htp/tpV1 3/31/04 1:23 PM Page 1 E A WORLD of R T H S C I E N C E htp/tpV1 3/31/04 1:23 PM Page 3 E A WORLD of R T H S K. Lee Lerner and Brenda Wilmoth Lerner, Editors C Volume 1 I A-L E N C E wes_fm 1/16/04 3:04 PM Page iv World of Earth Science K. Lee Lerner and Brenda Wilmoth Lerner Project Editor Permissions Product Design Ryan L. Thomason Shalice Shah-Caldwell Michael Logusz, Tracey Rowens Editorial Imaging and Multimedia Manufacturing Deirdre S. Blanchfield, Madeline Harris, Kate Robert Duncan, Leitha Etheridge-Sims, Lezlie Wendy Blurton, Evi Seoud Kretschmann, Michael D. Lesniak, Kimberley Light, Kelly A. Quin, Barbara J. Yarrow A. McGrath, Brigham Narins, Mark Springer © 2003 by Gale. Gale is an imprint of The Gale For permission to use material from this While every effort has been made to Group, Inc., a division of Thomson Learning, product, submit your request via Web at ensure the reliability of the information pre- Inc. http://www.gale-edit.com/permissions, or you sented in this publication, The Gale Group, may download our Permissions Request form Inc. does not guarantee the accuracy of the Gale and Design™ and Thomson Learning™ and submit your request by fax or mail to: data contained herein. The Gale Group, Inc. are trademarks used herein under license. accepts no payment for listing; and inclusion The Gale Group, Inc., in the publication of any organization, For more information contact Permissions Department, agency, institution, publication, service, or The Gale Group, Inc. 27500 Drake Road, individual does not imply endorsement of the 27500 Drake Rd. Farmington Hills, MI, 48331-3535, editors and publisher. Errors brought to the Farmington Hills, MI 48331-3535 Permissions hotline: attention of the publisher and verified to the Or you can visit our Internet site at 248-699-8074 or 800-877-4253, ext. 8006, satisfaction of the publisher will be corrected http://www.gale.com Fax: 248-699-8074 or 800-762-4058. in future editions. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED ISBN 0-7876-7739-6 (set) No part of this work covered by the copyright 0-7876-7740-X (vol. 1) hereon may be reproduced or used in any 0-7876-7741-8 (vol. 2) form or by any means—graphic, electronic, or mechanical, including photocopying, record- ing, taping, Web distribution, or information storage retrieval systems—without the written permission of the publisher. LIBRARY OF CONGRESS CATALOGING-IN-PUBLICATION DATA World of earth science / K. Lee Lerner and Brenda Wilmoth Lerner, editors. p. cm. Includes bibliographical references and index. ISBN 0-7876-7739-6 (set)—ISBN 0-7876-7740-X (v. 1)—ISBN 0-7876-7741-8 (v. 2) 1. Earth sciences—Encyclopedias. I. Lerner, K. Lee. II. Lerner, Brenda Wilmoth. QE5 .W59 2003 550’.3—dc21 2002012069 Printed in the United States of America 10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1 wes_fm 1/16/04 3:04 PM Page v CONTENTS • INTRODUCTION . . . . . . . . . . . . . xiii Aretes Armstrong, Neil HOW TO USE THE BOOK . . . . . . . xv Arrhenius, Svante August Artesian ADVISORY BOARD . . . . . . . . . . . xvi Asia Asteroids ACKNOWLEDGMENTS . . . . . . . . . xvi Asthenosphere Astrolabe A Astronomy Abyssal plains Atmospheric chemistry Acid rain Atmospheric circulation Adamantine Atmospheric composition and structure Adiabatic heating Atmospheric inversion layers Advection Atmospheric lapse rate Aerodynamics Atmospheric pollution Africa Atmospheric pressure Agassiz, Jean Louis Atom Agricola, Georgius Atomic mass and weight Air masses and fronts Atomic number Alkaline earth metals Atomic theory Alloy Aurora Borealis and Aurora Australialis Alluvial system Australia Aluminum Avalanche Alvarez, Luis Aviation physiology Amorphous Analemma B Andesite Anning, Mary Ballard, Robert Duane Antarctica Banded iron formation Aphanitic Barrier islands Aquifer Barringer meteor crater Archean Basalt Archeological mapping Basin and range topography Area Batholith v • wes_fm 1/16/04 3:04 PM Page vi Contents WORLDOF EARTH SCIENCE • Bathymetric mapping Channel patterns Beach and shoreline dynamics Chaos theory (meteorological aspects) Beaufort, Sir Francis Chemical bonds and physical properties