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3.7 What Textures Do Igneous Rocks Display? 82
3.8 What Are Common Igneous Rocks? 84
C H A P T E R 5:
P L AT E T E C TO N I C S 122
3.9 What Are Some Metamorphic Features? 86
3.10 What Are Metamorphic Processes and Rocks? 88
5.1 What Is Inside Earth? 124
3.11 CONNECTIONS: How Are Different Rock Types
Expressed in Landscapes? 90 5.2 What Are the Major Features of Earth? 126
3.12 INVESTIGATION: What Materials Compose 5.3 Why Do Some Continents Have Matching
These Landscapes? 92 Shapes? 128
5.4 Where Do Earthquakes and Volcanoes Occur? 130
5.5 What Causes Tectonic Activity to Occur in Belts? 132
5.6 What Happens at Divergent Boundaries? 134
5.7 What Happens at Convergent Boundaries? 136
5.8 What Happens Along Transform Boundaries? 138
5.9 How Does Seafloor Vary from Place to Place? 140
5.10 What Features Occur Along Mid-Ocean Ridges? 142
5.11 How Do Oceanic Islands, Seamounts,
CHAPTER 4: and Oceanic Plateaus Form? 144
E A R T H H I S TO RY 94 5.12 What Are the Characteristics and History
of Continental Hot Spots? 146

4.1 How Do We Infer the Relative Ages of Events? 96 5.13 How Do Plates Move and Interact? 148

4.2 What Is the Significance of an Unconformity? 98 5.14 How Is Paleomagnetism Used to Determine
Rates of Seafloor Spreading? 150
4.3 How Are Ages Assigned to Rocks and Events? 100
5.15 CONNECTIONS: Why Is South America Lopsided? 152
4.4 What Are Fossils? 102
5.16 INVESTIGATION: Where Is the Safest Place to Live? 154
4.5 How and Why Did Living Things Change
Through Geologic Time? 104
4.6 How Was the Geologic Timescale Developed? 106
4.7 What Is the Evidence for the Age of Earth? 108
4.8 How Did Earth Form and Change Over Time? 110
4.9 What Were Some Milestones in the Early History
of Life on Earth? 112
4.10 What Were Some Milestones in the Later History
of Life on Earth? 114
4.11 How Do We Study Ages of Landscapes? 116
4.12 CONNECTIONS: What Is the History CHAPTER 6:
of the Grand Canyon? 118 V O LC A N I S M A N D OT H E R
4.13 INVESTIGATION: What Is the Geologic History
IGNEOUS PROCESSES 156
of This Place? 120
6.1 How Does Magma Form? 158
6.2 How Does Magma Move? 160
6.3 What Is and Is Not a Volcano? 162
6.4 What Controls the Style of Eruption? 164
6.5 What Hazards Are Associated with Volcanoes? 166
6.6 What Volcanic Features Consist of Basalt? 168
VII
 6.7 What Are Composite Volcanoes 7.12 What Were Some Recent Large Earthquakes? 212
and Volcanic Domes? 170 7.13 What Were Some Major North American
6.8 What Disasters Were Caused by Composite Earthquakes? 214
Volcanoes and Volcanic Domes? 172 7.14 CONNECTIONS: What Is the Potential for
6.9 What Are Calderas? 174 Earthquakes Along the San Andreas Fault? 216
6.10 What Types of Volcanism and Other Igneous 7.15 INVESTIGATION: Where Did This Earthquake
Processes Occur Along Plate Boundaries? 176 Occur, and What Damage Might Be Expected? 218
6.11 How Do Large Magma Chambers Form
and How Are They Expressed in Landscapes? 178
6.12 How Are Small Intrusions Formed
and Expressed in Landscapes? 180
6.13 What Areas Have the Highest Potential
for Volcanic Hazards? 182
6.14 CONNECTIONS: What Volcanic Hazards
Are Posed by Mount Rainier? 184
6.15 INVESTIGATION: How Would You Assess
Hazards on This Volcano? 186 C H A P T E R 8:
M O U N TA I N S , B A S I N S , A N D
CO N T I N E N TA L M A R G I N S 220

8.1 Why Are Some Regions High in Elevation? 222

8.2 Where Do Mountain Belts and High Regions
Form? 224
8.3 How Do Local Mountains Form? 226
8.4 Where Do Basins Form? 228
C H A P T E R 7: 8.5 How Do Mountains and Basins Form
at Convergent Continental Margins? 230
D E F O R M AT I O N A N D
E A R T H Q UA K E S 188 8.6 How Does Continental Extension Occur? 232
8.7 What Features Characterize the Interiors
and Margins of Continents? 234
7.1 What Is Deformation and How Is It Expressed
in Landscapes? 190 8.8 How Do Marine Salt Deposits Form? 236

7.2 How Are Fractures Expressed in Landscapes? 192 8.9 How Do Reefs and Coral Atolls Form? 238

7.3 How Are Folds Expressed in Landscapes? 194 8.10 How Do Continents Form and Grow? 240

7.4 What Is an Earthquake? 196 8.11 How Did the Continents Join and Split Apart? 242

7.5 How Does Faulting Cause Earthquakes? 198 8.12 CONNECTIONS: How Do Oil and Natural Gas Form? 244

7.6 How Do Earthquake Waves Travel? 200 8.13 INVESTIGATION: Where Will Mountains and
Basins Form in This Region? 246
7.7 How Do We Determine the Location
and Size of an Earthquake? 202
7.8 Where Do Most Earthquakes Occur? 204
7.9 What Causes Earthquakes Along Plate
Boundaries and Within Plates? 206
7.10 How Do Earthquakes Cause Damage? 208
7.11 How Does a Tsunami Form and Cause
Destruction? 210
VIII
 10.6 What Types of Soils Are Most Influenced
C H A P T E R 9: by Their Climate? 290
SCULPTING LANDSCAPES 248 10.7 What Other Factors Control the Formation
and Distribution of Soils? 292
9.1 What Can We Observe in Landscapes? 250 10.8 What Are the Causes and Impacts of Soil Erosion? 294
9.2 How Does Physical Weathering Affect 10.9 What Controls the Stability of Slopes? 296
Earth’s Surface? 252 10.10 How Do Slopes Fail? 298
9.3 How Does Chemical Weathering Affect 10.11 How Does Material on Slopes Fall and Slide? 300
Earth’s Surface? 254
10.12 How Does Material Flow Down Slopes? 302
9.4 How Does the Type of Earth Material Influence
10.13 Where Do Slope Failures Occur in the U.S.? 304
Weathering? 256
10.14 CONNECTIONS: How Do We Assess the Risk
9.5 How Do Climate, Slope, Vegetation, and Time
for Problem Soils and Future Slope Failures? 306
Influence Weathering? 258
10.15 INVESTIGATION: Which Areas Have the
9.6 How Is Weathering Expressed? 260
Highest Risk of Slope Failure or Problem Soils? 308
9.7 How Are Landscapes Eroded? 262
9.8 How Do Landscapes Record Transport and
Deposition by Gravity, Streams, Ice, and Waves? 264
9.9 How Do Landscapes Record Transport
and Deposition by Wind? 266
9.10 How Do Arches and Natural Bridges Form? 268
9.11 How Do Caves Form? 270
9.12 What Is Karst Topography? 272
9.13 CONNECTIONS: What Formed Diverse
Landscapes of the Rocky Mountains of Colorado? 274
9.14 INVESTIGATION: How Did These Landscapes
Form? 276

C H A P T E R 11:
G L AC I E R S , S H O R E L I N E S , A N D
CHANGING SEA LEVELS 310

11.1 What Are Glaciers? 312

11.2 How Do Glaciers Form, Move, and Vanish? 314
11.3 How Do Glaciers Erode, Transport, and Deposit? 316
C H A P T E R 1 0: 11.4 What Are the Landforms of Alpine Glaciation? 318
S O I L A N D U N S TA B L E S LO P E S 278 11.5 What Are the Landforms of Continental
Glaciation? 320
10.1 What Is Soil? 280 11.6 What Features Are Peripheral to Glaciers? 322
10.2 How Important Are Water and Organics in Soil? 282 11.7 What Happened During Past Ice Ages? 324
10.3 How Does Soil Form? 284 11.8 What Starts and Stops Glacial Episodes? 326
10.4 How Do Terrain, Parent Material, Vegetation, 11.9 What Processes Occur Along Shorelines? 328
and Time Affect Soil Formation? 286 11.10 What Causes High Tides and Low Tides? 330
10.5 What Are the Major Types of Soil? 288 11.11 How Do Waves Form and Propagate? 332
IX
 11.12 How Is Material Eroded, Transported, 12.14 What Problems Are Associated
and Deposited Along Shorelines? 334 with Groundwater Pumping? 376
11.13 What Landforms Occur Along Shorelines? 336 12.15 How Can Water Become Contaminated? 378
11.14 What Are Some Challenges of Living 12.16 How Does Groundwater Contamination Move
Along Shorelines? 338 and How Do We Clean It Up? 380
11.15 What Happens When Sea Level Changes? 340 12.17 CONNECTIONS: What Is Going On
11.16 What Causes Changes in Sea Level? 342 with the Ogallala Aquifer? 382
11.17 CONNECTIONS: What Coastal Damage Was 12.18 INVESTIGATION: Who Polluted Surface Water
Caused by These Recent Atlantic Hurricanes? 344 and Groundwater in This Place? 384
11.18 INVESTIGATION: What Is Happening Along
the Coast of This Island? 346

C H A P T E R 13:
C H A P T E R 12: E N E R G Y A N D M AT T E R I N T H E
STREAMS, LAKES, AND AT M O S P H E R E 386
G R O U N D WAT E R 348
13.1 What Is the Atmosphere? 388
12.1 Where Does Water Occur on Our Planet? 350 13.2 What Is Energy and How Is It Transmitted? 390
12.2 How Do We Use Freshwater? 352 13.3 What Are Heat and Temperature? 392
12.3 What Are Stream Systems? 354 13.4 What Is Latent Heat? 394
12.4 How Do Streams Transport Sediment 13.5 What Is Electromagnetic Radiation? 396
and Erode Their Channels? 356 13.6 What Causes Changes in Insolation? 398
12.5 How Do River Systems Change Downstream 13.7 Why Do We Have Seasons? 400
or Over Short Time Frames? 358
13.8 What Controls When and Where
12.6 Why Do Streams Have Curves? 360 Sunrise and Sunset Occur? 402
12.7 What Features Characterize Steep Streams? 362 13.9 How Does Insolation Interact
12.8 What Features Characterize Low-Gradient with the Atmosphere? 404
Streams and Deltas? 364 13.10 What Is Ozone and Why Is It So Important? 406
12.9 What Features Are Associated with Streams? 366 13.11 How Much Insolation Reaches the Surface? 408
12.10 What Is and What Is Not a Flood? 368 13.12 How Does Earth Maintain an Energy Balance? 410
12.11 Where Is Groundwater Found? 370 13.13 How Do Insolation and Outgoing
12.12 How and Where Does Groundwater Flow? 372 Radiation Vary Spatially? 412
12.13 What Is the Relationship Between Surface 13.14 Why Do Temperatures Vary Between Oceans
Water and Groundwater? 374 and Continents? 414
X
13.15 CONNECTIONS: How Are Variations in Insolation
Expressed Between the North and South Poles? 416 C H A P T E R 15:
13.16 INVESTIGATION: How Do We Evaluate Sites
AT M O S P H E R I C M O I S T U R E 444
for Solar-Energy Generation? 418
15.1 How Does Water Occur in the Atmosphere? 446
15.2 What Is Humidity? 448
15.3 How Do Specific Humidity and Dew Point Vary
from Place to Place and Seasonally? 450
15.4 What Happens When Air Rises or Sinks? 452
15.5 How Does the Surface Affect the Rising of Air? 454
15.6 What Mechanisms Can Force Air to Rise? 456
15.7 What Do Clouds Tell Us About Weather? 458
15.8 What Conditions Produce Fog? 460
15.9 How Does Precipitation Form? 462
15.10 How Do Sleet and Freezing Rain Form? 464
15.11 What Is the Distribution of Precipitation? 466
15.12 CONNECTIONS: What Caused the Recent
C H A P T E R 14: Great Plains Drought? 468
AT M O S P H E R I C M OT I O N 420
15.13 INVESTIGATION: How Do Global Patterns
of Humidity, Water Vapor, and Precipitation
14.1 How Do Gases Respond to Changes Compare? 470
in Temperature and Pressure? 422
14.2 What Causes Winds? 424
14.3 What Causes Some Local and Regional Winds? 426
14.4 What Are Some Significant Regional Winds? 428
14.5 How Do Variations in Insolation Cause Global
Patterns of Air Pressure and Circulation? 430
14.6 How Does Air Circulate in the Tropics? 432
14.7 How Does Air Circulate in High Latitudes? 434 C H A P T E R 16:
14.8 How Does Surface Air Circulate W E AT H E R A N D S TO R M S 472
in Mid-Latitudes? 436
14.9 How Does Air Circulate Aloft 16.1 Why Does Weather Change? 474
Over the Mid-Latitudes? 438
16.2 What Are Fronts? 476
14.10 CONNECTIONS: What Causes Monsoons? 440
16.3 Where Do Mid-Latitude Cyclones Form
14.11 INVESTIGATION: What Occurs During and Cross North America? 478
Seasonal Circulation Shifts? 442
16.4 What Conditions Produce Thunderstorms? 480
16.5 Where Are Thunderstorms Most Common? 482
16.6 What Causes Hail? 484
16.7 What Causes Lightning and Thunder? 486
16.8 What Is a Tornado? 488
16.9 Where and When Do Tornadoes Strike? 490
16.10 What Are Some Other Types of Windstorms? 492
16.11 What Is a Tropical Cyclone? 494
XI
 16.12 What Affects the Strength of a Tropical Cyclone? 496
C H A P T E R 18:
16.13 CONNECTIONS: What Happened
During Hurricane Sandy? 498
C L I M AT E S A R O U N D T H E W O R L D 528
16.14 INVESTIGATION: Where Would You Expect
Severe Weather? 500 18.1 How Do We Classify Climates? 530
18.2 What Are the Most Common Climate Types? 532
18.3 What Is the Setting of Tropical Climates? 534
18.4 What Conditions Cause Arid Climates? 536
18.5 What Causes Warm Temperate Climates? 538
18.6 What Are the Settings
of Mid-Latitude Climates? 540
18.7 What Causes Subarctic and Polar Climates? 542
18.8 What Is the Role of Carbon in the Climate? 544
C H A P T E R 17: 18.9 What Is the Evidence for Climate Change? 546
O C E A N S A N D T H E I R I N T E R AC T I O N S 18.10 What Factors Influence Climate Change? 548
W I T H OT H E R E A R T H S YS T E M S 502 18.11 What Are the Consequences
of Climate Change? 550
17.1 What Causes Ocean Currents? 504 18.12 How Do We Use Computers
17.2 What Is the Global Pattern of Surface Currents? 506 to Study Climate Change? 552
17.3 How Do Sea-Surface Temperatures Vary 18.13 CONNECTIONS: What Are Non-Fossil Fuel
from Place to Place and Season to Season? 508 Sources of Energy? 554
17.4 What Causes Water to Rise or Sink? 510 18.14 INVESTIGATION: What Climates and Weather
17.5 What Are the Global Patterns Would Occur Here? 556
of Temperature and Salinity? 512
17.6 What Processes Affect Ocean Temperature
and Salinity in Tropical and Polar Regions? 514
17.7 How Are Oceans Coupled with the Atmosphere
and Cryosphere? 516
17.8 What Connects Equatorial Atmospheric
and Oceanic Circulation? 518
17.9 What Are the Phases of ENSO? 520
17.10 What Are the Effects of ENSO? 522
17.11 CONNECTIONS: What Types of Life Reside
in the Oceans? 524
17.12 INVESTIGATION: What Oceanic and Atmospheric
Patterns Are Predicted for a Newly Discovered
Planet? 526

