For use with Understanding Earth, 7th edition, this excellent study guide reinforces the topics and key concepts covered in the text.
1. The Earth System 2. Plate Tectonics: The Unifying Theory 3. Earth Materials: Minerals and Rocks 4. Igneous Rocks: Solids from Melts 5. Sedimentation: Rocks Formed by Surface Processes 6. Metamorphism: Alteration of Rocks by Temperature and Pressure 7. Deformation: Modification of Rocks by Folding and Fracturing 8. Clocks in Rocks: Timing the Geologic Record 9. Early History of the Terrestrial Planets 10. History of the Continents 11. Geobiology: Life Interacts with the Earth 12. Volcanoes 13. Earthquakes 14. Exploring Earth's Interior 15. The Climate System 16. Weathering, Erosion, and Mass Wasting: Interactions Between the Climate and Plate Tectonic Systems 17. The Hydrologic Cycle and Groundwater 18. Stream Transport: From Mountains to Oceans 19. Winds and Deserts 20. Coastlines and Ocean Basins 21. Glaciers: The Work of Ice 22. Landscape Development 23. The Human Impact on Earth's Environment
John Grotzinger is a field geologist interested in the evolution of the Earth's surface environments and biosphere. Thomas H. Jordan is director of the Southern California Earthquake Center and W. M. Keck Foundation Professor of Earth Sciences at the University of Southern California.