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Essentials of Geology [with GeologyNOW]
ESSENTIALS OF GEOLOGY, Fourth Edition is a shorter version of the authors' PHYSICAL GEOLOGY: EXPLORING THE EARTH, Fifth Edition text. In the same tradition, the authors present the content and material in a clear, consistent voice, focusing on plate tectonics in the first two chapters and offering more material on earth history than other texts in the market. The authors also draw the student into physical geology by providing engaging examples, as can be seen in the "Cultural Connection" boxes, a new pedagogical feature in this edition. Chapter opener objectives are now numbered so that students can easily recognize the crucial points of the chapter while reading and then they are numbered again in the chapter summary, for review. The Fourth Edition has numerous new photos that will be of interest to faculty and students alike and offers a new online student tutorial called GeologyNow. GeologyNow is the first assessment-centered student tutorial technology developed for the Geology market. The seamless integration of GeologyNow with chapter concepts emphasizes the connections between the content and students' own lives, through visual 3-D animations and chapter quizzes, in order to develop a greater appreciation for physical geology.
510 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 1995
8 people want to read
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August 25, 2021
Sometimes, our reading interests take us down unexpected paths. My interest in geology and paleontology began after I moved to California and started taking trips to some of the spectacular sites out West. As I hiked through ancient valleys and across mountain ridges I knew the rocks held stories, but didn’t know how to read them, and sometimes I found fossils that showed other worlds lost to deep time. As a result, I sometimes pick up books to expand my amateur knowledge. Essentials of Geology is a college textbook written for a one-semester general overview of the subject. It is lavishly illustrated with graphics and photos, and runs to about 450 pages, which gives it sufficient length to go into the level of detail that I was looking for.
The first half of the book covers the kind of topics a non-specialist would expect, such as the composition of the Earth, plate tectonics, vulcanism, and descriptions of igneous, metamorphic, and sedimentary rocks. The next group of chapters fill in some details about how the planet is sculpted by natural forces, including earthquakes; mountain building; “mass wasting,” which is the process by which mountains are slowly eroded away; running water; ground water, glaciers, and wind and deserts. The final chapters describe the ocean floor, geological time, and, lastly, the evolution of life up to the rise of the hominins.
The writing is not scintillating, though one does not expect that from a textbook, but it is clear and focused. The authors are enthusiastic about their subject, as shown by the occasional use of exclamation points, some of which were on what seemed to me like simple declarative sentences, but they must hold special meaning for geologists. The only chapter that dragged was the one on Geologic Time, which was page after page of shifting landmasses with unfamiliar names over multiple eons spanning billions of years. It was hard to keep it straight in my mind.
A number of interesting facts came up in the book, and following are some of the ones that I found particularly illuminating:
- Radiometric dating reveals that the oldest oceanic crust is less than 180 million years old, whereas the oldest continental crust is 3.96 billion years old. (p. 31)
- Carbon dioxide from several sources may combine with water and react to form acid solutions. The atmosphere is mostly nitrogen and oxygen, but about 0.03% is carbon dioxide, causing rain to be slightly acidic. (p. 120)
- A good, fertile soil for gardening or farming is about 45% weathered rock material including sand, silt, and clay, but another essential constituent is humus. Many soils are dark colored by humus derived by bacterial decay of organic matter. It contains more carbon and less nitrogen than the original material and is resistant to further bacterial decay. Although a fertile soil may contain only a small amount of humus, it is an essential source of plant nutrients and enhances moisture retention. (p. 125)
- About 95% of Earth’s crust is composed of igneous and metamorphic rocks, but sedimentary rocks are the most common at or near the surface. Approximately 75% of the surface exposures on continents consist of sediments or sedimentary rocks, and they cover most of the seafloor. (p. 140)
- The maximum temperature at the center of the [Earth’s]core is thought to be about 6500°C, very close to the estimated temperature for the surface of the sun! (p. 195)
- the greatest difference in elevation on Earth is about 20 km, which if depicted to scale on a 1-m diameter globe would be less than 2mm. (p. 201)