XII
C H A P T E R 19: C H A P T E R 2 0:
O U R S O L A R S YS T E M 558 OUR UNIVERSE 57 8

19.1 How Do We Explore Other Planets and Moons? 560 20.1 How Do We Observe the Universe? 580
19.2 Why Is Each Planet and Moon Different? 562 20.2 What Is Our Framework for Observing
19.3 What Can We Observe on the Inner Planets? 564 the Universe? 582
19.4 What Is On the Surface of Our Moon? 566 20.3 How Does Temperature Influence the Type
of Light an Object Emits? 584
19.5 What Is Observed on Jupiter and Its Moons? 568
20.4 How Do We Use Spectra to Study the Universe? 586
19.6 What Is Observed on Saturn and Its Moons? 570
20.5 What Controls the Motions of Objects? 588
19.7 What Do We Observe on the Outer Planets
and Their Moons? 572 20.6 How Do We Measure Distance, Motion,
and Mass of Astronomical Objects? 590
19.8 CONNECTIONS: What Have We Learned
About Mars? 574 20.7 What Processes and Features
Characterize Stars? 592
19.9 INVESTIGATION: How and When Did Features
on This Alien World Form? 576 20.8 How Do Low-Mass Stars Change Over Time? 594
20.9 How Do High-Mass Stars Change Over Time? 596
20.10 What Objects Represent Remnants of Stars? 598
20.11 What Are Galaxies, Including the Milky Way? 600
20.12 CONNECTIONS: How Did the Universe Form,
and How Is It Changing Through Time? 602
20.13 INVESTIGATION: What Are These Astronomical
Objects, and How Did They Form? 604

Glossary G-1
Credits C-1
Index I-1
Shaded-Relief Map of the United States Inside Back Cover

XIII
 PREFACE
TELLING THE STORY . . .
WE WROTE EXPLORING EARTH SCIENCE so that students could
learn from the book on their own, freeing up instructors to teach
the class in any way they want. I (Steve Reynolds) first identified
the need for this type of book while I was a National Association
of Geoscience Teachers’ (NAGT) distinguished speaker. As part of
my NAGT activities, I traveled around the country conducting work-
shops on how to infuse active learning and scientific inquiry into
introductory college science courses, including those with upwards
of 200 students. In the first part of the workshop, I asked the faculty
participants to list the main goals of an introductory science course,
especially for nonmajors. At every school I visited, the main goals
were similar to those listed below:
• to engage students in the process of scientific inquiry so that
they learn what science is and how it is conducted,
• to teach students how to observe and interpret landscapes
and other aspects of their physical environment,
• to enable students to learn and apply important concepts of
science,
• to help students understand the relevance of science to their
lives, and
• to enable students to use their new knowledge, skills, and
ways of thinking to become more informed citizens.
I then asked faculty members to rank these goals and estimate how
much time they spent on each goal in class. At this point, many
instructors recognized that their activities in class were not consis-
tent with their own goals. Most instructors were spending nearly all
of class time teaching content. Although this was one of their main
goals, it commonly was not their top goal.
Next, I asked instructors to think about why their activities were
not consistent with their goals. Inevitably, the answer was that most
instructors spend nearly all of class time covering content because
(1) textbooks include so much material that students have difficulty
How Does Wind Transport Sediment?
Wind is generated by differences in air pressure and at times is strong enough to transport material, but only relatively
small and lightweight fragments, like sand and clay. Transport of these materials by the wind is most efficient in dry
climates, where there is limited vegetation to bind materials together and hold them on the ground.
Wind is capable of transporting sand and finer sediment, as well as lightweight plant fragments and other materials lying on the surface. It
generally moves material in one of three ways and can deposit sediment in various settings, some of which are shown in the photographs below.
Most materials on Earth’s
surface are not moved
by the wind because
they are too firmly at-
tached to the land (such
as rock outcrops), are too
large or heavy to be
moved, or are both.
If wind velocity is great enough, it can roll or slide grains of
sand and silt and other loose materials across the ground.
XIV
distinguishing what is important from what is not, (2) instructors
needed to lecture so that students would know what is important,
and (3) many students have difficulty learning independently from
the textbook.
In most cases, textbooks drive the curriculum, so my coauthor
(Julia Johnson) and I decided that we should write a textbook that
(1) contains only important material, (2) indicates clearly to the
student what is important and what they need to know, and (3) is
designed and written in such a way that students can learn from
the book on their own. This type of book would give instructors
freedom to teach in a way that is more consistent with their goals,
including using local examples to illustrate concepts and their rel-
evance. Instructors would also be able to spend more class time
teaching students to observe and interpret landscapes, tectonics,
and atmospheric or astronomic phenomena, and to participate in
the process of scientific inquiry, which represents the top goal for
many instructors.
COGNITIVE AND SCIENCE
EDUCATION RESEARCH
To design a book that supports instructor goals, we delved into cogni-
tive and science-education research, especially research on how our
brains process different types of information, what obstacles limit
student learning from textbooks, and how students use visuals versus
text while studying. We also conducted our own research on how stu-
dents interact with textbooks, what students see when they observe
photographs showing landscape features, and how they interpret dif-
ferent types of scientific illustrations, including maps, cross sections,
and block diagrams that illustrate evolution of environments. Explor-
ing Earth Science is the result of our literature search and of our own
science-education and cognitive research. As you examine Exploring
Earth Science, you will notice that it is stylistically different from most
other textbooks, which will likely elicit a few questions.
Wind can pick up and
carry finer material, such
as dust, silt, and salt. This
mode of transport is
called suspension, and
wind can keep some
particles in the air for
weeks, transporting them
09.09.a1 long distances.
Very strong winds can lift sand grains, carry them short distances, and drop them.
This process is akin to bouncing a grain along the surface and is called saltation.
 HOW DOES THIS BOOK SUPPORT STUDENT CURIOSITY AND INQUIRY?

CHAPTER
279

10
Soil and Unstable Slopes

Soil and Unstable Slopes TOPIC S IN T H IS CH APTE R

WEATHERING PRODUCES SOIL, one of our most precious resources. Different types of soils form in different 10.1 What Is Soil? 280 10.9 What Controls the Stability of Slopes? 296
topographic settings, especially as a function of climate, starting material, and how long soil formation has been 10.2 How Important Are Water and Organics in Soil? 282 10.10 How Do Slopes Fail? 298
occurring. Soils and other materials can become unstable on slopes, and such slope instability is called mass 10.3 How Does Soil Form? 284 10.11 How Does Material on Slopes Fall and Slide? 300
wasting — the movement of material downslope in response to gravity. Mass wasting can be slow and barely per- 10.4 How Do Terrain, Parent Material, Vegetation, 10.12 How Does Material Flow Down Slopes? 302
ceptible, or it can be catastrophic, involving thick slurries of mud and debris. What factors determine if a slope and Time Affect Soil Formation? 286 10.13 Where Do Slope Failures Occur in the U.S.? 304
is stable, and how do slopes fail? In this chapter, we explore the formation of soils, the process of mass wasting, 10.5 What Are the Major Types of Soil? 288 10.14 Connections: How Do We Assess the Risk
and the importance of both phenomena to our lives. 10.6 What Types of Soils Are Most Influenced for Problem Soils and Future Slope Failures? 306
by Their Climate? 290 10.15 Investigation: Which Areas Have the Highest
The Cordillera de la Costa is a steep 2 km-high mountain In December 1999, torrential rains in the mountains caused landslides and 10.7 What Other Factors Control the Formation Risk of Slope Failure or Problem Soils? 308
range that runs along the coast of Venezuela, separating mobilized soil and other loose material as debris flows and flash floods that and Distribution of Soils? 292
the capital city of Caracas from the sea. This image, looking buried parts of the coastal cities. Some light-colored landslide scars are 10.8 What Are the Causes and Impacts
south, has topography overlain with a satellite image taken visible on the hillsides in this image.
of Soil Erosion? 294
in 2000. The white areas are clouds and the purple areas
are cities. The Caribbean Sea is in the foreground. The How does soil and other loose material form on hillslopes? What factors
determine whether a slope is stable or is prone to landslides and other types
1999 Venezuelan Disaster
(▼) photograph below shows the type of soils that are
of downhill movement? Huge boulders smashed through the lower two floors of this

A
typical of the region. On steep slopes, such debris flow is a slurry of water and debris,
soils are prone to fail, especially during building in Caraballeda and ripped away part of the right side (▼). including mud, sand, gravel, pebbles, boul-
heavy tropical rainstorms. 10.00.a1
The mud and water that transported these boulders are no ders, vegetation, and even cars and small
longer present, but the boulders remain as a testament to the
structures. Debris flows can move at speeds up to
strength of the event.
80 km/hr (50 mph), but most are slower. In Decem-
10.00.a2

ber 1999, two storms dumped as much as 1.1 m (42

in.) of rain on the coastal mountains of Venezuela.
The rain loosened soil on the steep hillsides, caus-
Caracas
ing many landslides and debris flows that coalesced
Caracas in the steep canyons and raced downhill toward the
cities built on the alluvial fans.
In Caraballeda, the debris flows carried boulders
Cordillera de la Costa Landslide up to 10 m (33 ft) in diameter and weighing 300 to
Scars 400 tons each. The debris flows and flash floods
Landslide raced across the city, flattening cars and smashing
Scars houses, buildings, and bridges. They left behind a
jumble of boulders and other debris along the path
of destruction through the city.
After the event, USGS geoscientists went into
the area to investigate what had happened and why.
They documented the types of material that were
carried by the debris flows, mapped the extent of
Caracas Airport 10.00.a3 Caraballeda, Venezuela the flows, and measured boulders (▼) to investigate
processes that occurred during the event. When the
scientists examined what lay beneath the founda-
tions of destroyed houses, they discovered that
Caraballeda much of the city had been built on older debris
Alluvial Fan Caribbean Sea Caribbean Sea flows. These deposits should have provided a warn-
ing of what was to come.
10.00.a5 Caraballeda, Venezuela

The mountain slopes are too steep for buildings, so people built
the coastal cities on the less steep fan-shaped areas at the foot
of each valley. These flatter areas are alluvial fans composed of
mountain-derived sediment that has been transported down
the canyons and deposited along the mountain front.
What are some potential hazards of living next to steep mountain
The city of Caraballeda, built on one such alluvial fan, was especially hard ◀ This aerial photograph of
hit in 1999 by debris flows and flash floods that tore a swath of destruction Caraballeda, looking south up
through the town. Landslides, debris flows, and flooding killed more than the canyon, shows the damage
19,000 people and caused up to $30 billion in damage in the region. The in the center of the city caused
damage is visible as the light-colored strip through the center of town. by the debris flows and flash
floods. Many houses were
How can loss of life and destruction of property by debris flows and landslides

10.0
completely demolished by the
slopes, especially in a city built on an active alluvial fan? be avoided or at least minimized? fast-moving, boulder-rich mud.

10.00.a4 Caraballeda, Venezuela

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Exploring Earth Science promotes inquiry and science as an active they already have a mental image of the thing being named (Lawson,
process. It encourages student curiosity and aims to activate exist- 2003). For example, this book presents students with maps show-
ing student knowledge by posing the title of every two-page spread ing the spatial distribution of earthquakes, volcanoes, and mountain
and every subsection as a question. In addition, questions are dis- ranges and asks them to observe the patterns and think about what
persed throughout the book. Integrated into the book are oppor- might be causing the patterns. Only then does the textbook intro-
tunities for students to observe patterns, features, and examples duce the concept of tectonic plates.
before the underlying concepts are explained. That is, we employ
a learning-cycle approach where student exploration precedes the Also, the figure-based approach in this book allows terms to be intro-
introduction of new terms and the application of knowledge to a duced in their context rather than as a definition that is detached
new situation. For example, chapter 10 on slope stability begins with from a visual representation of the term. We introduce new terms
a three-dimensional image of northern Venezuela, pictured above, in italics rather than in boldface, because boldfaced terms on a
and asks readers to observe where people are living in this area and textbook page cause students to immediately focus mostly on the
what natural processes might have formed these sites. terms, rather than build an understanding of the concepts. The ital-
ics, however, let a student know when they have encountered an
Wherever possible, we introduce terms after students have an important term during their reading. The book includes a glossary
opportunity to observe the feature or concept that is being named. for those students who wish to look up the definition of a term to
This approach is consistent with several educational philosophies, refresh their memory. To expand comprehension of the definition,
including a learning cycle and just-in-time teaching. Research on each entry in the glossary references the pages where the term is
learning cycles shows that students are more likely to retain a term if defined in the context of a figure.

XV
 WHY ARE THE PAGES DOMINATED BY ILLUSTRATIONS?
Earth science is a visual science. Earth science textbooks contain a
variety of photographs, maps, cross sections, block diagrams, and
other types of illustrations. These diagrams help portray the spatial
distribution and geometry of features in the landscape, atmosphere,
oceans, and universe in ways words cannot. In earth sciences, a pic-
ture really is worth a thousand words.
Exploring Earth Science contains a wealth of figures to take advan-
tage of the visual nature of earth science and the efficiency of fig-
ures in conveying earth science concepts. This book contains few
large blocks of text — most text is in smaller blocks that are specifi-
cally linked to illustrations. Examples of our integrated figure-text
approach are shown throughout the book. In this approach, each
short block of text is one or more complete sentences that succinctly
describe a feature, process, or both of these. Most of these text
blocks are connected to their illustrations with leader lines so that
readers know exactly which feature or part of the diagram is being
referenced in the text block. A reader does not have to search for the
part of the figure that corresponds to a text passage, as occurs when
a student reads a traditional textbook with large blocks of text refer-
encing a figure that may appear on a different page. The short blocks
are numbered if they should be read in a specific order.
This approach is especially well suited to covering earth science top-
ics because it allows the text to have a precise linkage to the features
and geographic location of the aspect being described. A text block
discussing the Intertropical Convergence Zone can have a leader
New experiences from the environment enter the
brain via the senses. Images, for example, come in
through the eyes, and sounds enter the ears.
XVI
that specifically points to the location of this feature. A cross section
of atmospheric circulation, such as those related to El Niño condi-
tions, can be accompanied by short text blocks that describe each
part of the system and that are linked by leaders directly to specific
locations on the figure. This allows the reader to concentrate on the
concepts being presented, not deciding what part of the figure is
being discussed.
The approach in Exploring Earth Science is consistent with the find-
ings of cognitive scientists, who conclude that our minds have two
different processing systems, one for processing pictorial informa-
tion (images) and one for processing verbal information (speech
and written words). This view of cognition is illustrated in the figure
below. Cognitive scientists also speak about two types of memory:
working memory, also called short-term memory, holds informa-
tion that our minds are actively processing, and long-term memory
stores information until we need it (Baddeley, 2007). Both the verbal
and pictorial processing systems have a limited amount of working
memory, and our minds have to use much of our mental processing
space to reconcile the two types of information in working memory.
For information that has both pictorial and verbal components, as
most earth science information does, the amount of knowledge we
retain depends on reconciling these two types of information, on
transferring information from working memory to long-term mem-
ory, and on linking the new information with our existing mental
framework. For this reason, this book integrates text and figures, as
in the example shown here.
Input from the senses is filtered and transferred into two
different types of working memory, a visual area for im-
ages and a phonetic area for words. Each type
of working memory has a very limited
capacity to hold new information.
Information from working memory is
processed further and transferred into
long-term memory. Ideally, new infor-
mation is linked to existing knowledge
in long-term memory to build a more
complete understanding.
When information from long-term
memory is needed, it is retrieved into
working memory, where it can be
processed to make decisions.
 WHY ARE THERE SO MANY FIGURES?

