Earth Science and the Environment

Citation preview

arth

i

e

and the

e

FOURTH EDITION

GRAHAM

R.THOMPSON,

University of Montana JONATHAN TURK, PHD

THOIVISON

*

BROOKS/COLE

Australia· Brazil • Canada • Mexico • Singapore Spain • United Kingdom • United States

PHD

THOIVISON

*

BROOKS/COLE

Earth

Science

and the Environment,

fourth

edition

Graham R. Thompson and ]onathan Turk

Executive

Editor: Peter Adams

Terri Wright

Photo Researcher:

Carol Benedict Editorial Assistant: Anna Jarzab Technology Project Manager: Samuel Subity Marketing Manager: Kelley McAllister Marketing Communications Manager: Nathaniel Bergson-Michelson Content Project Manager: Belinda Krohrner Creative Director: Rob Hugel Art Director: Vernon Boes Print Buyer: Becky Cross Permissions Editor: Roberta Broyer Production Service: Pre-Press Company, Inc. Text Designer: Terri Wright Art Editor: Lisa Torri

Getty Images Inset globe - NASA/Goddard Space Flight Center, The SeaWiFS Project and ORBIMAGE, Scientific Visualization Studio, Landsat-7 Project, and USGS ERGS Data Center: Atmosphere - NOAA Biosphere - Royalty-Free/Corbis Hydrosphere - © Royalty-free Image Source Limited/Jupiter Images Geosphere - VEER Christopber Talbot Frank/Getty Images Title Page Image: © Steue Bloom Images/NASA/Alamy Cover Printer: Transcontinental Beauceville Compositor: Pre-Press Company, Inc. Printer:

Transcontinental Beauceville

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About the Authors

Gray Thompson is

J on

Professor of Geology at

professional

The University

writer, and adventurer.

of

Introductory

and later that year J on

Geology,

Mineralogy, Summer Field

co-authored

Mapping, and graduate

ronmental

published more than 20 research papers in international

has continued

journals, mostly co-authored

ing 23 environmental

with his students. He is also guide with first ascents,

unspoiled

the first enviscience college

in the country. In the 32 years since then, Jon his career as a science writer by publishand geoscience texts. jori's love of

environments

and his fascination for the wild

many with J on Turk, of peaks and routes in the Rocky

places on this planet have also led to a distinguished

Mountains,

reer as an adventurer.

Alaska, the Yukon, Baffin Island, the Alps,

the Karakoram,

He

received his Ph.D in 1971,

textbook

and professional

geoscience

Montana, where he teaches

courses in Clay Mineralogy and Shale Petrology. He has

a mountaineer

Turk is a chemist,

and the Himalayas. He has authorcd

many articles published in international

Alaska, crossed the western Gobi of Mongolia, unsup-

zines and journals, and has been the subject of other arti-

ported, on a mountain

cles in these publications.

Lamo-she

this text were taken by Thompson

He has kayaked around Cape

Horn as well as the 3,000 miles between Japan and

climbing maga-

Many of the photographs

ca-

in

and Turk on their

climbing trips and expeditions over the past fifteen years.

bike, and was the first to ascend

Peak (6,070 meters) in the eastern Himalayas

with co-author

Gray Thompson.

He has written nu-

merous magazine articles about his expeditions as adventure/travel

as well

books, including In the Wake of the

]omon: Stone Age Mariners and a Voyage Across the Pacific (McGraw Hill 2005).

v

Contents Overview 1

UNIT

1

I: 1

5

Minerals 20 Rocks 44 Geologic Time: A Story in the Rocks Geologic Resources 96

I

127

4

6 7 8 9

3

1

EARTH 2 3

UNIT

Earth Systems

The Active Earth: Plate Tectonics 128 Earthquakes and the Earth's Structure 154 Volcanoes and Plutons 180 Mountains 208

SURfACE 10

73

231

Weathering, Soil, and Erosion

232

11 Fresh Water: Streams, Lakes, Ground Water, and Wetlands

12 13 14

UN

UNIT

Water Resources 295 Glaciers and Ice Ages 326 Deserts and Wind 353

E

5

S

373

15 Ocean Basins 374 16 Oceans and Coastlines

398

THE ATMOSPHERE

429

17 18 19 20

21

The Atmosphere 430 Energy Balance in the Atmosphere 451 Moisture, Clouds, and Weather 470 Climate 507 Climate Change 528

Motions in the Heavens 558 Planets and Their Moons 581 Stars, Space, and Galaxies 607 Glossary G.1 Appendix A.1 Index 1.1

vi

262

Contents 1

Ea

1

1

1.1

Flowers Bloom on Earth,Venus

Boils, and Mars Freezes

1.2

The Earth's Four Spheres

1.3 1.4 1.5

Earth Systems

Time and Rates of Change in Earth Science

1.6

Humans and Earth Systems

Threshold ~

UNIT

s

2

4

8

and Feedback

Effects

9

12

13 and Law

FOCUS ON:

5

EARl Mi

Is

2.1

What

2.2 2.3 2.4 2.5 2.6 2.7

The Chemical

Is a Mineral?

