Synopses & Reviews
This text fulfills a science requirement for non-majors and students who plan to teach in elementary or high schools. Offering a uniquely strong emphasis on earth systems and an increased emphasis on environmental topics, EARTH SCIENCE AND THE ENVIRONMENT, Second Edition stands out among other earth science books. Discussion of how the solid earth, the atmosphere, the hydrosphere, and living organisms interact, as well as the effects of these interactions, is presented throughout the text. This approach, supported with numerous discussions of modern research, makes the book up-to-date and relevant to students. This text provides a rich overview of all Earth-related disciplines, including geology, geography, oceanography, meteorology, and astronomy. EARTH SCIENCE AND THE ENVIRONMENT gives students a sense of how the Earth functions as a system and how the various spheres interact.
About the Author
Gray Thompson is Professor of Geology at The University of Montana, where he teaches Introductory Geology, Mineralogy, Summer Field Mapping, and graduate courses in Clay Mineralogy and Shale Petrology. He has published more than twenty research papers in international journals, mostly co-authored with his students. He is also a mountaineer and professional guide with first ascents, many with Jon Turk, of peaks and routes in the Rocky authored Mountains, Alaska, the Yukon, Baffin Island, the Alps, the Karakoram, and the Himalayas. He has many articles published in international climbing magazines and journals, and has been the subject of other articles in these publications. Many of the photographs in this text were taken by Thompson and Turk on their climbing trips and expeditions over the past 15 years.
Table of Contents
1. Earth Systems. Unit I: Earth Materials And Time. Earth Systems Interactions: Earth Rocks, Earth History, and Mass Extinctions. 2. Minerals. 3. Rocks. 4. Geologic Time: A Story in the Rocks. Unit II: Internal Processes. Earth Systems Interactions: Plate Tectonics and Earth Systems. 5. The Active Earth: Plate Tectonics. 6. Earthquakes and the Earth's Structure. 7. Volcanoes and Plutons. 8. Geologic Structures, Mountain Ranges, and Continents. Unit III: Surface Processes. Earth Systems Interactions: Evolution of the Oceans, the Atmosphere, and Life. 9. Weathering, Soil, and Erosion. 10. Fresh Water: Streams, Lakes, Ground Water, and Wetlands. 11. Glaciers and Ice Ages. 12. Deserts and Wind. Unit IV: The Oceans. Earth Systems Interactions: Flowers Bloomed on Earth While Venus Boiled and Mars Froze. 13. Ocean Basins. 14. Oceans and Coastlines. Unit V: The Atmosphere. Earth Systems Interactions: The Origin of Iron Ore and the Evolution of Earth's Atmosphere, Biosphere, and Oceans. 15. The Earth's Atmosphere. 16. Weather. 17. Climate. Unit VI: Human Interactions With Earth Systems. Earth Systems Interactions: Human Population and Alteration of Earth Systems. 18. Climate Change. 19. Air Pollution. 20. Water Resources. 21. Geologic Resources. Unit VII: Astronomy. Earth Systems Interactions: Birth of the Universe. 22. Motion in the Heavens. 23. Planets and Their Moons.