This textbook contains more than 2,500 figures, which is two to three of text that is detached from the figure. We avoid the redundancy
times the number in most earth science textbooks. One reason for effect by including only text that is integrated with the figure.
this is that the book is designed to provide a concrete example of each
process, environment, or feature being illustrated. Research shows The style of illustrations in Exploring Earth Science was designed to
that many college students require concrete examples before they can be more inviting to today’s visually oriented students who are used
begin to build abstract concepts (Lawson, 1980). Also, many students to photo-realistic, computer-rendered images in movies, videos, and
have limited travel experience, so photographs and other figures computer games. For this reason, many of the figures were created
allow them to observe places, environments, and processes they have by world-class scientific illustrators and artists who have worked on
not been able to observe firsthand. The numerous photographs, from award-winning textbooks, on Hollywood movies, on television shows,
geographically diverse places, help bring the sense of place into the for National Geographic, and in the computer-graphics and gaming
student’s reading. The inclusion of an illustration for each text block industry. In most cases, the figures incorporate real data, such as satel-
reinforces the notion that the point being discussed is important. In lite images, aerial photographs, weather and climatological data, and
many cases, as in the example below, conceptualized figures are inte- locations of earthquakes and volcanoes. Our own research shows that
grated with photographs and text so that students can build a more many students do not understand cross sections and other subsur-
coherent view of the environment or process. face diagrams, so nearly every cross section in this book has a three-
dimensional aspect, and many maps are presented in a perspective
Exploring Earth Science focuses on the most important earth science view that incorporates topography. Research findings by us and other
concepts and makes a deliberate attempt to eliminate text that is not researchers (Roth and Bowen, 1999) indicate that including people
essential for student learning of these concepts. Inclusion of informa- and human-related items in photographs and figures attracts undue
tion that is not essential tends to distract and confuse students rather attention, thereby distracting students from the features being illus-
than illuminate the concept; thus, you will see fewer words. Cognitive trated. As a result, our photographs have nondistracting indicators
and science-education research has identified a redundancy effect, of scale, like dull coins and plain marking pens. Figures and pho-
where information that restates and expands upon a more succinct tographs do not include people or human-related items unless we
description actually results in a decrease in student learning (Mayer, are trying to (1) illustrate how geoscientists study earth science pro-
2001). Specifically, students learn less if a long figure caption restates cesses and features or (2) reinforce the relevance of the processes
information contained elsewhere on the page, such as in a long block on humans.

270 Sculpting Landscapes 271

9.11 How Do Caves Form? What Features Are Associated with Caves?
Caves are beautiful and interesting places to explore. Some contain twisty, narrow passages connecting open
WATER IS AN ACTIVE CHEMICAL AGENT and can dissolve rock and other materials. Weathering near the chambers. Others are immense tunnels full of cave formations. Caves can be decorated with intricate features formed
surface and groundwater at depth can work together to completely dissolve limestone and other soluble rocks, by dissolution and precipitation of calcite and several other minerals.
leaving openings in places where the rocks have been removed. Such dissolution of limestone forms most caves,
1. Most caves form by dissolution of limestone. Certain features on the land surface can indicate 6. Dissolution of limestone along
but caves form in many other ways. Once a cave is formed, dripping and flowing water can deposit a variety of that there is a cave at depth. These include the presence of limestone, sinkholes, and other features fractures and bedding planes,
beautiful and fascinating cave formations. of karst topography. Collapse of part of the roof can open the cave to the surface, forming a along with formation of sinkholes
skylight that lets light into the cave. and skylights, disrupts
streams and other
How Do Limestone Caves Form? 2. Caves contain many features
drainages. Streams
formed by minerals precipitated
may disappear into
Water near the surface or at depth as groundwater can dissolve limestone and other carbonate rocks, to form large from dripping or flowing water.
the ground, adding
caves, especially if the water is acidic. Cave systems generally form in limestone rocks because most other rock types Water flowing down the walls
more water to the
do not easily dissolve. A few other rocks, such as gypsum or rock salt, dissolve too easily — they completely disappear or along the floor can precipi-
cave system.
tate travertine (a banded form
and cannot maintain caves. The figure below illustrates how limestone caves form. of calcium carbonate) in thin
layers that build up to create
1. Limestone is primarily made of calcite 2. Groundwater dissolves limestone and other formations called flowstone or 5. In humid
(calcium carbonate), a relatively soluble carbonate rocks, often starting along fractures and draperies (▼). environments,
mineral that dissolves in acidic water. boundaries between layers, and then progressively weathering at the
09.11.c2 Carlsbad Caverns, NM
Rainwater is typically slightly acidic due widening them over time. Open spaces become surface commonly
to dissolved carbon dioxide (CO2), sulfur larger and more continuous, allowing more water to produces reddish,
dioxide (SO2), and organic material. Water flow through and accelerating the dissolution and clay-rich soil. The
reacts with calcite in limestone, dissolving widening. If the openings become continuous, they soil, along with
it. This dissolution can be aided by acidic may accommodate underground pools or under- pieces of lime-
water coming from deeper in the Earth, ground streams. stone, can be
by microbes, and by acids that washed into
microbes produce. crevices and
4. If the roof of the cave collapses, the cave can be
exposed to the air. This can further dry out the sinkholes, where it
cave. Such a roof collapse commonly forms a forms a reddish
3. Most caves form below the pit-like depression, called a sinkhole, on the surface. matrix around
09.11.c3 Kartchner Caverns, AZ limestone
water table, but some form from
downward-flowing water above the 5. Limestone caves (▼) range in size from miniscule fragments.
water table. In either case, dissolu- to huge. The Mammoth Cave system of Kentucky is
tion over millions of years can form a the longest cave
network of interconnected caves and in the world, 3. Probably the most recognized 09.11.c1
tunnels in the limestone. If the water with an explored features of caves are stalactites and
table falls, groundwater drains out of length of over stalagmites, which are formed 4. As mineral-rich water drips from the
the tunnels and dries out part of the 640 km (400 mi), when calcium-rich water dripping roof and flows from the walls, it leaves
cave system. 09.11.a1 with some parts from the roof evaporates and behind coatings, ribbons (▶), and straw-
still unexplored. leaves calcium carbonate like tubes. The water can accumulate
behind. Stalactites hang tight in underground pools on the floor of
from the roof. Stalagmites form the cave, precipitating rims of cream-
when water drips to the floor, colored travertine along their edges.
09.11.a2 Lehman Caves, NV building mounds upward.
What Are Some Other Types of Caves? 09.11.c4 Kartchner Caverns, AZ

09.11.b1 Hawaii Volcanoes NP, HI 09.11.b2 Hueco Tanks, TX

Most but not all caves Almost any rock type can
developed in limestone. host a cave, as long as it Carlsbad Caverns
Caves in volcanic regions is strong enough to

A
are commonly lava tubes, support a roof over the bout 260 million years ago, Carlsbad, eventually exposed it at the surface. Ground-
which were originally open space. Granite, not New Mexico, was an area covered by water dripped and trickled into the partially Before You Leave This Page
subsurface channels of known as a soluble rock, a shallow inland sea. A huge reef, dry cave, where it deposited calcium carbonate Be Able To
flowing lava within a can form caves, especially lush with sea life, thrived in this warm-water to make the cave’s famous formations.
partially solidified lava flow. where physical and tropical environment. Eventually, the sea Summarize the character and
When the lava drained out chemical weathering have retreated, leaving the reef buried under other formation of caves and sinkholes.
of the tube, it left behind enlarged areas along rock layers.
a long and locally branch- fractures (◀). Many Briefly summarize how stalactites,
While buried, the limestone was dissolved
ing cave. Such caves tend non-limestone caves are stalagmites, and flowstone form.
by water rich in sulfuric acid generated from
to have a curved, tube-like along a contact between
9.11

appearance with walls a stronger rock above, hydrogen sulfide that leaked upward from Describe features on the surface that
that have been smoothed which holds up the roof, deeper accumulations of petroleum. Later, ero- might indicate an area may contain
and grooved (▶) by the and a weaker rock below, sion of overlying layers uplifted the once-buried caves at depth.
flowing lava. to form the opening. and groundwater-filled limestone cave and
09.11.t1 Carlsbad Caverns, NM

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XVII
 WHY DOES THE BOOK CONSIST OF TWOPAGE SPREADS?

This book consists of two-page spreads, most of which are further Each spread has a unique number, such as 17.9 for the ninth topical
subdivided into sections. Research has shown that because of our two-page spread in chapter 17. These numbers help instructors and
limited amount of working memory, much new information is lost if students keep track of where they are and what is being covered.
it is not incorporated into long-term memory. Many students keep Each two-page spread, except for those that begin and end a chapter,
reading and highlighting their way through a textbook without stop- contains a Before You Leave This Page checklist that indicates what is
ping to integrate the new information into their mental framework. important and what is expected of students before they move on.
New information simply displaces existing information in working This list contains learning objectives for the spread and provides a
memory before it is learned and retained. This concept of cognitive clear way for the instructor to indicate to the student what is impor-
load (Sweller, 1994) has profound implications for student learning tant. The items on these lists are compiled into a master What-
during lectures and while reading textbooks. Two-page spreads and to-Know List provided to the instructor, who then deletes or adds
sections help prevent cognitive overload by providing natural breaks entries to suit the instructor’s learning goals and distributes the list
that allow students to stop and consolidate the new information to students before the students begin reading the book. In this way,
before moving on. the What-to-Know List guides the students’ studying.

520 Oceans and Their Interactions with Other Earth Systems 521

17.9 What Are the Phases of ENSO? Cold Phase of 1. In many ways, the cold phase of ENSO
2. During a cold phase of ENSO (La Niña), Walker cell circulation
strengthens over the equatorial Pacific. This increases winds aloft and
(La Niña) displays conditions opposite to causes near-surface easterly trade winds to strengthen, driving
THE ATMOSPHERE-OCEAN SYSTEM in the equatorial Pacific is constantly changing. Although each year has its ENSO (La Niña) an El Niño, hence the opposing name. warmer surface waters westward toward Australasia and Indonesia.
own unique characteristics, certain atmosphere-ocean patterns repeat, displaying a limited number of modes. We
3. Enhanced easterly trade winds bring
can use surface-water temperatures in the eastern equatorial Pacific to designate conditions as one of three phases more moisture to the equatorial parts of the
8. The region of equatorial
of the El Niño-Southern Oscillation (ENSO) system — neutral (or “normal”), warm (El Niño), and cold (La Niña). rainfall associated with the Andes and to nearby areas of the Amazon
warm pool expands and basin. Orographic effects cause heavy
the amount of rainfall precipitation on the Amazon (east) side of
What Are Atmosphere-Ocean Conditions During the Three Phases of ENSO? increases dramatically. the mountain range.
El Niño and La Niña phases represent the end-members of ENSO, but sometimes the region does not display the 4. Partially depleted of moisture and driven
character of either phase. Instead, conditions are deemed to be neither and are therefore assigned to the neutral phase 7. In the western Pacific, by stronger trade winds, dry air descends
of ENSO. To understand the extremes (El Niño and La Niña), we begin with the neutral situation. strong easterlies push warm westward off the Andes and onto the coast.
waters to the west where The flow of dry air, combined with the
they accumulate against the descending limb of the Walker cell, produces
Neutral Phase 1. Warm, unstable, rising air over 2. Walker cell circulation in the 3. Cool, descending air over the eastern continent, forming a warmer
the western equatorial Pacific clear skies and dry conditions along the coast.
of ENSO
equatorial troposphere brings equatorial Pacific produces dominantly high and more expansive warm Thermocline
warm pool produces low atmo- cool, dry air eastward along atmospheric pressure at the surface and pool. In response, the 5. As surface waters push westward and the
spheric pressures near the surface. the tropopause. stable conditions in the atmosphere. thermocline of the western Humboldt Current turns west, deep waters
9. The warm, moist air equatorial Pacific is pushed 17.09.a3 rise (strong upwelling). The resulting cool
above the warm pool 4. Easterly trade winds flow over the Andes much deeper, further SST and descending dry, stable air conspire
rises under the influence mountain range and then continue to the increasing the slope of the 6. The upwelling near South America raises the thermo- to produce excessive drought in coastal
of low pressures, produc- west across the ocean, pushing west against thermocline to the west. cline and causes it to slope steeper to the west. regions of Peru.
ing intense tropical the surface waters along the coast of South
rainfalls that maintain the America. The easterlies continue propelling
less saline, less dense the warm water westward toward Australia How Are ENSO Phases Expressed in Sea-Surface Temperatures?
freshwater on the surface and southeast Asia, allowing the waters to
of the warm pool. warm even more as they are heated by As the Pacific region shifts between the warm (El Niño), cold (La Niña), and neutral phases, sea-surface temperatures
insolation along the equator. (SST), atmospheric pressures, and winds interact all over the equatorial Pacific. These variations are recorded by numerous
8. Warm waters blown to
the west not only depress 5. Westward displacement of surface waters, types of historical data, especially in SST. The globes below show SST for the western Pacific (near Asia) and eastern
the thermocline to about and offshore winds, induces upwelling of Pacific (near the Americas) for each phase of ENSO — neutral, warm, and cold. The colors represent whether SST are
150 m below the surface, Thermocline cold, deep ocean waters just off the coast of warmer than normal (red and orange), colder than normal (blue), or about average (light).
but also physically raise the western South America. Abundant insolation
17.09.a1
height of the western under clear skies warms these rising waters
equatorial Pacific compared
Neutral Phase of ENSO Warm Phase of ENSO (El Niño) Cold Phase of ENSO (La Niña)
somewhat, so there is no density-caused
to the eastern Pacific. return of surface waters to depth.
7. In the western Pacific, surface waters are warm (over 28°C) and less saline 6. The thermocline slopes to the west, being over three
because of abundant precipitation and stream runoff from heavy precipitation times deeper in the western Pacific than in the eastern
that falls on land. The warm surface waters (the warm pool) overlie cooler, Pacific. This condition can only be maintained by a series of
deeper ocean water — a stable situation. feedbacks, including the strength of the trade winds.

