The fifth edition of Understanding Earth continues the book's enduring goal, to help students understand what physical geology teaches us about the world and what it brings to our lives. Two new co-authors have introduced a wealth of recent data and applications to keep the science on the cutting edge.

Meet the Authors
Preface
Building a Planet
Plate Tectonics: The Unifying Theory
Minerals: Building Blocks of Rocks
Rocks: Records of Geological Processes
Igneous Rocks: Solids from Metals
Volcanism
Weathering and Erosion
Sediments and Sedimentary Rocks
Early History of the Terrestrial Planets
Metamorphic Rocks
Geobiology: Life Interacts with the Earth
The Rock Records and Geologic Time Scale
Folds, Faults, and Other Records of Rock Deformation
Mass Wasting
The Hydrologic Cycle and Groundwater
Streams: Transport to the Oceans
Winds and Deserts
Glaciers: The Work of Ice
Earth Beneath the Oceans
Landscapes: Tectonic and Climate Interaction
Earthquakes
Evolution of the Continents
Exploring Earth's Interiors
Energy Material Resources from the Earth
Environment, Global Change, and Human Impacts
Appendix 1: Conversion Factors
Appendix 2: Numerical Data Pertaining to Earth
Appendix3: Properties of the most Common Minerals of Earth's Crust
Appendix4: Topographic and Geologic Maps
Glossary
Index

JOHN GROTZINGER researches the chemical development of the early oceans and atmosphere and the environmental context of early animal evolution at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), USA.

THOMAS H. JORDAN is based at the University of Southern California where his specialist topics include the nature of plate-tectonic flow and the question of mantle stratification.

FRANK PRESS has made pioneering contributions to the fields of Geophysics, Oceanography, lunar and planetary sciences and natural resource exploration. He has been named most influential scientist in the USA by U.S. News and World Report surveys three times and is currently with the Washington Advisory Group.

RAYMOND SIEVER is an internationally known expert in sedimentary Petrology, Geo-chemistry, and the evolution of oceans and the atmosphere. He is a long-time member of Harvard University's Department of Earth and Planetary Sciences.