- The volume of water on Earth is estimated at 1.36 billion km2, most of which 97.2% is in the oceans. About 2.15% is frozen in glaciers, and the remaining 0.65% constitutes all the water in streams, lakes, swamps, groundwater and the atmosphere. (p. 245)
- Contrary to popular belief, most deserts are not sand-covered wastelands, but rather consist of vast areas of rock exposures and desert pavement. Sand-covered regions, or sandy deserts, constitute less than 25% of the world’s deserts. The sand in these areas has accumulated primarily by the action of wind. (p. 325)
- Tides are also complicated by the combined effects of the Moon and the Sun. Even though the Sun’s tide-generating force is weaker than the Moon’s, when the Moon and Sun are aligned every two weeks, their forces are added together and generate spring tides, which are about 20% higher than average tides. When the Moon and Sun are at right angles to one another, also at two-week intervals, the Sun’s tide-generating force cancels some of that of the Moon, and neap tides about 20% lower than average occur. (p.343)
The first half of the book covers the kind of topics a non-specialist would expect, such as the composition of the Earth, plate tectonics, vulcanism, and descriptions of igneous, metamorphic, and sedimentary rocks. The next group of chapters fill in some details about how the planet is sculpted by natural forces, including earthquakes; mountain building; “mass wasting,” which is the process by which mountains are slowly eroded away; running water; ground water, glaciers, and wind and deserts. The final chapters describe the ocean floor, geological time, and, lastly, the evolution of life up to the rise of the hominins.
The writing is not scintillating, though one does not expect that from a textbook, but it is clear and focused. The authors are enthusiastic about their subject, as shown by the occasional use of exclamation points, some of which were on what seemed to me like simple declarative sentences, but they must hold special meaning for geologists. The only chapter that dragged was the one on Geologic Time, which was page after page of shifting landmasses with unfamiliar names over multiple eons spanning billions of years. It was hard to keep it straight in my mind.
A number of interesting facts came up in the book, and following are some of the ones that I found particularly illuminating:
- Radiometric dating reveals that the oldest oceanic crust is less than 180 million years old, whereas the oldest continental crust is 3.96 billion years old. (p. 31)
- Carbon dioxide from several sources may combine with water and react to form acid solutions. The atmosphere is mostly nitrogen and oxygen, but about 0.03% is carbon dioxide, causing rain to be slightly acidic. (p. 120)
- A good, fertile soil for gardening or farming is about 45% weathered rock material including sand, silt, and clay, but another essential constituent is humus. Many soils are dark colored by humus derived by bacterial decay of organic matter. It contains more carbon and less nitrogen than the original material and is resistant to further bacterial decay. Although a fertile soil may contain only a small amount of humus, it is an essential source of plant nutrients and enhances moisture retention. (p. 125)
- About 95% of Earth’s crust is composed of igneous and metamorphic rocks, but sedimentary rocks are the most common at or near the surface. Approximately 75% of the surface exposures on continents consist of sediments or sedimentary rocks, and they cover most of the seafloor. (p. 140)
- The maximum temperature at the center of the [Earth’s]core is thought to be about 6500°C, very close to the estimated temperature for the surface of the sun! (p. 195)
- the greatest difference in elevation on Earth is about 20 km, which if depicted to scale on a 1-m diameter globe would be less than 2mm. (p. 201)
- The volume of water on Earth is estimated at 1.36 billion km2, most of which 97.2% is in the oceans. About 2.15% is frozen in glaciers, and the remaining 0.65% constitutes all the water in streams, lakes, swamps, groundwater and the atmosphere. (p. 245)
- Contrary to popular belief, most deserts are not sand-covered wastelands, but rather consist of vast areas of rock exposures and desert pavement. Sand-covered regions, or sandy deserts, constitute less than 25% of the world’s deserts. The sand in these areas has accumulated primarily by the action of wind. (p. 325)
- Tides are also complicated by the combined effects of the Moon and the Sun. Even though the Sun’s tide-generating force is weaker than the Moon’s, when the Moon and Sun are aligned every two weeks, their forces are added together and generate spring tides, which are about 20% higher than average tides. When the Moon and Sun are at right angles to one another, also at two-week intervals, the Sun’s tide-generating force cancels some of that of the Moon, and neap tides about 20% lower than average occur. (p.343)
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