Warm Phase of
ENSO (El Niño)
6. For Australia, Indonesia, and
the westernmost Pacific, El Niño
brings higher atmospheric
pressures, reduced rainfall, and
westerly winds. The warm pool
and associated convective
rainfalls move toward the
central Pacific, allowing cooler
surface waters in the far west.
5. Changes in the strength of the
winds, in temperatures, and in the
movements of near-surface
1. During a warm phase (El Niño), the
warm pool and associated convective
rainfall move toward the central Pacific.
2. El Niño conditions are also characterized by weakened Walker cell
circulation over the equatorial Pacific. This is expressed by decreased
winds aloft and by a reduction in the strength and geographic range
of the easterly trade winds near the surface.
3. Upon reaching South America,
the cool air descends over equato-
rial parts of the Andes, increasing
atmospheric pressure, limiting
convectional uplift, and reducing
associated rainfall in Colombia and
parts of the Amazon.
4. Weakening of the trade winds
reduces coastal upwelling of cold
water, which, combined with the
eastern displacement of the
descending air, promotes a more
17.09.b1-2 17.09.b3-4
During the neutral phase of ENSO, SST along During the warm phase of ENSO, a belt of much
the equator in the Pacific are about average, warmer than normal water appears along the
with no obvious warmer or colder than equator in the eastern Pacific, west of South
normal waters near the Western Pacific Warm America. This warm water is the signature of an
Pool (left globe) or South America (right El Niño, causing the decrease in cold-water fishes.
globe). An area of warmer than normal SST SST in the western Pacific are a little cooler than
occurs southwest of North America, but this average, but an El Niño is most strongly
is not obviously related to ENSO. expressed in the eastern Pacific (right globe).
Before You Leave This Page Be Able To
Sketch and explain atmosphere-ocean conditions for each of the three typical phases of ENSO, noting typical vertical and horizontal
17.09.b5-6
During the cold phase of ENSO (a La Niña),
a belt of colder than normal water occurs
along the equator west of South America,
hence the name “cold phase.” The western
Pacific (left globe), however, now has
waters that are warmer than normal. These
warm waters are quite widespread in this
region, extending from Japan to Australia.

17.9
waters cause the thermocline to Thermocline southerly location of the ITCZ in the air circulation, sea-surface temperatures, relative position of the thermocline, and locations of areas of excess rain and drought.
become somewhat shallower in Southern summer and increased
the west and deeper in the east, precipitation in the normally dry Summarize how each of the three phases of ENSO (neutral, warm, and cold) are expressed in SST of the equatorial Pacific Ocean.
17.09.a2
but it still slopes to the west. coastal regions of Peru and Ecuador.

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Two-page spreads and integrated Before You Leave This Page lists offer • Two-page spreads allow busy students to read or study a
the following advantages to the student: complete topic in a short interval of study time, such as the
breaks between classes.
• Information is presented in relatively small and coherent
• All test questions and assessment materials are tightly
chunks that allow a student to focus on one important aspect
articulated with the Before You Leave This Page lists so that
or earth system at a time.
exams and quizzes cover precisely the same material that was
• Students know when they are done with this particular topic assigned to students via the What-to-Know list.
and can self-assess their understanding with the Before You
Leave This Page list.
XVIII
The two-page spread approach also has advantages for the instruc-
tor. Before writing this book, the authors wrote most of the items
for the Before You Leave This Page lists. We then used this list to
decide what figures were needed, what topics would be discussed,
and in what order. In other words, the textbook was written from
the learning objectives. The Before You Leave This Page lists provide a
straightforward way for an instructor to tell students what informa-
tion is important. Because we provide the instructor with a master
What-to-Know list, an instructor can selectively assign or eliminate
content by providing students with an edited What-to-Know list.
Alternatively, an instructor can give students a list of assigned two-
page spreads or sections within two-page spreads. In this way, the
instructor can identify content for which students are responsible,
even if the material is not covered in class. Two-page spreads pro-
vide the instructor with unparalleled flexibility in deciding what to
assign and what not to cover. It allows this book to be easily used
for one-semester and two-semester courses.

CONCEPT SKETCHES
Most items on the Before You Leave This
Page list are by design suitable for stu-
dent construction of concept sketches.
Concept sketches are sketches that are
annotated with complete sentences
that identify features, describe how
the features form, characterize the
main processes, and summarize histo-
ries (Johnson and Reynolds, 2005). An
example of a concept sketch is shown
to the right.

Concept sketches are an excellent way

to actively engage students in class and
to assess their understanding of earth
science features, processes, and his-
tory. Concept sketches are well suited
to the visual nature of earth science,
especially cross sections, maps, and block diagrams. Earth scientists are natural sketchers using field notebooks, blackboards, publications,
and even napkins, because sketches are an important way to record observations and thoughts, organize knowledge, and try to visualize tec-
tonic processes, the subsurface geometry of rock units, the evolution of landscapes, circulation in the atmosphere and oceans, and motions
of astronomical objects. Our research data show that a student who can draw, label, and explain a concept sketch generally has a good under-
standing of that concept.

REFERENCES CITED
Baddeley, A. D. 2007. Working memory, thought, and action. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 400 p.
Johnson, J. K., and Reynolds, S. J. 2005. Concept sketches—Using student- and instructor-generated annotated sketches for learning, teach-
ing, and assessment in geology courses. Journal of Geoscience Education, v. 53, pp. 85–95.
Lawson, A. E. 1980. Relationships among level of intellectual development, cognitive styles, and grades in a college biology course. Science
Education, v. 64, pp. 95–102.
Lawson, A. 2003. The neurological basis of learning, development & discovery: Implications for science & mathematics instruction. Dordrecht, The
Netherlands: Kluwer Academic Publishers, 283 p.
Mayer, R. E. 2001. Multimedia learning. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 210 p.
Roth, W. M., and Bowen, G. M. 1999. Complexities of graphical representations during lectures: A phenomenological approach. Learning and
Instruction, v. 9, pp. 235–255.
Sweller, J. 1994. Cognitive Load Theory, learning difficulty, and instructional design. Learning and Instruction, v. 4, pp. 295–312.
XIX
 HOW IS THIS BOOK ORGANIZED?
Two-page spreads are organized into 20 chapters that are arranged
into five major parts: (1) introduction to earth systems, earth
materials, and geologic time; (2) tectonic processes and features;
(3) landscapes; (4) the atmosphere and oceans; and (5) the solar
system and universe. The first chapter provides an overview of
earth science, how we represent location and geologic features, the
scientific approach, and an introduction to earth systems—a unify-
ing theme interwoven throughout the rest of the book. Chapter 2
introduces minerals and mineral resources, providing an example of
our approach of presenting information about mineral, energy, and
water resources in the chapter that is most pertinent to each topic.
Chapter 3 follows with an introduction to earth materials and to the
processes that form the main families of rocks. Part one of the book
ends with Chapter 4, which presents the important concepts about
determining sequences of events, ages of rocks, and other aspects
of geologic time.
The second part of the book covers various aspects of tectonics. Chap-
ter 5 begins with having students observe large-scale features on land
and the seafloor, as well as patterns of earthquakes and volcanoes, as
a lead-in to tectonic plates. Integrated into the chapter are two-page
spreads on continental drift, paleomagnetism, continental and oce-
anic hot spots, and evolution of the modern oceans and continents.
This is followed by Chapter 6, which explores volcanism, volcanoes,
and other igneous processes and features. Chapter 7 begins with
general principles of deformation and geologic structures, empha-
sizing how these are expressed in landscapes. The second half of
Chapter 7 takes these principles of deformation and applies them to
earthquakes, including their causes, settings, and resulting damage.
Chapter 8, the final chapter in the second part of the book, explores
explanations for mountains and other regions of high elevations, the
formation of continents, and features along continental margins. It
also explores the origin of local mountains and basins, a topic unique
to this textbook, and provides an introduction to oil and natural gas,
including shale gas and oil.
The third part of the book focuses on the broad field of
geomorphology — the form and evolution of landscapes. It begins
with Chapter 9, a visually oriented introduction to processes that
sculpt landscapes and redistribute earth materials. It presents a brief
introduction to weathering, erosion, and transport. Wind erosion,
transport, deposition, and resulting landforms are integrated into
Chapter 9, rather than being a separate, sparse-content chapter that
forcibly brings in non-wind topics, as is done in other textbooks. This
chapter also illustrates the formation of arches, natural bridges, karst
topography, and caves, topics of interest to many students.
The remaining chapters in the third part of the book cover dif-
ferent aspects of geomorphology. Chapter 10 treats the formation,
description, and classification of soils, followed by a figure-based pre-
sentation of mass wasting and slope stability. Chapter 11 integrates
information about glaciers, shorelines, and changing sea level, to
XX
highlight the interactions among different earth systems. It introduces
glacial movement, landforms, and deposits, along with the causes of
glaciation. This chapter then moves to shoreline processes, landforms,
and hazards, and it ends with the consequences of changing sea level
on landforms and humans, emphasizing the role of glaciers in rais-
ing and lowering sea level. Chapter 12, the final chapter in this third
part, is about various topics involving water, including the hydrologic
cycle, water use, streams, stream processes, different types of streams,
and flooding. The second half of the chapter explores the relationship
between surface water and groundwater, including the important top-
ics of contamination and overpumping of groundwater.
The fourth part of the book is about the atmosphere and oceans.
It begins with Chapter 13, an introduction to energy, matter, and
the atmosphere, providing a solid background for later chapters.
Chapter 14 follows this up with coverage about the processes and
manifestations of atmospheric motion. It features separate two-page
spreads on circulation in the tropics, high latitudes, and mid-latitudes,
allowing students to concentrate on one part of the system at a time,
leading to a synthesis of lower-level and upper-level winds. Chapter 14
also covers air pressure, the Coriolis effect, and seasonal and regional
winds. These topics lead naturally into Chapter 15, which is an intro-
duction to atmospheric moisture, including clouds and various forms
of precipitation. Within the chapter are globes and other maps pre-
senting global, regional, and seasonal patterns of humidity and pre-
cipitation. Chapter 16 follows this with a visual, map-oriented discus-
sion of weather and storms, including cyclones, tornadoes, and other
severe weather. The next chapter (Chapter 17) is devoted to the oceans
and their interactions with the atmosphere and cryosphere. It features
sections on ocean currents, sea-surface temperatures, ocean salinity,
and a thorough treatment of ENSO. The chapters in this part build
into Chapter 18, which presents various aspects of climate, including
the controls on climate and climate classification. Chapter 18 features
a two-page spread on each of the main climate groups, illustrated
with a rich blend of figures and photographs. These spreads are built
around globes that portray a few related climate types, enabling stu-
dents to concentrate on the distribution and controls of each climate
type. The climate chapter also has a data-oriented presentation on
the important topic of climate change, especially the data for climate
change, the controlling factors, and predicted consequences. It ends
with a two-page spread on alternative (non-fossil fuel) energy sources.
The fifth and final group of chapters focuses on the solar system and
the rest of the universe. Chapter 19 presents a highly visual introduc-
tion to various objects in the solar system and how we study and inves-
tigate them. It is followed by Chapter 20, the final chapter in the book,
which explores the rest of the universe. It begins with a treatment of
how we observe the universe and our framework for referencing these
observations. It introduces forces, motions, and light, presenting
the laws of motion of Newton and Kepler. The chapter successively
explores stars, stellar evolution, stellar remnants, and galaxies, ending
with a discussion of cosmology and the early history of the universe.
TWO-PAGE SPREADS Connections Two-Page Spread
Most of the book consists of two-page spreads, each of which is
The next-to-last two-page spread in each chapter is a Connections
about one or more closely related topics. Each chapter has four
spread designed to help students connect and integrate the various
main types of two-page spreads: opening, topical, connections, and
concepts from the chapter and to show how these concepts can be
investigation.
applied to an actual location. Connections are about real places that
illustrate the concepts and features covered in the chapter, often
explicitly illustrating how we investigate an earth science problem
Opening Two-Page Spread and how these problems have relevance to society.

Opening spreads introduce the chapter, engaging the student by high-

lighting some interesting and relevant aspects and posing questions CONNECTIONS Atmospheric Motion 441

14.10
to activate prior knowledge and curiosity. What Causes Monsoons?
A COMMON MISCONCEPTION is that the word “monsoon” refers to a type of rainfall, but the word actually refers
What Other Regions Experience Monsoon Circulations?
West Africa
14.10.b1 14.10.b2
July — A shift in wind direction in July brings moist
to winds that reverse directions depending on the season. One of these seasonal wind directions typically brings January — In January, ocean air from several directions onto the very
dry conditions and the other brings wet conditions. Monsoons impact a majority of the world’s population. near-surface winds in West hot land where air has risen. This change in wind
Africa largely flow from the direction causes enormous differences in precipi-
northeast, bringing in dry tation, as shown by the graph below for Dakar,
What Are the Features of the Asian Monsoon? air from inland areas, Senegal. Along with the increase in precipitation
including the Sahara Desert, comes an increase in the amount of vegetation. In
One way to characterize a monsoon is to compare maps showing wind directions for different times of the year. and carrying it southwest to Dakar and much of
Such maps can then be compared to rainfall records to determine which seasonal wind directions bring dry coastal areas and farther the region, precipi-
CHAPTER conditions and which ones bring wet conditions. The maps below show climatological wind conditions for the years offshore. Such offshore flows tation is nearly
421 1981 through 2010 for two months — January and July. Arrows show wind directions, and shading represents generally result in dry nonexistent in

14
Atmospheric Motion
weather. January and
pressure at sea level, with light gray being high and dark gray being low. Examine the patterns of circulation for
adjacent months.