23

Composition

of Minerals

Crystals: The Crystalline Nature Physical Properties of Minerals

Mineral Classes and the Rock-Forming Commercially

Important

Harmful and Dangerous ~

Minerals

24

of Minerals 28

25

Minerals

33

Rocks and Minerals

FOCUS ON:

3I 36

and Chemical Bonds

26

3 3.1 3.2 3.3 3.4

Rocks and the Rock Cycle Igneous Rocks Sedimentary Metamorphic ~

47

Rocks Rocks

51 61

FOCUS ON: of Bowen's

52

4 4.1 4.2 4.3

45

in Earth Rocks, Earth History, and Mass Extinctions Geologic Time

74

77

Relative Geologic Time

79

vii

4.4 4.5 4.6

Unconformities Absolute

and Correlation

Geologic Time

The Geologic ~

Column

81

84

and Time Scale

FOCUS ON: Carbon-] 4 Dating

89 88

Geol 5.1 5.2 5.3 5.4 5.5 5.6 5.7 5.8 5.9 5.10

Mineral Resources

97

Ore and Ore Deposits Mineral Reserves Mines and Mining Energy Resources:

97

105 105 Coal, Petroleum,

and Natural

Energy Resources:

Tar Sands and Oil Shale

Energy Resources:

Renewable

Energy Resources:

Nuclear

Conservation

Energy

Gas

I I1

I 12

Fuels and Reactors

as an Alternitive

Energy for the Twenty-First

I 15

Energy Resource

Century

FOCUS ON: The! 872

I 17

I 19 law

103

6.1

Alfred Wegener and the Origin of an Idea: The Continental Hypothesis 129

6.2 6.3 6.4 6.5 6.6 6.7 6.8 6.9

The Earth's Layers The Sea-Floor The Theory

131

Spreading

Hypothesis

of Plate Tectonics

135

137

The Anatomy of a Tectonic Plate 143 Why Plates Move: The Earth As a Heat Engine Supercontinents

143

145

Isostasy: Vertical Movement How Plate Movements

of the Lithosphere

Affect Earth Systems

145 145

s 1

viii

106

7.1

Anatomy

7.2 7.3 7.4 7.5

Earthquake

of an Earthquake

Earthquakes

Waves

155

157

and Tectonic

Plate Boundaries

Earthquake

Prediction

Earthquake

Damage and Hazard Mitigation

161

166 167

Drift

7.6 7.7

8 8.1 8.2 8.3 8.4 8.5 8.6 8.7 8.8 8.9

9 9.1 9.2 9.3 9.4 9.5 9.6

UNIT

3

Studying the Earth's Interior 172 The Earth's Magnetism 174

180

Volcanoes and Plutons

Magma 181 Basalt and Granite 184 Partial Melting and the Origin of Continents 186 Magma Behavior 187 Plutons 189 Volcanoes 192 Volcanic Explosions: Ash-Flow Tuffs and Calderas 196 Risk Assessment: Predicting Volcanic Eruptions 200 Volcanic Eruptions and Global Climate 202

Mountains

208

Folds and Faults: Geologic Structures 209 Mountains and Mountain Ranges 216 Island Arcs 217 The Andes: Subduction at a Continental Margin The Himalayas: A Collision between Continents Mountains and Earth Systems 225

SURFACE PROCESSES

218 221

231

10 Weathering, Soil, and Erosion 10.1 10.2 10.3 10.4 10.5 10.6 10.7 10.8 10.9

Weathering and Erosion 233 Mechanical Weathering 234 Chemical Weathering 236 Soil 239 Erosion 247 Landslides 247 Types of Landslides 25 I Three Historic Landslides 255 Predicting and Avoiding Landslides

232

257

~

FOCUS ON: Representative Chemical Weathering 238

Reactions in

~

FOCUS ON: Soil Erosion and Agriculture

~

FOCUS ON: The Hubbard Brook Experimental

242 Forest

248

ix

11 fresh Water: St arns, Lakes, Ground Water, and Wetl nds 262 1 1.1

I 1.2 I 1.3

I lA I 1.5 I 1.6 I 1.7 I 1.8

I 1.9

The Water Cycle 263 Streams 264 Stream Erosion and Mountains: How Landscapes Evolve Stream Deposition 271 Floods 272 Lakes 276 Ground Water 278 Hot Springs, Geysers, and Geothermal Energy 285 Wetlands 287

