kalahari
desert
Atacama desert
Patagonian desert
Arid
Sahel
Diagram Visual Information Ltd.
Gobi desert
Semi-arid
Arabian
desert Great
Australian
Somali
desert
desert
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water vapor
desert
rain
mountains
Climate
winds
Pacific
Ocean
desert
Sonoran Desert
very arid
arid
semi-arid
Diagram Visual Information Ltd.
Death Valley
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SHAPING THE SURFACE
Key words
arroyo
bajada
butte
desert
inselberg
mesa
pediment
uplift
wadi
Desert landforms
Origin of buttes and mesas
Horizontal
layers
sea
butte
mesa
Desert features
river valley
Uplift and
dissection
Desert landforms
Weathering and flash floods produce these features of arid mountainous regions.
canyon
mesa
arroyo (wadi)
butte
alluvial fan
pediment
playa
inselberg
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Wind erosion
Rock pedestals
Key words
chemical
weathering
deflation hollow
erosion
insolation
rock pedestal
yardang
zeugen
Wind erosion
joint
Zeugen
zeugen
joint
wind
direction
Rock pedestal
hard rock
soft rock
Zeugen
Rock beds before erosion
hard rock
Yardangs
soft rock
yardang
wind
direction
Yardang
hard rock
soft rock
Rock beds before erosion
Deflation hollow
faulted
rock layers
100 miles
160 km
Qattara depression
sand removed
by wind
Northern Egypt
Hollow
deation
hollow
prevailing winds
Deflation hollows
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SHAPING THE SURFACE
Key words
barchan
desert
draa
sand
seif
Sand dunes
Sand dune formations
crest
slipface
future
positions
of dune
windward slope
Sand dunes
Types of dune
obstacle
impeding
flow of
windblown
sand
head dune on
windward
side of obstacle
tail dune on
leeward side
Barchan
eddy
gentle
windward
face
steep
leeward
face
horns
Seif dunes
seif dune
corridor
wind eddy
wind
direction
Barchan dune to seif
1 A barchan
is shaped by
a prevailing
wind.
2 The wind
vacillates.
3 The wind
shifts; one
horn
lengthens.
4 Later, a
seif takes
shape.
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Desertification
Deforestation
desert
desertification
temperate
tropical
Deforestation
Huge
Desertification
Desertification
Desertification
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190
COMPARISONS
Key words
Continents
Continental landmasses
continent
continental shelf
ice sheet
Asia
Africa
North America
Seven continents
A
Europe
South America
Antarctica
The world as
continental landmasses
In this modified
Mercator projection,
only the land at the
equator has
accurate spatial
representation.
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Lakes
COMPARISONS
Great Bear
Key words
Superior,
Huron,
Michigan,
Erie
Northern
Hemisphere
Baikal
Malawi
Tanganyika
Victoria
Comparative shapes
Superior
31,800 square miles
(82,350 km2)
Huron
23,010 square miles
(59,600 km2)
Comparative areas
Michigan
22,400 square miles
(58,000 km2)
1
10
Erie
9,900 square miles
(25,700 km2)
Great Bear
12,280 square miles
(31,800 km2)
Malawi
11,430 square miles
(29,600 km2)
Great Slave
11,000 square miles
(28,500 km 2)
2
3
4
5
6
8
Tanganyika
13,000 square miles
(33,000 km2)
2
7
10
Victoria
26,000 square miles
(68,000 km2)
Baikal
11,780 square miles
(30,500 km 2)
7
5
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COMPARISONS
Key words
Islands
Locations of the largest islands
Northern
Hemisphere
Southern
Hemisphere
Baffin
Victoria
Ellesmere
Greenland
Great Britain
Honshu
Comparative areas
Sumatra
Borneo
New Guinea
Comparative shapes
The islands are shown against an outline of the contiguous
United Statesan area of 3,021,293 square miles
(7,825,112 km2)for comparison.
