Acknowledgments chapter 1 The Roots of Earth Sciences 1 Classical
Scientific Thought 1 The Copernican Revolution 2 From Physics and
Philosophy to Geology 4 The Age of the Earth 6 chapter 2 The Earth in
the Context of Our Solar System 9 The Origins of the Solar System The
Elements of the Solar System The Planets Circling the Sun chapter 3 The
Formation of Earth and Moon 21 Similarities and Differences 21 Exploring
the Moon chapter 4 The Interior of the Earth and the Role of Seismology
Seismic Waves 28 The Earth's Interior 36 chapter 5 Rotation and Shape,
Gravity and Tides 41 Describing the Earth's Shape Tides 44 Rotation 44
43 27 23 15 12 10 xiii xi chapter 6 The Earth's Magnetic Field 47
Establishing a Physical Concept Reversals of the Magnetic Field 51
Paleomagnetism chapter 7 Atom-Mineral-Rock 59 Crystallization 60
Minerals in Crust and Mantle 60 Rocks chapter 8 The Early Ages 71 The
Archean 71 The Proterozoic 77 chapter 9 Radioactive Dating The Chemistry
of Unstable Elements Determining the Age Applications of Radioactive
Dating Techniques Carbon Dating 90 chapter10 Plate Tectonics
Twentieth-Century Research Gathering Evidence 95 Drifting Plates 3
Pangea and Beyond 4 chapter11 The Crust of the Earth 7 The Moho 7 The
Crust Hydrocarbons 4 Coal 9 Other Subsurface-based Resources 9 12 12 12
108 10 10 10 10 94 93 89 83 81 81 63 52 48 chapter12 Formation of
Mountains and Basins Collisions Orogeny Sediment Basins
