Exploring Earth. An introduction to physical geology / Исследуя Землю. Введение в физическую геологию

With this book, we hope to introduce readers to the world of physical geology and to share with them the excitement of exploring Earth and the processes that formed it. We hope that readers of this book will gain a better understanding of Earth and an increased awareness of our planet. When traveling by airplane, a reader will appreciate how mountains, rivers, and deserts were formed, and what governs their locations, shapes, and textures. A hiker will understand how multicolored pebbles in a stream formed and where they came from. Earthquakes, volcanic eruptions, tidal waves, and other geologic hazards will be viewed with a greater understanding of the processes that give rise to such events. We have taught the introductory geology and geophysics courses at the University of California at Los Angeles and the University of Durham for a cumulative total of forty years. Students have traveled with us on field trips to every continent. Because our special areas of study in- clude not only geology, but also geophysics and geochemistry, we seized the opportunity to present an interdisciplinary approach to physical geology. We felt the need for a book that presents geology in the framework of plate tectonics with a strong emphasis on geologic processes. We feel strongly that this approach presents the field of geology in its full richness while making the subject both more interesting and easier to learn. We wrote this book for students with little or no scientific background. Toward this end, we have avoided unnecessary use of jargon, introducing geologic terms in context and only as needed. We describe geologic time using millions and billions of years rather than using the traditional geological time scale, which we have found can cause unnecessary difficulty for students taking their first geology course. We have limited the use of mathematical expressions, but those that we have included serve to introduce students to a few of the powerful and concise tools geologists use to quantify the processes and characteristics of Earth. <...>