Ellesmere
81,800 square miles
(212,000 km2)
Madagascar
226,660 square miles
(587,040 km2)
Greenland
840,003 square miles
(2,175,600 km2)
10
Honshu
88,980 square miles
(230,500 km2)
1
4
Borneo
287,400 square miles
(744,360 km2)
3
6
Baffin
196,140 square miles
(508,000 km2)
8
Great Britain
88,757 square miles
(229,880 km2)
6
9
2
9
10
Sumatra
182,860 square miles
(473,600 km2)
Victoria
81,900 square miles
(212,200 km2)
New Guinea
317,000 square miles
(821,030 km2)
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Mountains
COMPARISONS
Key words
volcano
Everest
Dhaulagiri
29,035 feet
(8,850 m)
feet
30,000
K2 (Godwin Austen)
Lhotse
28,251 feet
(8,611 m)
27,939 feet
(8,516 m)
26,811 feet
(8,172 m)
meters
Manaslu
Kanchenjunga
Makalu
28,208 feet
(8,598 m)
27,824 feet
(8,481 m)
26,758 feet
(8,156 m)
9,000
Nanga Parbat
26,660 feet
(8,126 m)
Cho Oyu
26,906 feet
(8,201 m)
The
Annapurna
26,502 feet
(8,078 m)
8,000
25,000
7,000
22,834 feet
(6,960 m)
Highest feature
feet
19,340 feet
(5,895 m)
meters
30,000
Kilimanjaro (Africa)
20,000
Elbrus (Europe)
6,000
18,510 feet
(5,642 m)
Puncak Jaya
(Australasia) Vinson Massif
16,499 feet
(Antarctica)
(5,029 m)
16,066 feet
(4,897 m)
8,000
20,000
6,000
5,000
15,000
4,000
10,000
4,000
2,000
Aconcagua
Elbrus
0
Vinson Massif
McKinley
Kilimanjaro
Himalayas
Puncak
Jaya
2,000
10,000
4,000
sea level
Although Mount
Everest is the
highest landbased mountain,
the volcano
Mauna Kea on
Hawaii is actually
4,441 feet
(1,354 m) taller,
but only 13,796
feet (4,205 m)
of its total ocean
floor height of
33,476 feet
(10,203 m) is
above sea level.
Locations of each
continents highest
mountain
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COMPARISONS
Key words
Andaman Sea
ocean
Beaufort Sea
Laptev Sea
Hudson Bay
Bering
Sea
Sea of Okhotsk
Sea of Japan
Arctic Ocean
Chukchi Sea
Atlantic
Ocean
Pacific
Ocean
Pacific
Ocean
Indian
Ocean
Coral Sea
Gulf of Mexico
Tasman Sea
Red Sea
Arabian Sea
Caribbean Sea
Philippine Sea
South China Sea
European seas
Greenland
Sea
North
Sea
Norwegian Sea
Barents Sea
Kara Sea
Baltic Sea
Black Sea
Mediterranean Sea
seas and
oceans 71%
Water by ocean
land 29%
Atlantic Ocean
24.6%
Pacific Ocean
49.7%
Comparative areas
Arctic Ocean
3.6%
Indian Ocean
22.1%
Arctic Ocean
Caribbean Sea
Gulf of
Mexico
Hudson
Bay
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Submarine features
COMPARISONS
Key words
Middle American
East Pacific Rise
Mariana
Philippines
Puerto Rico
Aleutian
ocean
trench
Kuril/Japan
Mid-Atlantic Ridge
Submarine mountains
A
Pacific
Ocean
Pacific
Ocean
Indian
Ocean
Atlantic
Ocean
Submarine trenches
Most
Peru-Chile
Java
Pacific-Antarctic Rise
Kermadec
Tonga
trench
co
Indian
Ocean
Ja
va
Ri
rt
o
Pu
e
ile
Ch
uPe
r
ia
n
ar
M
To
ng
a
ec
ad
m
ili
p
Ph
Ke
r
pi
ne
s
pa
n
Ja
Atlantic
Ocean
meters
0
5,000
1,500
10,000
3,000
15,000
4,500
20,000
6,000
25,000
7,500
30,000
9,000
35,000
10,500
40,000
12,000
Depth
Ku
ril
,
feet
Al
eu
tia
Pacific
Ocean
M
Am idd
er le
ic
an
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COMPARISONS
Key words
earthquake
Richter scale
volcano
Volcanoes and
earthquakes
Volcanoes
Dimensions of modern volcanoes
Largest active volcano
Volcanic eruptions
Largest crater
The
Highest volcano
Earthquakes fatalities
The
20,000 Mt
BCE)
7,500 Mt
1,500 Mt
1 megaton (Mt) = 1 million tons of TNT. The most massive nuclear explosion has been 60 megatons.