12 Water Reso rces 12.1 12.2 12.3 12.4 12.5 12.6 12.7 12.8 12.9

12.10

295

Water Supply and Demand 296 Dams and Diversion 298 The GreatAmerican Desert 307 Water and International Politics 31 I Water Pollution 3 I I How Sewage, Detergents, and Fertilizers Pollute Waterways Toxic Pollutants, Risk Assessment, and Cost-Benefit Analysis Ground Water Pollution 315 Nuclear Waste Disposal-Yucca Mountain 318 The Clean Water Act-A Modern Perspective 320

13 Glaciers and Ice Ages 13.1 13.2 13.3 1304 13.5 13.6 13.7

14.2

14.3

x

26

Formation of Glaciers 327 Glacial Movement 328 Glacial Erosion 332 Glacial Deposits 336 The Pleistocene Ice Age 341 Snowball Earth: The Greatest Ice Age in Earth History The Earth's Disappearing Glaciers 347

14 Deserts 14.1

269

nd Wind

Why Do Deserts Exist? 354 Water and Deserts 357 Two American Deserts 361

53

345

313 3/4

14.4

14.5

UNIT

4

Wind 362 Desertification

THE OCEANS

368

373

15 Ocean Basins 15.1 15.2 15.3 15.4 15.5 15.6

374

The Origin of Oceans 375 The Earth's Oceans 377 Studying the Sea Floor 378 Features of the Sea Floor 379 Sediment and Rocks of the Sea Floor Continental Margins 390

388

16 Oceans and Coastlines 16.1 16.2 16.3

16.4 16.5 16.6 16.7 16.8 16.9

16.10 16.1 1

UNIT

5

398

Geography of the Oceans 400 Sea Water 400 Tides 402 Sea Waves 404 Storm Surge 405 Ocean Currents 405 The Sea Coast 410 Emergent and Submergent Coastlines 412 Beaches 416 Life in the Sea 420 Global Warming and Sea-Level Rise 423

THE ATMOSPHERE

429

17 The Atmosphere: Evolution and Composition 430 17.1 17.2 17.3 17.4

17.5 17.6 17.7

Earth's Early Atmospheres 432 Life, Iron, and the Evolution of the Modern Atmosphere The Modern Atmosphere 437 Atmospheric Pressure 437 Atmospheric Temperature 438 Air Pollution 439 Depletion ofthe Ozone Layer 445

433

xi

18 Energy Balance in the Atmosphere 451 18.1 18.2 18.3 18.4 18.S

Incoming Solar Radiation 452 The Radiation Balance 455 Energy Storage and Transfer-The Driving Mechanisms for Weather and Climate 456 Temperature Changes with Latitude and Season 459 Temperature Changes with Geography 463 ~

FOCUS ON: Latitude

and Longitude

459

19 Moisture, Clouds, and Weather 9.1 9.2 9.3 9.4 9.S 9.6 9.7 9.8 9.9 9.10 9.11 9.12

Moisture in Air 471 Cooling and Condensation 472 RisingAir and Precipitation 474 Types of Clouds 477 Fog 480 Pressure and Wind 481 Fronts and Frontal Weather 484 How Earth's Surface Features Affect Weather Thunderstorms 491 Tornadoes and Tropical Cyclones 493 Hurricane Katrina 496 El Nifio 499 ~

FOCUS ON: Inversion Layers and Air Pollution

20 Climate 20.1 20.2 20.3 20.4 20.S

507

Major Factors That Control Earth's Climate Global Winds and Climate 510 Ocean Currents and Climate 5 I3 Climate Zones of the Earth 5 I3 Urban Climates 523

21 Climate Change 21.1 21.2 21.3 21.4 21.5 21.6

490

508

528

Climate Change in Earth's History 530 Measuring Climate Change 533 Astronomical Causes of Climate Change 535 Water and Climate 536 The Natural Carbon Cycle and Climate 537 Tectonics and Climate Change 539

476

470

21.7 21.8 21.9

usrr 6

Greenhouse Effect: The Carbon Cycle and Global Warming 541 Feedback and Threshold Mechanisms in Climate Change 547 The Kyoto Treaty on Greenhouse Warming 550

AS"TRONOMY

557

22 Motions in the Heavens 22.1 22.2 22.3 22.4 22.5

The Motions of the Heavenly Bodies 559 Aristotle and the Earth-Centered Universe 559 The Renaissance and the Heliocentric Solar System The Motions of the Earth and the Moon 567 Modern Astronomy 573

~ ~