The Earth Machine: The Science of a Dynamic Planet

PrefacePart I. How Has Earth Evolved?1. The Birth of Planet EarthFrom Meteorites to EarthThe Formation of the MoonEarly Earth Organizes ItselfThe Emergence of an Atmosphere and an Ocean2. Learning the Age of EarthThe Seeds of DoubtThe Emergence of the Revolutionary Concept of an Old EarthRadioactivity and the Age of Earth3. The Evolution of the ContinentsEarth: The Only Planet with a Continental CrustThe Continents and Continental CrustThe First Continental CrustThe Assembly of the Continents4. Life and Conditions on Early EarthAncient MicrobesBanded Iron Formations and Oxygenation of the Atmosphere and OceanA Warm Early Earth?The Appearance of Animals and Explosion of Life in the Cambrian5. Reading Rocks: The Story of the Grand CanyonHow Sedimentary Rocks Describe Ancient EnvironmentsEvidence of Missing RockHow Old Is the Grand Canyon?Part II. Why Are There Ocean Basins, Continents, and Mountains?6. Internal EarthThe CoreThe Magnetic FieldConvection in the Core and Origin of the Geomagnetic FieldEarth's Internal HeatThe MantleConvection in the Mantle7. Plate TectonicsContinental Drift: An Idea Proposed Before Its TimeWegener's Theory of Continental DriftFrom Continental Drift to Plate TectonicsPlate Boundaries: Where the Action IsPlate Motions and Continental Reconstruction8. Lavas from the Depths of EarthHawaiiKilauea VolcanoVolcanoes of the Mid-Ocean RidgesGreat Lava Floods and the Columbia River Basalts9. Great Explosive VolcanoesThe Nature of Explosive VolcanismHow Gases Drive Explosive EruptionsVesuvius: The Anatomy of an Explosive EruptionTambora: Volcanoes and Climate ChangeKrakatau: An Explosion that Reverberated Around the WorldGreat Prehistoric EruptionsGranite10. EarthquakesWhy Do Earthquakes Occur?How Earthquakes Are MeasuredHow Earthquakes DestroyFault Behavior and Calculating the OddsShort-term PredictionsThe San Andreas Fault Zone, CaliforniaThe Great Alaska Earthquake11. MountainsThe Shape of Earth and Why Mountains Are HighThe Importance of

"A thorough and yet easy-to-understand account of the origins of Earth... The authors definitely know their stuff... But true to their vocations as educators, as well as scientists, they do more than just educate in this volume; they also thoroughly entertain." -- Beth Norton, Science Editor