(5065 km3)
10 cubic miles
5 cubic miles
(20 km3)
BCE)
36,000 deaths
12,000 deaths
Earthquakes
Severest earthquakes since 1900 (Richter scale intensities)
Chile (1960)
9.5
9.0
9.3
9.0
Alaska (1964)
9.2
ColombiaEcuador (1906)
8.8
Alaska (1965)
8.7
Alaska (1957)
8.7
9.1
650,000
110,000
283,000
100,000
200,000
70,000
200,000
70,000
143,000
66,000
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Rivers
COMPARISONS
Key words
delta
10
9
1
8
2
miles
1,000
3,000
2,000
10
The
2,000
3,000
4,000
5,000
0
kilometers
4,000
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KEY WORDS
Key words
bound to Earth.
atoll A ring of coral reef around a subsiding volcanic
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KEY WORDS
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200
KEY WORDS
unproductive desert.
diagenesis The physical and chemical changes that
occur in a sediment at normal temperatures and
pressures to turn it into a rock.
dike A vertical sheet of igneous rock intruded through
older rocks so that it cuts across their bedding planes.
dip The angle between the horizontal plane and a tilted
rock bed or fault.
disconformity An unconformity where erosion has left a
gap in the sequence of rock strata but, unlike an angular
unconformity, those above and below it are horizontal.
distributary A stream diverging from a main river.
draa A large dune formation several hundred feet high
and many miles long found in the Sahara desert.
Earth The solar systems fifth largest planet, third in
distance from the Sun.
earthquake A violent shaking movement on Earths
surface caused by plate tectonics or volcanic activity.
eclipse The obscuring of one celestial body by another,
usually the Moon or Earth obscuring the Sun.
electromagnetic radiation The entire range of
wavelengths and frequencies of the electromagnetic
spectrum.
electron A subatomic particle with a negative charge.
element A chemical substance containing only one kind
of atom. An element cannot be chemically broken down
into a simpler substance.
ellipsoid A surface that can be cut in any direction to
produce ellipses or circles.
eon The largest unit into which geologic time is divided.
Four eons have been identified.
epilimnion The layer of water above the thermocline in
a body of fresh water.
epipedon The top layer of soil.
epoch A subdivision of a geologic period.
equator An imaginary line around Earth midway
between the North and South poles.
equatorial low A persistent belt of low pressure at the
equator.
equinox One of the two occasions each year on which
the Sun crosses the plane of the equator. In the
Northern Hemisphere the vernal (or spring), equinox
occurs on or about March 21st and the autumnal (fall)
equinox on or about September 22nd. These dates are
transposed for the Southern Hemisphere.
era A time unit forming a major subdivision of geologic
time. An era contains at least two periods.
erosion The wearing down, loosening, and
transportation of features of the surface of the land by
wind, water, gravity, and moving land and ice.
eruption An outpouring, especially of volcanic gas, lava,
and ash from Earths surface.
esker A long, winding ridge of sand and gravel. It
consists of sediments shed by a stream flowing under a
stationary glacier that has subsequently melted away.
evaporite Rock made of crystals precipitated by the
evaporation of salt-saturated water.