Atmospheric Motion TO PI C S IN TH IS C H A PTER

each month and then compare the patterns between the months.
14.10.a1 14.10.a2
Winter Summer
14.10.b3

14.10.b4 14.10.b5
MOTION OF THE EARTH’S ATMOSPHERE controls climate, rainfall, and weather patterns, all of which greatly 14.1 How Do Gases Respond to Changes 14.5 How Do Variations in Insolation Cause Global Northern
July — The wind shifts by July (winter) as

1045
1045
affect our lives. It is driven largely by differences in insolation, with influences from other factors, including topog- in Temperature and Pressure? 422 Patterns of Air Pressure and Circulation? 430 60˚ N 60˚ N Australia the land surface cools, creating higher
raphy, land-sea interfaces, and especially rotation of the planet. These factors control motion at local scales, like 14.2 What Causes Winds? 424 14.6 How Does Air Circulate in the Tropics? 432 January — In pressure over the land. This causes a large
14.3 14.7 January (the drop in precipitation, as shown by the
between a mountain and valley, at larger scales encompassing major storm systems, and at global scales, determin-

SEA LEVEL PRESSURE (mb)

SEA LEVEL PRESSURE (mb)
What Causes Some Local and Regional Winds? 426 How Does Air Circulate in High Latitudes? 434
southern summer), graph below for Katherine, Australia. The

1027.5
1027.5
ing the prevailing wind directions for the entire planet. All of these local-to-global circulations are governed by 14.4 What Are Some Significant Regional Winds? 428 14.8 How Does Surface Air Circulate in Mid-Latitudes? 436 Seoul
Seoul winds over monsoon
similar physical principles. 14.9 How Does Air Circulate Aloft Over northern Australia flow in
the Mid-Latitudes? 438 30˚ N 30˚ N bring moist air January
Kolkata Kolkata from the ocean results in

1012.5
1012.5
Large-scale patterns of atmospheric circulation are shown here for the Northern
14.10 Connections: What Causes Monsoons? 440 onto the heated plentiful
Hemisphere. Examine all the components on this figure and think about what you 14.11 Investigation: What Occurs During Seasonal land surface. rain.
know about each. Do you recognize some of the features and names? Two features Circulation Shifts? 442
on this figure are identified with the term “jet stream.” You may have heard this term 14.10.b6
14.10.b7 14.10.b8

995
995
watching the nightly weather report or from a captain on a cross-country airline flight. Equator Equator July — During the late summer months, heating of the
EQ EQ Southwestern U.S. land surface and the resulting low pressure causes a
What is a jet stream and what effect does it have on weather and flying? Jet streams are fast-flowing currents of air high in the troposphere, near the JANUARY SLP JULY SLP
January — The Desert shift in winds. Winds from the south bring moist air
altitude at which large airplanes fly. The Polar Front Jet Stream occurs at high 0˚ 1500 km 60˚ E 120˚ E 0˚ 1500 km 60˚ E 120˚ E Southwest has a less northward from the Gulf of Mexico and Gulf of
latitudes, along the edges of a circulating mass of cold air called the Polar Cell. The
January — This map shows typical wind conditions for Asia during July — This map shows that wind conditions for the same region dramatic, but still impor- California, and summer thunderstorms form when this
Prominent labels of H and L represent areas with relatively Northern Hemisphere version is shown here, but a similar one occurs in the
January. In the center of the map, winds define a region where flow is during July are totally different than they are for January. Circulation tant monsoon effect. In the air interacts with the heated land. These summer
higher and lower air pressure, respectively. Southern Hemisphere. Two more jet streams, called Subtropical Jet Streams, occur in
clockwise and outward, centered on the light-colored area of high that marked the high pressure is gone, replaced by an area of inward winter months, winds blow thunderstorms cause precipitation to peak in August,
the subtropics on either side of the equator, at about 30° N and 30° S.
What is air pressure and why do some areas have higher or lower pressure. This high-pressure area (anticyclone) forms from cold, sinking and counterclockwise flow over Tibet (north of Kolkata). In the from various directions, as shown by the graph below for Tempe, Arizona.
pressure than other areas? Do jet streams always stay in the same position, and how do they affect our weather? air over Siberia. This circulation brings very dry air (from the cold interior Northern Hemisphere, this pattern of circulation is diagnostic of a and winter precipitation is First, note the different scale needed to show the
of the continent) from the north over southern Asia and from the low-pressure area, which in this case is caused by warm, rising air that from brief incursions of relatively small amounts of precipitation. Also note
northwest across eastern Asia. We would predict from these wind accompanies warming of the Asian landmass. This circulation brings cold, wet air (i.e., cold that nearly as much precipitation falls in the winter
Distinctive wind patterns, shown by white arrows, are patterns that little precipitation would occur in much of Asia at this time. very humid air from the southwest over southern and southeastern fronts) from the northwest. from the cold fronts.
Near-surface winds interact with upward- and
associated with the areas of high and low pressure. The downward-flowing air higher in the atmo- Asia. How do you think this circulation affects rainfall?
winds are flowing outward and in a clockwise sphere, together forming huge tube-shaped air
Seasonal Variation in Precipitation Effect of the Monsoon on Vegetation
direction from the high, but inward and in a
counterclockwise direction from the low. These
circuits called circulation cells. The most
prominent of these are Hadley Cells, one of
The Effect of Monsoons on Cultures
Observe these graphs showing average monthly precipitation These satellite images show increased vegetation due to monsoon-
directions would be reversed for highs and which occurs on either side of the equator.

M
amounts for two very different parts of Asia: Kolkata, one of the related rains along the western coast of India. The left image is onsoons greatly influence the lives in ways not fathomable to most North Amer-
lows in the Southern Hemisphere. largest metropolitan areas of India, and Seoul, the capital of South during the dry season, when wind patterns bring in dry air. The right of people living in regions with sea- icans or Europeans. The influence on agricul-
What controls the existence and location of 14.10.b9
Korea. For both cities, notice prominent precipitation peaks that image is from the end of the monsoon. Note the increase in plant sonal shifts in wind. The main ture, including the cultivation of rice, and on
Why do wind patterns develop around areas of circulation cells, and how do the Hadley Cells
occur during the summer — the wet season. The increase in cover (green areas) during the monsoon-caused rainy season. effects of a monsoon are seasonal variations flooding and other natural hazards is obvi-
high and low pressures, why do these patterns influence global weather and climate?
precipitation during the wet season results from the flow of moist in precipitation, which in turn affect water ous, but the monsoon also appears in litera-
Before You Leave This Page
spiral, and why are some spirals clockwise and 14.10.a5 India 14.10.a6 India
others counterclockwise?
air from oceans onto land, toward the Tibetan Low. The dry season,
supplies, amount of vegetation, and overall ture, art, music, architecture, and nearly every Be Able To
during the winter months, reflects the flow of dry air from the
livability for some normally dry landscapes. other aspect of culture. Ceremonies com-
Motion in the atmosphere affects us land, flowing outward from the Siberian High.
Many cultures plan their activities around monly mark the anticipated start of the mon- Explain what causes a monsoon,
in many ways. It controls short-term 14.10.a3 14.10.a4
North of the equator, prevailing winds these seasonal changes, conserving water soon. In years when the monsoon rains arrive using examples from Asia, West
(shown with large gray arrows) have gently weather and long-term climate, during the dry season and taking advantage later than usual, people become very con- Africa, northern Australia, and

14.10
curved shapes. For most of human history, including typical average, maximum, southwestern North America.
of the plentiful water during the wet season. cerned that harvests will suffer. The date of
transportation routes depended on local and and minimum temperatures. The
large-scale patterns of air circulation, The monsoon pervades the psyches of the onset of the monsoon rains varies by loca- Describe some of the effects of
regional atmospheric circulation. These winds
along with effects of local winds, cause people in southern and southeastern Asia, tion, but generally proceeds from south to shifting monsoonal winds.
were named “trade winds” because of their
importance in dictating the patterns of world some areas to be deserts and others especially the region from India to Vietnam, north with the onset in April and May.
commerce. The trade winds circulate from to be rain forests, and cause winds to
440
Spain southwestward, causing Christopher change direction with the seasons and
Columbus to land in the Bahamas rather than from night to day. Regional air
the present U.S. circulation affects the amount and
timing of rainfall for a region, which in
What causes winds blowing toward the equator turn controls the types of soils,
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12/11/14 7:17 PM 441 12/11/14 7:17 PM
to be deflected to the west? vegetation, agriculture, and animals
situated in an area. Winds determine
which areas of the U.S. are more
Prevailing winds from the north and south conducive to wind-power generation
converge near the equator. This zone of conver- than others. The result of these global,
regional, and local atmospheric
14.0

gence, called the Intertropical Convergence Zone

(ITCZ), is a locus of humid air and stormy weather. motions is a world in which the tropics
are not too hot, the polar areas are not
What causes winds to converge near the equator, and
why does this convergence cause unsettled weather?

420
d
14.00.a1
too cold, and no areas have too little
moisture for life.

Investigation Two-Page Spread

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Each chapter ends with an Investigation spread that is an exercise in

which students apply the knowledge, skills, and approaches learned
Topical Two-Page Spread in the chapter. These exercises mostly involve virtual places that stu-
dents explore and investigate to make observations and interpreta-
Topical spreads comprise most of the book. They convey the content, tions and to answer a series of relevant questions. Investigations are
help organize knowledge, describe and illustrate processes, and modeled after the types of problems geoscientists investigate, and
provide a spatial context. The first topical spread in a chapter usu- they use the same kinds of data and illustrations encountered in the
ally includes some aspects that are familiar to most students, as a chapter. The Investigation includes a list of goals for the exercises
bridge or scaffold into the rest of the chapter. Each chapter has at and step-by-step instructions, including calculations and methods
least one two-page spread illustrating how earth science processes for constructing maps, graphs, and other figures. These investiga-
impact society and commonly another two-page spread that specifi- tions can be completed by students in class, as part of a laboratory
cally describes how earth scientists study typical problems. exercise, as worksheet-based homework, or as online activities.

432 Atmospheric Motion 433

I N V E S T I G AT I O N Atmospheric Motion 443

14.6 How Does Air Circulate in the Tropics? Formation of Hadley Cells
8. After rising, this air spreads out poleward
14.11
What Occurs During Seasonal Circulation Shifts? Air Pressure
7. Insolation, on average, is most as it approaches the upper boundary of the
TROPICAL CIRCULATION is driven by the intense solar heating of land and seas near the equator. The heated air intense near the equator, in the troposphere (the tropopause). These two globes show average air pressure
rises and spreads out from the equator, setting up huge, recirculating cells of flowing air. The rising air results in a tropics. The position of the overhead GLOBAL ATMOSPHERIC CIRCULATION responds directly to insolation. As the Sun’s direct rays migrate over the Atlantic and adjacent land areas during
Sun migrates between the Tropic of 9. Once the upper-level flow reaches seasonally, belts of winds, such as the westerlies, migrate too. In this investigation, you will examine the the months of January and July. Lighter gray
belt of tropical low pressure, and where the air descends back toward the surface is a belt of subtropical high pres- Cancer and Tropic of Capricorn from about 30° N and 30° S latitude, it sinks, indicates relatively high pressures, whereas
sure. What determines where the rising and sinking occur, and how does the Coriolis effect influence this flow? both because it begins to cool aloft
general circulation of the atmosphere, as expressed by data on air pressure, wind velocity, and cloud cover darker gray indicates low pressures. Intermedi-
season to season. The Sun-heated air
rises from the tropics, forming a belt and due to forces arising from Earth’s for two months with very different seasons — January and July. ate grays indicate intermediate pressures. The
of low pressure at the surface. As the rotation. This sinking air dynamically lines encircling the globe are the equator and
General Circulation in the Tropics 14.06.a2 Kakadu World Heritage Site, Australia
warm, moist air rises, the air cools compresses itself and the surrounding 30° and 60° (N and S) latitudes.
1. Examine the large figure below and note the main features. What do you observe, and
somewhat, forming clouds; this air, producing the subtropical high- Goals of This Exercise:
accounts for the typical cloudiness pressure systems. Observe the main patterns on these two
can you explain most of these features using concepts you learned from previous parts of
and haziness of many tropical areas. • Identify major patterns in air pressure, wind velocity, and cloud cover for each season. globes, noting the positions of high pressure
the chapter? Tropical areas are known for their lush vegetation (▶), which in turn is due 14.06.a3 10. Once near the surface, the air flows back toward the equator to replace the air that and low pressure and how the positions,
largely to relatively abundant and consistent insolation, warm temperatures, and abundant rose. The flow from the two hemispheres converges at the ITCZ. • From these data, identify the major features of the global atmospheric circulation in each season. shapes, and strengths change between the two
rainfall. After thinking about these aspects, read the rest of the text. • Assess and explain the degree of seasonal movement of these circulation features. seasons. Then, complete the steps described in
the procedures section.
14.11.a2 14.11.a3
Influence of the Coriolis Effect January July
12. In the Northern Hemisphere, as the air flows When examining large-scale patterns of the earth, such Observe the entire scene, noting which areas on land
11. As the air flows toward the poleward after rising at the ITCZ, the weak Coriolis as global circulation patterns, a useful strategy is to have the most vegetation and which ones have the
equator in each hemisphere from the effect also pulls the air slightly to the right of its focus on one part of the system at a time. Another least. Compare these vegetation patterns with
subtropical high to the ITCZ, the intended path. The result is that some of the upper- often-recommended strategy is to begin with large-scale patterns of atmospheric circulation
2. At the surface, winds generally converge Coriolis effect pulls it to the right of level air moves from southwest to northeast at the relatively simple parts of a system before and air pressure, like subtropical highs and the
on the equator from the north and south. its intended path (in the Northern top of the Northern Hemisphere Hadley cell. moving to more complex ones. For this Intertropical Convergence Zone (ITCZ). Wind Velocity
The south-flowing winds in the Northern Hemisphere) or left (in the investigation, you will infer global patterns
Hemisphere are apparently deflected to the Southern Hemisphere), as shown 13. In the Southern Hemisphere, the Coriolis effect of air circulation by focusing on the These globes show average wind velocities for
Consider what directions of prevailing winds
right relative to their original path, blowing by the arrows on the left side of deflects the upper-level winds to the left of their Atlantic Ocean and adjacent lands (▶). January and July. The arrows show the direc-
from the northeast. These winds are the would occur in different belts of latitude.
this diagram. The Coriolis effect is intended path, causing a northwest-to-southeast flow tions, while the shading represents the speed,
northeast trade winds, which blow from the For example, where in this globe are the
weak near the equator, however, at the top of the Southern Hemisphere Hadley cell. This globe is centered on the central with darker being faster. In this exercise, the
Old World (Europe and Africa) to the New two belts of trade winds (one north and
so the deflection is only slight. Atlantic, and its top is slightly tilted directions are more important than the speeds,
World (the Americas). one south of the equator)? How about the
The result is surface air flowing 14. As the seasons progress, the set of Hadley cells toward you to better show the but both tell part of the story.
mid-latitude belts of westerlies in each
from northeast to southwest in and the ITCZ migrate — to the Northern Hemisphere Northern Hemisphere. As a result of
hemisphere? Consider how these winds Observe the large-scale patterns, identifying
the Northern-Hemisphere tropics in Northern-Hemisphere summer and to the Southern this tilt, Antarctica is barely visible at the
3. In the Southern Hemisphere, might blow moisture-rich air from the those patterns that are related to global
(the northeast trade winds) and Hemisphere in Southern-Hemisphere summer. If the bottom of the globe. The colors on land,
winds blowing toward the equator ocean onto land. After you have thought circulation (i.e., westerlies) versus those that are
from southeast to northwest in the trade-wind flow crosses the equator, the Coriolis deflec- derived from satellite data, depict rocks
are deflected to the left (west), 14.06.a4 about these aspects, read the procedures related to more regional features, such as the
Southern-Hemisphere tropics (the tion begins to occur in the opposite direction, and the and sand in tan and brown. Vegetation is
resulting in winds blowing from below and examine the globes and text on Bermuda-Azores High and the Icelandic Low.
southeast trade winds). winds can reverse direction (not shown). in various shades of green, with the darkest
the southeast, forming the the next page, which highlight average air Note also the position of where winds con-
green indicating the thickest vegetation
southeast trade winds. pressure, wind velocity, and cloud cover for two verge along the equator and how this position
(usually forests). Shallow waters in the Carib-
months — January and July. changes between the two months.
bean region (on the left side of the globe)
Seasonal Variations in the Position of the Intertropical Convergence Zone are light blue. 14.11.a4 14.11.a5
4. A belt of high pressure 14.11.a1 January July
occurs near 30° N and 30° 15. As the overhead Sun shifts north 16. The ITCZ generally extends 17. Unlike the ITCZ, the subtropical high pressure doesn’t exist
and south within the tropics from season poleward over large landmasses in a continuous belt around the earth. The ocean-covered
S, where air descends to
the surface of the earth. to season, the ITCZ shifts, too. In the in the hemisphere that is experi- surfaces support high pressure better than land surfaces Procedures
This air rose in the low northern summer, it shifts to the north. encing summer. This larger shift because land heats up too much at these latitudes, especially Complete the following steps on a worksheet provided by your instructor or as an online activity.
pressure located near the The typical June position of the ITCZ is over the land than over the in summer. The heated air over the land rises, counteracting
equator, as a result of the red line on the figure below, and the oceans is because of the more the tendency for sinking air in the Hadley cell. So the subtropi- 1. Study the two globes showing air pressure (on the next page), and note areas with high and low pressure. First, locate Cloud Cover
excess heating. December position is the blue line. intense heating of land surfaces. cal high pressure tends to be more vigorous over the oceans. a belt of low pressure near the equator and the adjacent belts of subtropical highs on either side. Next, locate the The clouds that form, move above Earth’s
Icelandic Low and a high pressure area to the south (called the Bermuda-Azores High), located in the Atlantic Ocean surface, and disappear can be detected and
Before You Leave This Page between Africa and North America. Determine for which season each is strongest or if there is not much difference tracked with satellites, shown here for January
5. The rising and descend- between the seasons. Mark and label the approximate locations of these features on the globe on the worksheet. and July 2012. On these globes, light colors
ing air, and the related Be Able To that obscure the land and ocean indicate more
Typical Position 2. Next, examine the two globes that show wind velocity. In the appropriate place on the worksheet, draw a few arrows abundant clouds (and often precipitation),
high- and low-pressure areas, of ITCZ in July
are linked together in a huge Sketch, label, and explain the main to represent the main wind patterns for different regions in each month. Label the two belts of westerlies and the two whereas the land shows through in areas that
TROPIC OF CANCER
cell of convecting air — the patterns of air circulation and air average fewer clouds.
belts of trade winds. If the horse latitudes are visible for any hemisphere and season, label them as well. Mark any some-
Hadley cell. One Hadley cell pressure over the tropics and
occurs north of the equator
what circular patterns of regional winds and indicate what pressure feature is associated with each. Observe the large-scale patterns, noting which
EQUATOR
subtropics.
and another just south of areas are cloudiest and which ones generally
14.06.a1 3. Examine the two globes that show the average cloud cover for each month. From these patterns, label areas that you have clear skies. Relate these patterns of clouds
the equator. As air rises near Sketch and explain air circulation in
the Hadley cells. interpret to have high rainfall in the tropics due to proximity to the ITCZ or low rainfall due to position in a subtropical to the following: amount of vegetation on the
the equator, surface winds
14.11
14.6