Beaufort wind scale Chemical elements Becquerel, Antoine-Henri Chemistry Bed or traction load Chemoautotrophic and chemolithotrophic bacteria as Bedding weathering agents Bedforms (ripples and dunes) Chert Bedrock Chloroflourocarbon (CFC) Beebe, Charles William Chronostratigraphy Benett, Etheldred Clay Benioff zone Cloud seeding Berner, Robert A. Clouds and cloud types Bernoulli, Daniel Coal Bernoulli’s principle Comets Bessel, Friedrich Condensation Big Bang theory Continental divide Biogeochemical cycles Continental drift theory Biosphere Continental shelf Blackett, Patrick Maynard Stuart Convection (updrafts and downdrafts) Blizzards and lake effect snows Convergent plate boundary Bohr model Cook, James Bohr, Niels Copernicus, Nicolaus Bowen’s reaction series Coral reefs and corals Brahe, Tycho Coriolis effect Braun, Wernher von Coronal ejections and magnetic storms Breccia Correlation (geology) Buffon, Georges-Louis Leclerc, Comte de Corrosion Cosmic microwave background radiation Cosmic ray C Cosmology Calcareous ooze Country rock Caldera Cousteau, Jacques-Yves Caliche Crater, volcanic Cambrian Period Craton Cannon, Annie Jump Creep Canyon Cretaceous Period Carbon Cross cutting Carbon dating Crust Carbon dioxide Crutzen, Paul J. Carmichael Stopes, Marie Charlotte Crystals and crystallography Carson, Rachel Curie, Marie Cartography Curie, Pierre Catastrophic mass movements Cuvier, Georges Catastrophism Cyclosilicates Cave Cave minerals and speleothems D CCD (Carbonate Compensation Depth) Celestial sphere: The apparent movements of the Sun, Darcey, Henry Philibert Gaspard Moon, planets, and stars Darwin, Charles Robert Cenozoic Era Dating methods Chalcophiles, lithophiles, siderophiles, and atmophiles Davis, William Morris Challenger expedition Debris flow vi • wes_fm 1/16/04 3:04 PM Page vii WORLDOF EARTH SCIENCE Contents • Deep sea exploration F Delta Fahrenheit, Daniel Gabriel Depositional environments Faraday, Michael Desalination Faults and fractures Desert and desertification Feldspar Devonian Period Felsic Dew point Ferrel’s law Diamond Ferromagnetic Diatoms Fersman, Aleksandr Evgenievich Dike Feynman, Richard Diurnal cycles Field methods in geology Divergent plate boundary Fissure Dolomite Fjords Douglas, Andrew Ellicot Floods Douglas sea scale Focused Ion Beam (FIB) Drainage basins and drainage patterns Fog Drainage calculations and engineering Folds Drought Forests and deforestation Dune fields Fossil record Dunes Fossilization of bacteria Dust storms Fossils and fossilization Franklin, Benjamin Frasch, Herman E Freezing and melting Freshwater Earle, Sylvia A. Fuels and fuel chemistry Earth, interior structure Fujita, Tetsuya Theodore Earth (planet) Fumarole Earth science Earthquake Eclipse G Einstein, Albert Gagarin, Yuri A. EIS (Environmental Impact Statement) Gaia hypothesis El Niño and La Niña phenomena Galilei, Galileo Electricity and magnetism Gell-Mann, Murray Electromagnetic spectrum Gemstones Elles, Gertrude Geochemistry Empedocles of Acragas Geographic and magnetic poles Energy transformations Geologic map Environmental pollution Geologic time Eocene Epoch Geology Eolian processes Geothermal deep ocean vents Eratosthenes of Cyrene Geothermal energy Erosion Geothermal gradient Estuary Gesner, Konrad von Europe Geyser Evaporation GIS Evolution Glacial landforms Evolution, evidence of Glaciation Evolutionary mechanisms Glaciers Exfoliation Glass Extrusive cooling Glenn Jr., John H. vii • wes_fm 1/16/04 3:04 PM Page viii Contents WORLDOF EARTH SCIENCE • Global warming Hydrologic cycle Gneiss Hydrostatic pressure Goddard, Robert Hydrothermal processes Goldschmidt, Victor GPS I Granite Graphite Ice Gravitational constant Ice ages Gravity and the gravitational field Ice heaving and wedging Great Barrier Reef Icebergs Great Lakes Igneous rocks Greenhouse gases and greenhouse effect Impact crater Greenstone belt Industrial minerals Groundwater Inosilicates Guericke, Otto von Insolation and total solar irradiation Gulf of Mexico International Council of Scientific Unions World Data Gulf stream Center System Guyot, Arnold Henri International Space Station (ISS) Guyots and atolls Intrusive