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201
KEY WORDS
isotope An atom of an element sharing the same atomic
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202
KEY WORDS
mantle The intermediate and largest layer of Earth, the
mantle is a zone of dense hot rock, 1,800 miles
(2,900 km) thick, lying between the crust and the core
and extending roughly halfway to the center.
mare (plural: maria) The Latin word for lunar sea.
meander A curve in a river in which the water channel
swings from side to side in a series of loops.
meridian A line of longitude between Earths North
and South poles.
mesa A steep-sided plateau capped by resistant
horizontal rock layers.
mesosphere Earths atmosphere between the
stratopause and mesopause, where temperature falls
with increasing altitude.
metamorphic rock Sedimentary or igneous rock altered
by great heat or pressure.
metamorphism The changes brought about in
preexisting rock masses by temperature, pressure, and
the loss of any volatile content, but not by weathering
or sedimentation.
meteor A meteoroid that enters Earths atmosphere.
meteorite A meteoroid that impacts Earths surface.
meteoroid A naturally occurring cohesive lump of
material in space that is larger than a molecule but
smaller than 160 feet (50 m) in diameter.
microcontinent A type of large island such as those that
probably preceded, and formed the nucleus of, the first
continents.
mineral A natural inorganic substance with a distinct
chemical composition and internal structure.
mofette A small vent emitting gases.
Mohs scale A scale showing the relative hardness of
different minerals by their scratch resistance.
monsoon A seasonal shift in the prevailing wind
direction caused by the greater seasonal variation in
temperature over landmasses than over adjacent
oceans. Monsoons also correspond to large seasonal
variations in the quantity of rainfall.
moon A natural satellite kept in orbit around a planet by
gravitational force.
Moon Earths largest natural satellite.
moraine Rock debris moved by a glacier or ice sheet;
also, such rock debris left behind when a glacier or ice
sheet melts.
mud volcano A low mud cone deposited by mud-rich
water escaping from a vent.
neap tide The tide with the smallest range between
high and low tide. Neap tides occur twice per lunar
month at most locations.
neutron A type of subatomic particle with no electric
charge.
nv Snow that has been partially melted then refrozen.
Nv which survives from one winter season to the next
may become the basis of a glacier.
nickpoint A sudden drop in the elevation of a stream.
nimbostratus A variety of middle- to low-altitude cloud
that often produces heavy precipitation. It generally
appears as a formless, dark gray layer.
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KEY WORDS
planet Any large body in orbit around a star that does
a river.
river valley A valley that has been formed primarily
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204
KEY WORDS
the horizontal.
time zone One of 24 longitudinal regions of the world
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205
INTERNET RESOURCES
Internet resources
There is a lot of useful information on the internet.
Information on a particular topic may be available
through a search engine such as Google
(http://www.google.com). Some of the sites that are
found in this way may be very useful, others not.
Below is a selection of Web sites related to the
material covered by this book.
The publisher takes no responsibility for the
information contained within these Web sites.
All the sites were accessible in March 2006.
Geology.com
Useful resources for geologists, some commercial.
http://geology.com
Google Earth
A remarkable Web resource that attempts to provide
high-resolution digital mapping of the entire globe.
http://earth.google.com
http://www.bgs.ac.uk/education/
Cambridge Cosmology
Discusses the academic concepts and hypotheses on
the origins and nature of the universe in a way that
remains accessible to the general reader.
http://www.damtp.cam.ac.uk/user/gr/public/
cos_home.html
http://www.isc.ac.uk
Mission to Geospace
An educational resource from NASA that locates the
study of Earth in the wider context of the solar system.
http://www-istp.gsfc.nasa.gov/istp/outreach/
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206
INTERNET RESOURCES
http://www.caves.org
Nature
News from the leading science journal.
http://www.nature.com
Physical Geography
Internet resources for the study of physical geography.