TROPIC OF CAPRICORN high. Examine how the cloud patterns correspond to the amount of vegetation, pressure, and winds. land, air pressure for that month, and average
flow in from both sides, Describe the Intertropical
6. Note that the Hadley cell extends to approximately 30° north forming the Intertropical wind directions. Answer all questions on the
Typical Position of ITCZ in January Convergence Zone and its shifts. 4. Sketch and explain how the different features of circulation and air pressure change between the two months. Answer worksheet or online.
and south of the equator, so it generally encompasses all the Convergence Zone (ITCZ)
tropics and some distance beyond.
all the questions on the worksheet or online. January 14.11.a6
July 14.11.a7
14.06.a5

442

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XXI
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XXIII
 ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
Writing a totally new type of introductory earth science textbook
would not be possible without the suggestions and encouragement
we received from instructors who reviewed various incarnations of
text and artwork in this book. We are especially grateful to people
who contributed entire days either reviewing our books or attend-
ing symposia to openly discuss the vision, challenges, and refine-
ments of this kind of new approach. We also appreciate the sup-
port of hundreds of instructors who have reported great success
with using our books in their classrooms, validating our unusual
approach and encouraging us to extend our original vision into
various fields of earth science.
This book is a decidedly collaborative effort, incorporating material
from our two other textbooks. Our colleagues Paul Morin, Chuck
Carter, and Mike Kelly contributed materials to our Exploring Geol-
ogy textbook, and some of this content is included here. Likewise,
we have greatly benefitted from our collaboration with geographers
Bob Rohli, Peter Waylen, and Mark Francek on our Exploring Physi-
cal Geography textbook, which provided the starting materials for
chapters on the atmosphere and oceans. We gratefully acknowledge
the words, figures, organization suggestions, and friendship pro-
vided by these colleagues.
This book contains over 2,500 figures, several times more than a
typical introductory earth science textbook. This massive art pro-
gram required great effort and artistic abilities from the illustrators
and artists who turned our vision and sketches into what truly are
pieces of art. We are especially appreciative of Cindy Shaw, who
was lead illustrator, art director, and a steady hand that helped
guide the project. For many figures, she extracted data from NOAA
and NASA websites and then converted the data into exquisite
maps and other illustrations. Cindy also fine-tuned or extensively
reworked the authors’ layouts, standardized various aspects of the
illustrations, and prepared the final figures for printing. Chuck
Carter produced many spectacular pieces of art, including virtual
places featured in the chapter-ending Investigations. Susie Gillatt
contributed many of her wonderful photographs from around the
world, photographs that helped us tell the story in a visual way. She
also color corrected and retouched most of the photographs in the
book. We also used visually unique artwork by Daniel Miller, David
Fierstein, and Susie Gillatt. Suzanne Rohli performed magic with
GIS files and helped in many other ways. We were ably assisted in
data compilation and other tasks by students and former students
Cheryl Replogle, Jenna Donatelli, Emma Harrison, Abeer Hamden,
Peng Jia, Javier Vázquez, and Courtney Merjil. Terra Chroma, Inc.,
of Tucson, Arizona, supported many aspects in the development of
this book, including funding parts of the extensive art program and
maintaining the ExploringEarthScience.com website.
Many people went out of their way to provide us with photographs,
illustrations, and advice. These helpful people included Susie Gil-
latt, Vladimir Romanovsky, Paul McDaniel, Lawrence McGhee,
Charles Love, Cindy Shaw, Ramón Arrowsmith, Dan Trimble,
Bixler McClure, Michael Forster, Vince Matthews, Ron Blakey,
Doug Bartlett, Phil Christensen, Scott Johnson, Peg Owens, Emma
XXIV
Harrison, Skye Rodgers, Steve Semken, and David Walsh. We are
extremely grateful to Thomas Arny and Stephen Schneider for the
use of many illustrations from their excellent astronomy textbooks.
Our astronomy figures and text benefitted from thorough reviews
by Steven Desch, William Karl Pitts, and David A. Williams.
We used a number of data sources to create many illustrations. Reto
Stöckli of the Department of Environmental Sciences at ETH Zürich
and NASA Goddard produced the Blue Marble and Blue Marble
Next Generation global satellite composites. We are very apprecia-
tive of the NOAA Reanalysis Site, which we used extensively, and
for other sites of the USDA, NASA, USGS, and NPS.
We have treasured our interactions with the wonderful Iowans
at McGraw-Hill Education, who enthusiastically supported our
vision, needs, and progress. We especially thank our current and
previous publishers Michelle Vogler, Ryan Blankenship, and Marge
Kemp for their continued encouragement and excellent support.
Jodi Rhomberg, Laura Bies, and others skillfully and cheerfully
guided the development of the book during the publication pro-
cess, making it all happen. Lori Hancock helped immensely with
our ever-changing photographic needs, and Jerry Marshall guided
us through the obstacle-laden arena of photo permissions. We also
appreciate the support, cooperation, guidance, and enthusiasm of
Thomas Timp, Marty Lange, Kurt Strand, Matt Garcia, Lisa Nicks,
Danielle Dodds, David Hash, Traci Andre, Tammy Ben, and many
others at McGraw-Hill who worked hard to make this book a reality.
Kevin Campbell provided thorough copy editing and also compiled
the index and glossary. Kay Brimeyer provided excellent proofread-
ing that caught small gremlins before they escaped. Our wonder-
ful colleague Gina Szablewski expertly directed the development of
LearnSmart materials and provided general encouragement.
Finally, a project like this is truly life consuming, especially when
the authors do the writing, illustrating, photography, near-final
page layout, media development, and development of assessments,
teaching ancillaries, and the instructor’s website. We are extremely
appreciative of the support, patience, and friendship we received
from family members, friends, colleagues, and students who shared
our sacrifices and successes during the creation of this new vision
of a textbook. Steve Reynolds thanks the ever-cheerful, supportive,
and talented Susie Gillatt; John and Kay Reynolds; and our mostly
helpful book-writing companions, Widget, Jasper, and Ziggy. Julia
Johnson thanks Annabelle Louise and Hazel Johnson, and the rest
of her family for enthusiastic support and encouragement. Steve
and Julia appreciate the support of their wonderful colleagues at
ASU and elsewhere.
The authors are very grateful for the thousands of students who
have worked with us on projects, infused our classrooms with
energy and enthusiasm, and provided excellent constructive
feedback about what works and what doesn’t work. We wrote this
book to help instructors, including us, make students’ time in our
classes even more interesting, exciting, and informative. Thank
you all!
Another random document with
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acid on the stomach, and to cause flatulence and sickness; they
sometimes disorder the bowels and induce griping and purging.
Whatever artificial food is used ought to be given by means of a
bottle, not only as it is a more natural way than any other of feeding a
baby, as it causes him to suck as though he were drawing it from the
mother’s breast, but as the act of sucking causes the salivary glands
to press out their contents, which materially assists digestion.
Moreover, it seems to satisfy and comfort him more than it otherwise
would do.
The food ought to be of the consistence of good cream, and should
be made fresh and fresh. It ought to be given milk-warm. Attention
must be paid to the cleanliness of the vessel, and care should be
taken that the milk be that of ONE cow,[145] and that it be new and of
good quality; for if not, it will turn acid and sour, and disorder the
stomach, and will thus cause either flatulence or looseness of the
bowels, or perhaps convulsions.
The only way to be sure of having it from one cow, is (if you have
not a cow of your own) to have the milk from a respectable cow-
keeper, and to have it brought to your house in a can of your own
(the London milk-cans being the best for the purpose). The better
plan is to have two cans, and to have the milk fresh and fresh every
night and morning. The cans, after each time of using, ought to be
scalded out; and, once a week, the can should be filled with cold
water, and the water should be allowed to remain in it until the can
be again required.
Very little sugar should be used in the food, as much sugar
weakens the digestion. A small pinch of table salt ought to be added
to whatever food is given, as “the best savor is salt.” Salt is most
wholesome—it strengthens and assists digestion, prevents the
formation of worms, and, in small quantities, may with advantage be
given (if artificial food be used) to the youngest baby.
35. Where it is found to be absolutely necessary to give an infant
artificial food WHILE SUCKLING, how often ought he to be fed?
Not oftener than twice during the twenty-four hours, and then
only in small quantities at a time, as the stomach requires rest, and
at the same time can manage to digest a little food better than it can
a great deal.
 Let me again urge upon you the importance, if it be at all
practicable, of keeping the child entirely to the breast for the first
three or four months of his existence. Remember there is no real
substitute for a mother’s milk; there is no food so well adapted to his
stomach; there is no diet equal to it in developing muscle, in making
bone, or in producing that beautiful plump rounded contour of the
limbs; there is nothing like a mother’s milk alone in making a child
contented and happy, in laying the foundation of a healthy
constitution, in preparing the body for a long life, in giving him tone
to resist disease, or in causing him to cut his teeth easily and well; in
short, the mother’s milk is the greatest temporal blessing an infant
can possess.
As a general rule, therefore, when the child and the mother are
tolerably strong, he is better without artificial food until he has
attained the age of three or four months; then, it will usually be
necessary to feed him twice a day, so as gradually to prepare him to
be weaned (if possible) at the end of nine months. The food
mentioned in the foregoing conversation will be the best for him,
commencing without the cow’s milk, but gradually adding it, as less
mother’s milk and more artificial food be given.
36. When the mother is not able to suckle her infant herself, what
ought to be done?
It must first be ascertained, beyond all doubt, that a mother is not
able to suckle her own child. Many delicate ladies do suckle their
infants with advantage, not only to their offspring, but to themselves.
“I will maintain,” says Steele, “that the mother grows stronger by it,
and will have her health better than she would have otherwise. She
will find it the greatest cure and preservative for the vapors
[nervousness] and future miscarriages, much beyond any other
remedy whatsoever. Her children will be like giants, whereas
otherwise they are but living shadows, and like unripe fruit; and
certainly if a woman is strong enough to bring forth a child, she is
beyond all doubt strong enough to nurse it afterward.”
Many mothers are never so well as when they are nursing; besides,
suckling prevents a lady from becoming pregnant so frequently as
she otherwise would. This, if she be delicate, is an important
consideration, and more especially if she be subject to miscarry. The
effects of a miscarriage are far more weakening than those of
suckling.
A hireling, let her be ever so well inclined, can never have the
affection and unceasing assiduity of a mother, and, therefore, cannot
perform the duties of suckling with equal advantage to the baby.
The number of children who die under five years of age is
enormous—many of them from the want of the mother’s milk. There
is a regular “parental baby-slaughter”—“a massacre of the
innocents”—constantly going on in England, in consequence of
infants being thus deprived of their proper nutriment and just dues!
The mortality from this cause is frightful, chiefly occurring among
rich people who are either too grand, or, from luxury, too delicate, to
perform such duties: poor married women, as a rule, nurse their own
children, and, in consequence, reap their reward.
If it be ascertained, past all doubt, that a mother cannot suckle her
child, then, if the circumstances of the parents will allow—and they
ought to strain a point to accomplish it—a healthy wet-nurse should
be procured, as, of course, the food which nature has supplied is far,
very far superior to any invented by art.
Never bring up a baby, then, if you can possibly avoid it, on
artificial food. Remember, as I proved in a former conversation,
there is in early infancy no real substitute for either a mother’s or a
wet-nurse’s milk. It is impossible to imitate the admirable and subtle
chemistry of nature. The law of nature is, that a baby, for the first few
months of his existence, shall be brought up by the breast; and
nature’s law cannot be broken with impunity.[146] It will be
imperatively necessary, then—
“To give to nature what is nature’s due.”[147]

Again, in case of a severe illness occurring during the first nine

months of a child’s life, what a comfort either the mother’s or the
wet-nurse’s milk is to him! it often determines whether he shall live
or die.
But if a wet-nurse cannot fill the place of a mother, then, asses’
milk will be found the best substitute, as it approaches nearer, in
composition, than any other animal’s, to human milk; but it is both
difficult and expensive to obtain. The next best substitute is goats’
milk. Either the one or the other ought to be milked fresh and fresh,
as it is wanted, and should be given by means of a feeding-bottle.
Asses’ milk is more suitable for delicate infants, and goats’ milk for
those who are strong.
If neither asses’ milk nor goats’ milk can be procured, then the
following from the very commencement should be given:
New milk, the produce of ONE healthy cow,
Warm water, of each, equal parts;
Table salt,[148] a few grains;
Lump sugar, a sufficient quantity to slightly sweeten it.