cooling Gypsum Ionosphere Iron Island arcs H Isobars Half-life Isomorph Halley, Edmund Isostacy Harrison, John Isotherm Hauptman, Herbert A. Hawaiian Island formation J Hawking, Stephen Herschel, Caroline Lucretia Jansky, Karl Herschel, Sir William Jemison, Mae C. Hess, Harry Hammond Jet stream Hildebrand, Alan Russell Johnson, Harold S. Historical geology Joint and jointing History of exploration I (Ancient and classical) Jurassic Period History of exploration II (Age of exploration) History of exploration III (Modern era) K History of geoscience: Women in the history of geo- science Karst topography History of manned space exploration Kepler, Johannes Holmes, Arthur K-Tevent Holocene Epoch Hornfels L Hotspots Howard, Luke Lahar Hoyle, Fred Lakes Hubble, Edwin Land and sea breezes Hubble Space Telescope (HST) Landforms Humbolt, Alexander von Landscape evolution Humidity Landslide Hutton, James Laterite Hydrocarbons Latitude and longitude Hydrogeology Lava viii • wes_fm 1/16/04 3:04 PM Page ix WORLDOF EARTH SCIENCE Contents • Leaching Molina, Mario Lead Monocline Lemann, Inge Moon Libby, Willard F. Moraines Lightning Morley, Edward Williams Limestone Morley, Lawrence Whitaker Lineation Moslander, Carl Gustaf Linné, Carl von Mountain chains Lippershey, Hans Mud flow Lithification Lithosphere Muir, John Lithospheric plates Murchison meteorite Longshore drift Murchison, Roderick Lyell, Charles N M Natural gas Mafic Nesosilicates Magellan, Ferdinand Newton, Sir Isaac Magma Niche Magma chamber North America Magnetic field Nuclear fission Magnetism and magnetic properties Nuclear fusion Mantle plumes Mapping techniques Nuclear winter Marble Nucleate and nucleation Marine transgression and marine regression Nuee ardent Mass movement Mass wasting O Matthews, Drummond Maupertuis, Pierre-Louis Moreau de Obsidian Maxwell, James Clerk Ocean circulation and currents Mendeleev, Dmitry Ocean trenches Mercator, Gerhard Oceanography Mesosphere Oceans and seas Mesozoic Era Odén, Svante N. F. Metals Offshore bars Metamorphic rock Metamorphism Oligocene Epoch Meteoroids and meteorites Olivine Meteorology Ophiolite suites Mid-ocean ridges and rifts Ordovician Period Mid-plate earthquakes Orientation of strata Migmatite Origin of life Milankovitch cycles Orogeny Miller-Urey experiment Ortelius, Abraham Mineralogy Owen, Sir Richard Minerals Oxidation-reduction reaction Miocene Epoch Oxygen Mississippian Period Mohorovicic, Andrija Ozone Mohorovicic discontinuity (Moho) Ozone layer and ozone hole dynamics Mohs’scale Ozone layer depletion ix • wes_fm 1/16/04 3:04 PM Page x Contents WORLDOF EARTH SCIENCE • P Q Paleocene Epoch Quantum electrodynamics (QED) Paleoclimate Quantum theory and mechanics Paleomagnetics Quartz Paleozoic Era Quasars Quaternary Period Partial melting Pegmatite Pennsylvanian Period R Penzias, Arno RADAR and SONAR Peridotite Radioactive waste storage (geologic considerations) Periodic table (Predicting the structure and properties Radioactivity of the elements) Radon production, detection, and elimination Permafrost Rainbow Permian Period Rapids and waterfalls Perutz, Max Rate factors in geologic processes Petroleum Ray, John Petroleum detection Red tide Petroleum, economic uses of Regolith Petroleum extraction Relativity theory Petroleum, history of exploration Relief Remote sensing Petroleum microbiology Revolution and rotation pH Rhyolite Phanerozoic Eon Richardson, Lewis Fry Phase state changes Richter, Charles F. Phyllite Richter scale Phyllosilicates Ride, Sally Physical geography Rifting and rift valleys Physics Rip current Piccard, Jacques Ernest-Jean Ritter, Carl Pipe, volcanic Rivers Plagioclase Rock Planck, Max Rockfall Plate tectonics Rowland, F. Sherwood Pleistocene Epoch Runcorn, S. K. Pliocene Epoch Runoff Pluton and plutonic bodies Polar axis and tilt S Polar ice Sagan, Carl Polymorph Salt wedging Ponnamperuma, Cyril Saltation Porosity and permeability Saltwater Prairie Saltwater encroachment Precambrian Sand Precious metals Sandstone Precipitation Satellite Projection Saturated zone Proterozoic Era Schist Ptolemy Schrödinger, Erwin Pumice Scientific data management in Earth sciences x •