USGS Geography
Uses satellite mapping to provide some of the best
geographic information available on the Web.
http://geography.usgs.gov
Volcano World
A central reference point from the University of North
Dakota for information on volcanoes worldwide.
http://volcano.und.nodak.edu
http://www.uwsp.edu/geo/internet/
physical_geog_resources.html
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INDEX
a
air masses 131
Archean eon 37
atmosphere 1078
atolls 149
atoms 61
dating
paleomagnetic 29
of the seafloor 99
day and night 10
deltas 174
deserts 18489
Devonian period 43
drainage 168
dunes 188
e
b
bars 145
bays 141
beaches 143
Beaufort scale 120
bedding of rocks 82
breezes, coastal 119
c
caldera 73
Cambrian period 40
carbon cycle 111
chalk 162
clastic sedimentary rocks 80
cliffs 142
cloud types 123
coal 105
coastal breezes 119
coastal features 14147
cold landscapes 182
complex rock sequences 28
compounds 62
continental crust 101
continental drift 869
continents 190
evolution of 913
growth of 102
coral reefs 148
Coriolis effect 116
correlation of rocks 312
Cretaceous period 49
crust
continental 101
of Earth 96
oceanic 97
crystals 65
currents 138
cyclones 127
Earth
history of 2656
orbit of 8
shape and size of 9
structure of 20
earthquakes 196
eclipses 19
elements 25, 58
energy from the Sun 14, 113
Eocene epoch 51
eons 379
epochs 506
erosion 180, 187
evolutionary clocks 34
extinction of species 35
f
fissures in volcanoes 6
fit between continents 86
flood plains 173
fog 122
fossils 301
g
gas 106
geologic time 36
geysers 78
glacial features 17981
granite 154
groundwater 161
guyots 149
h
hardness of rocks 67
Hawaiian Islands 98
headlands 141
heat in rocks 59
heat transfer processes 112
hills 177
Holocene epoch 56
hot springs 78
humidity 121
hurricanes 128
hydration 153
i
ice sheets 178
igneous rocks 689
ions 63
islands 192
isostasy 103
isotopes 63
j
jet streams 118
Jurassic period 48
l
lakes 172, 191
latitude 12
lava flows 74
layers, atmospheric 108
life, tree of 33
limestone 162
lithosphere 96
lithospheric plates 94
longitude 12
longshore drift 144
m
magma production 70
magnetic field of Earth and
magnetosphere 212
mass extinction 35
mass movement 158
meanders 170
metamorphism 834
meteors and meteorites 234
minerals 656
Miocene epoch 53
Mississippian period 44
Moon, the 1619
mountains 193
Index
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208
INDEX
n
nitrogen cycle 110
o
oceanic crust 97
oceans 13338, 194
oil 106
Oligocene epoch 52
orbit of Earth 8
Ordovician period 41
ore 104
oxbow lakes 171
oxygen cycle 111
p
Paleocene epoch 50
paleomagnetic dating 29
Pennsylvanian period 45
periodic table 60
permafrost 183
Permian period 46
Phanerozoic eon 39
plates and plate tectonics 945
Pleistocene epoch 55
Pliocene epoch 54
polar paths 89
pressure belts 115
pressure systems 130
Proterozoic eon 38
s
sand 154
sand dunes 188
sea cliffs 142
sea temperatures 134
seafloor 99, 13536
seas, comparison of 194
seashore see coastal features
seasons 11
sedimentary rocks 7982
shield, volcano 77
Silurian period 42
sleet 124
slopes 159
snow 124
soil 15557
solar system 13
spits 145
spreading ridges 100
submarine features 195
t
tectonic plates 95
temperature belts 114
thunderstorms 126
tides 137
time zones 10
tornadoes 129
tree of life 33
Triassic period 47
u
unconformities 27
universal abundance of
elements 25
v
valleys 167, 177
volcanoes 717, 196
w
water 132
water cycle 160
waterfalls 164
watersheds 169
waves 13940, 143
weathering 15053
Wegeners theory 90
wind circulation 117
wind erosion 187
wind speeds 120