The milk itself ought not to be heated over the fire,[149] but should, as
above directed, be warmed by the water; it must, morning and
evening, be had fresh and fresh. The milk and water should be of the
same temperature as the mother’s milk, that is to say, at about ninety
to ninety-five degrees Fahrenheit. It ought to be given by means of a
feeding-bottle, and care must be taken to scald the bottle out twice a
day, for if attention be not paid to this point the delicate stomach of
an infant is soon disordered. As he grows older the milk should be
gradually increased, and the water decreased, until nearly all milk be
given.
There will, in many cases, be quite sufficient nourishment in the
above; I have known some robust infants brought up on it alone. But
if it should not agree with the child, or if there should not be
sufficient nourishment in it, then the food recommended in answer
to No. 34 question ought to be given, with this only difference—a
little new milk must from the beginning be added, and should be
gradually increased, until nearly all milk be used.
The milk, as a general rule, ought to be unboiled; but if it purge
violently, or if it cause offensive motions—which it sometimes does—
then it must be boiled. The moment the milk boils up it should be
taken off the fire.
Food ought, for the first month, to be given about every two hours;
for the second month, about every three hours; lengthening the
space of time as the baby advances in age. A mother must be careful
not to over-feed a child, as over-feeding is a prolific source of disease.
 Let it be thoroughly understood, and let there be no mistake about
it, that a babe, during the first nine months of his life, MUST have—it
is absolutely necessary for his very existence—milk of some kind, as
the staple and principal article of his diet, either mother’s, or wet-
nurse’s, or asses’, or goat’s, or cow’s own milk.
37. How would you choose a wet-nurse?
I would inquire particularly into the state of her health; whether
she be of a healthy family, of a consumptive habit, or if she or any of
her family have labored under “king’s evil;” ascertaining if there be
any seams or swellings about her neck; any eruptions or blotches
upon her skin; if she has a plentiful breast of milk, and if it be of good
quality[150] (which may readily be ascertained by milking a little into a
glass); if she has good nipples, sufficiently long for the baby to hold;
that they be not sore; and if her own child be of the same or nearly of
the same age as the one you wish her to nurse. Ascertain whether she
menstruates during suckling; if she does, the milk is not so good and
nourishing, and you had better decline taking her.[151] Assure yourself
that her own babe is strong and healthy, and that he is free from a
sore mouth and from a “breaking-out” of the skin. Indeed, if it be
possible to procure such a wet-nurse, she ought to be from the
country, of ruddy complexion, of clear skin, and of between twenty
and five and twenty years of age, as the milk will then be fresh, pure,
and nourishing.
I consider it to be of great importance that the infant of the wet-
nurse should be, as nearly as possible, of the same age as your own,
as the milk varies in quality according to the age of the child. For
instance, during the commencement of suckling, the milk is thick
and creamy, similar to the biestings of a cow, which, if given to a
babe of a few months old, would cause derangement of the stomach
and bowels. After the first few days, the appearance of the milk
changes; it becomes of a bluish-white color, and contains less
nourishment. The milk gradually becomes more and more
nourishing as the infant becomes older and requires more support.
In selecting a wet-nurse for a very small and feeble babe, you must
carefully ascertain that the nipples of the wet-nurse are good and
soft, and yet not very large: if they be very large, the child’s mouth
being very small, he may not be able to hold them. You must note,
too, whether the milk flows readily from the nipple into the child’s
mouth; if it does not, he may not have strength to draw it, and he
would soon die of starvation. The only way of ascertaining whether
the infant actually draws the milk from the nipple, can be done by
examining the mouth of the child immediately after his taking the
breast, and seeing for yourself whether there be actually milk in his
mouth.
Very feeble new-born babes sometimes cannot take the bosom, be
the nipples and the breasts ever so good. In such a case, cow’s milk
and water, sugar and salt, as recommended at page 46, must be given
in small quantities at a time—from two to four teaspoonfuls—but
frequently; if the child be awake, every hour or every half hour, both
night and day, until he be able to take the breast. If, then, a puny,
feeble babe is only able to take but little at a time, and that little by
teaspoonfuls, he must have little and often, in order that “many a
little might make a mickle.”
I have known many puny, delicate children who had not strength
to hold the nipple in their mouths, but who could take milk and
water (as above recommended) by teaspoonfuls only at a time, with
steady perseverance, and giving it every half hour or hour (according
to the quantity swallowed), at length be able to take the breast, and
eventually become strong and hearty children; but such cases require
unwearied watching, perseverance, and care. Bear in mind, then,
that the smaller the quantity of the milk and water given at a time,
the oftener must it be administered, as, of course, the babe must
have a certain quantity of food to sustain life.
38. What ought to be the diet either of a wet-nurse, or of a mother
who is suckling?
It is a common practice to cram a wet-nurse with food, and to give
her strong ale to drink, to make good nourishment and plentiful
milk! This practice is absurd; for it either, by making the nurse
feverish, makes the milk more sparing than usual, or it causes the
milk to be gross and unwholesome. On the other hand, we must not
run into an opposite extreme. The mother, or the wet-nurse, by using
those means most conducive to her own health, will best advance the
interest of her little charge.
A wet-nurse ought to live somewhat in the following way: Let her
for breakfast have black tea, with one or two slices of cold meat, if
her appetite demand it, but not otherwise. It is customary for a wet-
nurse to make a hearty luncheon; of this I do not approve. If she feel
either faint or low at eleven o’clock, let her have either a tumbler of
porter, or of mild fresh ale, with a piece of dry toast soaked in it. She
ought not to dine later than half past one or two o’clock; she should
eat, for dinner, either mutton or beef, with either mealy potatoes, or
asparagus, or French beans, or secale, or turnips, or brocoli, or
cauliflower, and stale bread. Rich pastry, soups, gravies, high-
seasoned dishes, salted meats, greens, and cabbage must one and all
be carefully avoided, as they only tend to disorder the stomach, and
thus to deteriorate the milk.
It is a common remark, that “a mother who is suckling may eat
anything.” I do not agree with this opinion. Can impure or improper
food make pure and proper milk, or can impure or improper milk
make good blood for an infant, and thus good health?
The wet-nurse ought to take with her dinner a moderate quantity
of either sound porter, or of mild (but not old or strong) ale. Tea
should be taken at half past five or six o’clock; supper at nine, which
should consist either of a slice or two of cold meat, or of cheese if she
prefer it, with half a pint of porter or of mild ale; occasionally, a basin
of gruel may with advantage be substituted. Hot and late suppers are
prejudicial to the mother or to the wet-nurse, and, consequently, to
the child. The wet-nurse ought to be in bed every night by ten
o’clock.
It might be said that I have been too minute and particular in my
rules for a wet-nurse; but when it is considered of what importance
good milk is to the well-doing of an infant, in making him strong and
robust, not only now, but as he grows up to manhood, I shall, I trust,
be excused for my prolixity.
39. Have you any more hints to offer with regard to the
management of a wet-nurse?
A wet-nurse is frequently allowed to remain in bed until a late
hour in the morning, and during the day to continue in the house, as
if she were a fixture! How is it possible that any one, under such
treatment, can continue healthy?
A wet-nurse ought to rise early, and, if the weather and season will
permit, take a walk, which will give her an appetite for breakfast and
will make a good meal for her little charge. This, of course, cannot,
during the winter months, be done; but even then, she ought, some
part of the day, to take every opportunity of walking out; indeed, in
the summer time she should live half the day in the open air.
She ought strictly to avoid crowded rooms; her mind should be
kept calm and unruffled, as nothing disorders the milk so much as
passion and other violent emotions of the mind; a fretful temper is
very injurious, on which account you should, in choosing your wet-
nurse, endeavor to procure one of a mild, calm, and placid
disposition.[152]
A wet-nurse ought never to be allowed to dose her little charge
either with Godfrey’s Cordial, or with Dalby’s Carminative, or with
Syrup of White Poppies, or with medicine of any kind whatever. Let
her thoroughly understand this, and let there be no mistake in the
matter. Do not, for one moment, allow your children’s health to be
tampered and trifled with. A baby’s health is too precious to be
doctored, to be experimented upon, and to be ruined by an ignorant
person.
40. Have the goodness to state at what age a child ought to be
weaned?
This, of course, must depend both upon the strength of the child
and upon the health of the parent; on an average, nine months is the
proper time. If the mother be delicate it may be found necessary to
wean the infant at six months; or if he be weak, or laboring under
any disease, it may be well to continue suckling him for twelve
months; but after that time the breast will do him more harm than
good, and will, moreover, injure the mother’s health, and may, if she
be so predisposed, excite consumption.
41. How would you recommend a mother to act when she weans
her child?
She ought, as the word signifies, do it gradually—that is to say, she
should, by degrees, give him less and less of the breast, and more and
more of artificial food; at length she must only suckle him at night;
and lastly, it would be well for the mother either to send him away,
or to leave him at home, and, for a few days, to go away herself.
A good plan is, for the nurse-maid to have a half-pint bottle of new
milk—which has been previously boiled[153]—in the bed, so as to give
a little to him in lieu of the breast. The warmth of the body will keep
the milk of a proper temperature, and will supersede the use of
lamps, of candle-frames, and other troublesome contrivances.
42. While a mother is weaning her infant, and after she has
weaned him, what ought to be his diet?
Any one of the foods recommended in answer to question 34, page
36.
43. If a child be suffering severely from “wind,” is there any
objection to the addition of a small quantity either of gin or of
peppermint to his food to disperse it?
It is a murderous practice to add either gin or peppermint of the
shops (which is oil of peppermint dissolved in spirits) to his food.
Many children have, by such a practice, been made puny and
delicate, and have gradually dropped into an untimely grave. An
infant who is kept, for the first three or four months, entirely to the
breast—more especially if the mother be careful in her own diet—
seldom suffers from “wind;” those, on the contrary, who have much
or improper food,[154] suffer severely.
Care in feeding, then, is the grand preventive of “wind;” but if,
notwithstanding all your precautions, the child be troubled with
flatulence, the remedies recommended under the head of Flatulence
will generally answer the purpose.
44. Have you any remarks to make on sugar for sweetening a
baby’s food?
A small quantity of sugar in an infant’s food is requisite, sugar
being nourishing and fattening, and making cows’ milk to resemble
somewhat in its properties human milk; but, bear in mind, it must be
used sparingly. Much sugar cloys the stomach, weakens the
digestion, produces acidity, sour belchings, and wind.
If a baby’s bowels be either regular or relaxed, lump sugar is the
best for the purpose of sweetening his food; if his bowels are inclined
to be costive, brown sugar ought to be substituted for lump sugar, as
brown sugar acts on a young babe as an aperient, and, in the
generality of cases, is far preferable to physicking him with opening
medicine. An infant’s bowels, whenever it be practicable (and it
generally is), ought to be regulated by a judicious dietary rather than
by physic.
 VACCINATION.

45. Are you an advocate for vaccination?

Certainly. I consider it to be one of the greatest blessings ever
conferred upon mankind. Small-pox, before vaccination was
adopted, ravaged the country like a plague, and carried off thousands
annually; and those who did escape with their lives were frequently
made loathsome and disgusting objects by it. Even inoculation
(which is cutting for the small-pox) was attended with danger—more
especially to the unprotected—as it caused the disease to spread like
wildfire, and thus it carried off immense numbers.
Vaccination is one and an important cause of our increasing
population; small-pox, in olden times, decimated the country.
46. But vaccination does not always protect a child from small-
pox?
I grant you that it does not always protect him, neither does
inoculation; but when he is vaccinated, if he take the infection, he is
seldom pitted, and very rarely dies, and the disease assumes a
comparatively mild form. There are a few, very few fatal cases
recorded after vaccination, and these may be considered as only
exceptions to the general rule; and, possibly some of these may be
traced to the arm, when the child was vaccinated, not having taken
proper effect.
If children and adults were revaccinated,—say every seven years
after the first vaccination,—depend upon it, even these rare cases
would not occur, and in a short time small-pox would only be known
by name.
47. Do you consider it, then, the imperative duty of a mother in
every case to have, after the lapse of every seven years, her children
revaccinated?
I decidedly do; it would be an excellent plan for every person, once
every seven years, to be revaccinated, and even oftener, if small-pox
be rife in the neighborhood. Vaccination, however frequently
performed, can never do the slightest harm, and might do
inestimable good. Small-pox is both a pest and a disgrace, and ought
to be constantly fought and battled with until it be banished (which it
may readily be) the kingdom.
 I say that small-pox is a pest; it is worse than the plague, for if not
kept in subjection it is more general—sparing neither young nor old,
rich nor poor, and commits greater ravages than the plague ever did.
Small-pox is a disgrace; it is a disgrace to any civilized land, as there
is no necessity for its presence: if cow-pox were properly and
frequently performed, small-pox would be unknown. Cow-pox is a
weapon to conquer small-pox, and to drive it ignominiously from the
field.
My firm belief then is, that if every person were, every seven
years, duly and properly vaccinated, small-pox might be utterly
exterminated; but as long as there are such lax notions on the
subject, and such gross negligence, the disease will always be
rampant, for the poison of small-pox never slumbers nor sleeps, but
requires the utmost diligence to eradicate it. The great Dr. Jenner,
the discoverer of cow pox as a preventative of small-pox, strongly
advocated the absolute necessity of every person being revaccinated
once every seven years, or even oftener, if there was an epidemic of
small-pox in the neighborhood.
48. Are you not likely to catch not only the cow-pox, but any other
disease that the child has from whom the matter is taken?
The same objection holds good in cutting for small-pox
(inoculation)—only in a tenfold degree—small-pox being such a
disgusting complaint. Inoculated small-pox frequently produced and
left behind inveterate “breakings-out,” scars, cicatrices, and
indentations of the skin, sore eyes, blindness, loss of eyelashes,
scrofula, deafness—indeed, a long catalogue of loathsome diseases. A
medical man, of course, will be careful to take the cow-pox matter
from a healthy child.
49. Would it not be well to take the matter direct from the cow?
If a doctor be careful—which, of course, he will be—to take the
matter from a healthy child, and from a well-formed vesicle, I
consider it better than taking it direct from the cow, for the following
reasons: The cow-pox lymph, taken direct from the cow, produces
much more violent symptoms than after it has passed through
several persons; indeed, in some cases, it has produced effects as
severe as cutting for the small-pox; besides, it has caused, in many
cases, violent inflammation and even sloughing of the arm. There are
also several kinds of spurious cow-pox to which the cow is subject,
and which would be likely to be mistaken for the real lymph. Again,
if even the genuine matter were not taken from the cow exactly at
the proper time, it would be deprived of its protecting power.
50. At what age do you recommend an infant to be first
vaccinated?
When he is two months old, as the sooner he is protected the
better. Moreover, the older he is the greater will be the difficulty in
making him submit to the operation, and in preventing his arm from
being rubbed, thus endangering the breaking of the vesicles, and
thereby interfering with its effects. If small-pox be prevalent in the
neighborhood, he may, with perfect safety, be vaccinated at the
month’s end; indeed, if the small-pox be near at hand, he must be
vaccinated, regardless of his age and regardless of everything else,
for small-pox spares neither the young nor the old, and if a new-born
babe should unfortunately catch the disease, he will most likely die,
as at his tender age he would not have strength to battle with such a
formidable enemy. “A case in the General Lying-in-Hospital,
Lambeth, of small-pox occurred in a woman a few days after her
admission and the birth of her child. Her own child was vaccinated
when only four days old, and all the other infants in the house,
varying from one day to a fortnight and more. All took the
vaccination; and the woman’s own child, which suckled her and slept
with her; and all escaped the small-pox.”[155]
51. Do you consider that the taking of matter from a child’s arm
weakens the effect of vaccination on the system?
Certainly not, provided it has taken effect in more than one place.
The arm is frequently much inflamed, and vaccinating other children
from it abates the inflammation, and thus affords relief. It is always
well to leave one vesicle undisturbed.
52. If the infant has any “breaking-out” upon the skin, ought that
to be a reason for deferring the vaccination?
It should, as two skin diseases cannot well go on together; hence
the cow-pox might not take, or, if it did, might not have its proper
effect in preventing small-pox. “It is essential that the vaccine bud or
germ have a congenial soil, uncontaminated by another poison,
which, like a weed, might choke its healthy growth.”[156] The moment
the skin be free from the breaking-out, he must be vaccinated. A
trifling skin affection, like red-gum, unless it be severe, ought not, at
the proper age, to prevent vaccination. If small-pox be rife in the
neighborhood, the child must be vaccinated, regardless of any
“breaking-out” on the skin.
53. Does vaccination make a child poorly?
At about the fifth day after vaccination, and for three or four days,
he is generally a little feverish; the mouth is slightly hot, and he
delights to have the nipple in his mouth. He does not rest so well at
night; he is rather cross and irritable; and, sometimes, has a slight
bowel complaint. The arm, about the ninth or tenth day, is usually
much inflamed—that is to say, it is, for an inch or two or more
around the vesicles, red, hot, and swollen, and continues in this state
for a day or two, at the end of which time the inflammation gradually
subsides. It might be well to state that the above slight symptoms are
desirable, as it proves that the vaccination has had a proper effect on
his system, and that, consequently, he is more likely to be thoroughly
protected from any risk of catching small-pox.
54. Do you approve, either during or after vaccination, of giving
medicine, more especially if he be a little feverish?
No; as it would be likely to work off some of its effects, and thus
would rob the cow-pox of its efficacy on the system. I do not like to
interfere with vaccination in any way whatever (except, at the
proper time, to take a little matter from the arm), but to allow the
pock to have full power upon his constitution.
What do you give the medicine for? If the matter that is put into
the arm be healthy, what need is there of physic? And if the matter
be not of good quality, I am quite sure that no physic will make it so!
Look, therefore, at the case in whatever way you like, physic after
vaccination is not necessary; but, on the contrary, hurtful. If the
vaccination produce a slight feverish attack, it will, without the
administration of a particle of medicine, subside in two or three days.
55. Have you any directions to give respecting the arm AFTER
vaccination?
The only precaution necessary, is to take care that the arm be not
rubbed; otherwise the vesicles may be prematurely broken, and the
efficacy of the vaccination may be lessened. The sleeve, in
vaccination, ought to be large and soft, and should not be tied up.
The tying up of a sleeve makes it hard, and is much more likely to rub
the vesicles than if it were put on in the usual way.
56. If the arm, AFTER vaccination, be much inflamed, what ought
to be done?
Smear frequently, by means of a feather or a camel’s-hair brash, a
little cream on the inflamed part. This simple remedy will afford
great relief and comfort.
57. Have the goodness to describe the proper appearance, after
the falling off of the scab, of the arm?
It might be well to remark that the scabs ought always to be
allowed to fall off of themselves. They must not, on any account, be
picked or meddled with. With regard to the proper appearance of the
arm after the falling off of the scab, “a perfect vaccine scar should be
of small size, circular, and marked with radiations and
indentations.”[157]

DENTITION.

58. At what time does dentition commence?

The period at which it commences is uncertain. It may, as a rule,
be said that a babe begins to cut his teeth at seven months old. Some
have cut teeth at three months; indeed, there are instances on record
of infants having been born with teeth. King Richard the Third is said
to have been an example. Shakspeare notices it thus:
“York.—Marry, they say my uncle grew so fast
That he could gnaw a crust at two hours old;
’Twas full two years ere I could get a tooth.
Grandam, this would have been a biting jest.”
Act 2, sc. 5.

When a babe is born with teeth they generally drop out. On the
other hand, teething in some children does not commence until they
are a year and a half or two years old, and, in rare cases, not until
they are three years old. There are cases recorded of adults who have
never cut any teeth. An instance of the kind came under my own
observation.
 Dentition has been known to occur in old age. A case is recorded
by M. Carre, in the Gazette Médicale de Paris (Sept. 15, 1860), of an
old lady, aged eighty-five, who cut several teeth after attaining that
age!
59. What is the number of the FIRST set of teeth, and in what order
do they generally appear?
The first or temporary set consists of twenty. The first set of teeth
are usually cut in pairs. “I may say that nearly invariably the order is
—1st, the lower front incisors [cutting-teeth], then the upper front,
then the upper two lateral incisors, and that not uncommonly a
double tooth is cut before the two lower laterals; but at all events the
lower laterals come 7th and 8th, and not 5th and 6th, as nearly all
books on the subject testify”[158]. Then the first grinders in the lower
jaw, afterward the first upper grinders, then the lower corner pointed
or canine teeth, after which the upper corner or eye-teeth, then the
second grinders in the lower jaw, and lastly, the second grinders of
the upper jaw. They do not, of course, always appear in this rotation.
Nothing is more uncertain than the order of teething. A child seldom
cuts his second grinders until after he is two years old. He is usually,
from the time they first appear, two years in cutting his first set of
teeth. As a rule, therefore, a child of two years old has sixteen, and
one of two years and a half old, twenty teeth.
60. If an infant be either feverish or irritable, or otherwise
poorly, and if the gums be hot, swollen, and tender, are you an
advocate for their being lanced?
Certainly; by doing so he will, in the generality of instances, be
almost instantly relieved.
61. But it has been stated that lancing the gums hardens them?
This is a mistake—it has a contrary effect. It is a well-known fact
that a part which has been divided gives way much more readily than
one which has not been cut. Again, the tooth is bound down by a
tight membrane, which, if not released by lancing, frequently brings
on convulsions. If the symptoms be urgent, it may be necessary from
time to time to repeat the lancing.
It would, of course, be the height of folly to lance the gums unless
they be hot and swollen, and unless the tooth or the teeth be near at
hand. It is not to be considered a panacea for every baby’s ill,
although, in those cases where the lancing of the gums is indicated,
the beneficial effect is sometimes almost magical.
62. How ought the lancing of a child’s gums to be performed?
The proper person, of course, to lance his gums is a medical man.
But, if perchance you should be miles away and be out of the reach of
one, it would be well for you to know how the operation ought to be
performed. Well, then, let him lie on the nurse’s lap upon his back,
and let the nurse take hold of his hands, in order that he may not
interfere with the operation.
Then, if it be the upper gum that requires lancing, you ought to go
to the head of the child, looking over, as it were, and into his mouth,
and should steady the gum with the index finger of your left hand;
then you should take hold of the gum-lancet with your right hand—
holding it as if it were a table-knife at dinner—and cut firmly along
the inflamed and swollen gum and down to the tooth, until the edge
of the gum-lancet grates on the tooth. Each incision ought to extend
along the ridge of the gum to about the extent of each expected tooth.
If it be the lower gum that requires lancing, you must go to the
side of the child, and should steady the outside of the jaw with the
fingers of the left hand, and the gum with the left thumb, and then
you should perform the operation as before directed.
Although the lancing of the gums, to make it intelligible to a non-
professional person, requires a long description, it is, in point of fact,
a simple affair, is soon performed, and gives but little pain.
63. If teething cause convulsions, what ought to be done?
The first thing to be done (after sending for a medical man) is to
freely dash cold water upon the face, and to sponge the head with
cold water, and as soon as warm water can be procured, to put him
into a warm bath[159] of 98 degrees Fahrenheit. If a thermometer be
not at hand,[160] you must plunge your own elbow into the water: a
comfortable heat for your elbow will be the proper heat for the
infant. He must remain in the bath for a quarter of an hour, or until
the fit be at an end. The body must, after coming out of the bath, be
wiped with warm and dry and coarse towels; he ought then to be
placed in a warm blanket. The gums must be lanced, and cold water
should be applied to the head. An enema, composed of table salt, of
olive oil, and warm oatmeal gruel—in the proportion of one
tablespoonful of salt, of one of oil, and a teacupful of gruel—ought
then to be administered, and should, until the bowels have been well
opened, be repeated every quarter of an hour; as soon as he comes to
himself a dose of aperient medicine ought to be given.
64. A nurse is in the habit of giving a child who is teething either
coral or ivory to bite—do you approve of the plan?
I think it a bad practice to give him any hard, unyielding
substance, as it tends to harden the gums, and by so doing causes the
teeth to come through with greater difficulty. I have found softer
substances, such as either a piece of wax-taper, or an india-rubber
ring, or a piece of the best bridle-leather, or a crust of bread, of great
service. If a piece of crust be given as a gum-stick, he must, while
biting it, be well watched, or by accident he might loosen a large
piece of it, which might choke him. The pressure of any of these
excites a more rapid absorption of the gum, and thus causes the
tooth to come through more easily and quickly.
65. Have you any objection to my baby, when he is cutting his
teeth, sucking his thumb?
Certainly not; the thumb is the best gum-stick in the world—it is
convenient, it is handy (in every sense of the word), it is of the right
size, and of the proper consistence—neither too hard nor too soft;
there is no danger, as of some artificial gum-sticks, of its being
swallowed, and thus of its choking the child. The sucking of the
thumb causes the salivary glands to pour out their contents, and thus
not only to moisten the dry mouth, but assists the digestion; the
pressure of the thumb eases, while the teeth are “breeding,” the pain
and irritation of the gums, and helps, when the teeth are sufficiently
advanced, to bring them through the gums. Sucking of the thumb
will often make a cross infant contented and happy, and will
frequently induce a restless babe to fall into a sweet refreshing sleep.
Truly may the thumb be called a baby’s comfort. By all means, then,
let your child suck his thumb whenever he likes, and as long as he
chooses to do so.
There is a charming, bewitching little picture of a babe sucking his
thumb in Kingsley’s Water Babies, which I cordially commend to
your favorable notice and study.
 66. But if an infant be allowed to suck his thumb, will it not be
likely to become a habit, and stick to him for years—until, indeed, he
become a big boy?
After he has cut the whole of his first set of teeth, that is to say,
when he is about two years and a half old, he might, if it be likely to
become a habit, be readily cured by the following method, namely, by
making a paste of aloes and water and smearing it upon his thumb.
One or two dressings will suffice, as after just tasting the bitter aloes
he will take a disgust to his former enjoyment, and the habit will at
once be broken.
Many persons, I know, have an objection to children sucking their
thumbs, as, for instance,—
“Perhaps it’s as well to keep children from plums,
And from pears in the season, and sucking their thumbs.”[161]

My reply is—
P’rhaps ’tis as well to keep children from pears;
The pain they might cause is oft followed by tears;
’Tis certainly well to keep them from plums;
But certainly not from sucking their thumbs!
If a babe suck his thumb
’Tis an ease to his gum;
A comfort; a boon; a calmer of grief;
A friend in his need, affording relief;
A solace; a good; a soother of pain;
A composer to sleep; a charm; and a gain;
’Tis handy at once to his sweet mouth to glide;
When done with, drops gently down by his side;
’Tis fixed like an anchor while the babe sleeps,
And the mother with joy her still vigil keeps.

67. A child who is teething dribbles, and thereby wets his chest,
which frequently causes him to catch cold; what had better be done?
Have in readiness to put on several flannel dribbling-bibs, so that
they may be changed as often as they become wet; or, if he dribble
very much, the oiled silk dribbling-bibs, instead of the flannel ones,
may be used, and which may be procured at any baby-linen
warehouse.
68. Do you approve of giving a child, during teething, much fruit?
 No; unless it be a few ripe strawberries or raspberries, or a roasted
apple, or the juice of five or six grapes—taking care that he does not
swallow either the seeds or the skin—or the insides of ripe
gooseberries, or an orange. Such fruits, if the bowels be in a costive
state, will be particularly useful.
All stone fruits, raw apples, or pears ought to be carefully avoided,
as they not only disorder the stomach and the bowels—causing
convulsions, gripings, etc.—but they have the effect of weakening the
bowels, and thus of engendering worms.
69. Is a child, during teething, more subject to disease, and if so,
to what complaints, and in what manner may they be prevented?
The teeth are a fruitful source of suffering and of disease, and are
with truth styled “our first and our last plagues.” Dentition is the
most important period of a child’s life, and is the exciting cause of
many infantile diseases; during this period, therefore, he requires
constant and careful watching. When we consider how the teeth
elongate and enlarge in his gums, pressing on the nerves and on the
surrounding parts, and thus how frequently they produce pain,
irritation, and inflammation; when we further contemplate what
sympathy there is in the nervous system, and how susceptible the
young are to pain, no surprise can be felt at the immense disturbance
and the consequent suffering and danger frequently experienced by
children while cutting their first set of teeth.
The complaints or the diseases induced by dentition are
numberless, affecting almost every organ of the body,—the brain,
occasioning convulsions, water on the brain, etc.; the lungs,
producing congestion, inflammation, cough, etc.; the stomach,
exciting sickness, flatulence, acidity, etc.; the bowels, inducing
griping, at one time costiveness, and at another time purging; the
skin, causing “breakings-out.”
To prevent these diseases, means ought to be used to invigorate a
child’s constitution by plain, wholesome food, as recommended
under the article of diet; by exercise and fresh air;[162] by allowing
him, weather permitting, to be out of doors a great part of every day;
by lancing the gums when they get red, hot, and swollen; by attention
to the bowels, and if he suffer more than usual, by keeping them
rather in a relaxed state by any simple aperient, such as either castor
oil or magnesia and rhubarb, etc.; and, let me add, by attention to his
temper. Many children are made feverish and ill by petting and
spoiling them. On this subject I cannot do better than refer you to an
excellent little work entitled Abbott’s Mother at Home, wherein the
author proves the great importance of early training.
70. Have the goodness to describe the symptoms and the
treatment of Painful Dentition.
Painful dentition may be divided into two forms—(1.) the Mild;
and (2.) the Severe. In the mild form the child is peevish and fretful,
and puts his fingers, and everything within reach, to his mouth; he
likes to have his gums rubbed, and takes the breast with avidity;
indeed, it seems a greater comfort to him than ever. There is
generally a considerable flow of saliva, and he has frequently a more
loose state of bowels than is his wont.
Now, with regard to the more severe form of painful dentition: The
gums are red, swollen, and hot, and he cannot, without expressing
pain, bear to have them touched; hence, if he be at the breast, he is
constantly loosing the nipple. There is dryness of the mouth,
although before there had been a great flow of saliva. He is feverish,
restless, and starts in his sleep. His face is flushed. His head is heavy
and hot. He is sometimes convulsed.[163] He is frequently violently
griped and purged, and suffers severely from flatulence. He is
predisposed to many and severe diseases.
The treatment of the mild form consists of friction of the gums
with the finger; with a little “soothing syrup,” as recommended by Sir
Charles Locock;[164] a tepid bath of about 92 degrees Fahrenheit,
every night at bedtime; attention to diet and bowels; fresh air and
exercise. For the mild form, the above plan will usually be all that is
required. If he dribble and the bowels be relaxed, so much the better;
the flow of saliva and the increased action of the bowels afford relief,
and therefore must not be interfered with. In the mild form lancing
of the gums is not desirable. The gums ought not to be lanced unless
the teeth be near at hand, and unless the gums be red, hot, and
swollen.
In the severe form a medical man should be consulted early, as
more energetic remedies will be demanded; that is to say, the gums
will require to be freely lanced, warm baths to be used, and
medicines to be given, to ward off mischief from the head, from the
chest, and from the stomach.