SECOND EDITION Earth’s Evolving The History of Systems Planet Earth Ronald Martin, Ph.D. University of Delaware Newark, Delaware © Jones & Bartlett Learning, LLC, an Ascend Learning Company. NOT FOR SALE OR DISTRIBUTION 9781284457162_FMxx_00i_xxii.indd 1 07/11/16 1:46 pm World Headquarters Jones & Bartlett Learning 5 Wall Street Burlington, MA 01803 978-443-5000 [email protected] www.jblearning.com Jones & Bartlett Learning books and products are available through most bookstores and online booksellers. To contact Jones & Bartlett Learning directly, call 800-832-0034, fax 978-443-8000, or visit our website, www.jblearning.com. Substantial discounts on bulk quantities of Jones & Bartlett Learning publications are available to corporations, professional associations, and other qualified organizations. For details and specific discount information, contact the special sales department at Jones & Bartlett Learning via the above contact information or send an email to [email protected]. 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Earth’s Evolving Systems: The History of Planet Earth, Second Edition, is an independent publication and has not been authorized, sponsored, or otherwise approved by the owners of the trademarks or service marks referenced in this product. There may be images in this book that feature models; these models do not necessarily endorse, represent, or participate in the activities represented in the images. Any screenshots in this product are for educational and instructive purposes only. Any individuals and scenarios featured in the case studies throughout this product may be real or fictitious, but are used for instructional purposes only. 45716-2 Production Credits VP, Executive Publisher: David D. Cella Composition: Cenveo® Publisher Services Executive Editor: Matthew Kane Cover Design: Scott Moden Associate Editor: Audrey Schwinn Rights & Media Specialist: Jamey O’Quinn Senior Production Editor: Nancy Hitchcock Media Development Editor: Shannon Sheehan Marketing Manager: Lindsay White Cover Image: Shutterstock, Inc./Francesco R. Iacomino Production Services Manager: Colleen Lamy Printing and Binding: RR Donnelley Manufacturing and Inventory Control Supervisor: Amy Bacus Cover Printing: RR Donnelley Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data Names: Martin, Ronald E. Title: Earth’s evolving systems : the history of planet Earth / Ronald Martin, PhD, University of Delaware, Newark, Delaware. Description: Second edition. | Burlington, Massachusetts : Jones & Bartlett Learning, [2018] | Includes index. Identifiers: LCCN 2016037413 | ISBN 9781284108293 Subjects: LCSH: Earth (Planet)—History. | Geodynamics—History. Classification: LCC QE501 .M2864 2018 | DDC 551.7—dc23 LC record available at https://lccn.loc.gov/2016037413 6048 Printed in the United States of America 20 19 18 17 16 10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1 © Jones & Bartlett Learning, LLC, an Ascend Learning Company. NOT FOR SALE OR DISTRIBUTION 9781284457162_FMxx_00i_xxii.indd 2 07/11/16 1:46 pm DEDICATION This book is again dedicated to the late Dr. Allan Thompson (Department of Geological Sciences, University of Delaware), who did not shrink from learning something new and then teaching it. And to all those instructors who, like Al did, teach about the importance of the science of geology by transporting students to the other-worlds of Earth recorded in the rocks of geologic time. iii © Jones & Bartlett Learning, LLC, an Ascend Learning Company. NOT FOR SALE OR DISTRIBUTION 9781284457162_FMxx_00i_xxii.indd 3 07/11/16 1:46 pm BRIEF CONTENTS PART I Earth Systems: Their Nature and Their Study .........1 CHAPTER 1 Introduction: Investigating Earth’s Systems .....................3 CHAPTER 2 Plate Tectonics .............................................23 CHAPTER 3 Earth Systems: Processes and Interactions ....................56 CHAPTER 4 Sedimentary Rocks, Sedimentary Environments, and Fossils .....85 CHAPTER 5 Evolution and Extinction .................................. 113 CHAPTER 6 Geologic Time and Stratigraphy ............................ 142 PART II The Precambrian: Origin and Early Evolution of Earth’s Systems .............................167 CHAPTER 7 An Extraordinary Beginning: Hadean and Archean ............ 169 CHAPTER 8 Origins of Life ............................................ 200 CHAPTER 9 The Proterozoic: Life Becomes a Geologic Force .............. 225 CHAPTER 10 Life’s “Big Bang”: The Origins and Early Diversification of Multicellular Animals ................................... 249 PART III The Phanerozoic: Toward the Modern World .......275 CHAPTER 11 The Early-to-Middle Paleozoic World ........................ 277 CHAPTER 12 Late Paleozoic World ...................................... 328 CHAPTER 13 Mesozoic Era ............................................. 364 CHAPTER 14 The Cenozoic Era: The Paleogene Period ..................... 421 CHAPTER 15 The Cenozoic Era: The Neogene Period ...................... 456 PART IV Humans and the Environment ...................499 CHAPTER 16 Rapid Climate Change During the Holocene .................. 501 CHAPTER 17 The Anthropocene: Humans as an Environmental Force ....... 524 iv © Jones & Bartlett Learning, LLC, an Ascend Learning Company. NOT FOR SALE OR DISTRIBUTION 9781284457162_FMxx_00i_xxii.indd 4 07/11/16 1:46 pm CONTENTS Preface to the Second Edition: For the Instructor and Student .................................xiii The Student Experience .....................................................................xv Teaching Tools ............................................................................xix Acknowledgments ........................................................................xxi About the Author ..........................................................................xxii PART I Earth Systems: Their Nature and Their Study .........1 CHAPTER 1 Introduction: Investigating Earth’s Systems .....................3 1.1 Why Study the History of Earth? ........................................4 1.2 What Are the Major Earth Systems, and What Are Their Characteristics? ....7 1.3 Geologic Time and Process ...........................................10 1.4 Directionality and the Evolution of Earth Systems. .15 1.5 Geology as an Historical Science ......................................16 1.6 Method and Study of Earth’s Evolving Systems .........................17 CHAPTER 2 Plate Tectonics .............................................23 2.1 Introduction ........................................................24 2.2 Structure of Earth ...................................................24 2.3 Plate Tectonics: From Hypothesis to Theory ............................28 2.3.1 Early studies of mountain building .............................28 2.3.2 Hypothesis of continental dri .................................28 2.3.3 Hypothesis of seafloor spreading ..............................31 2.3.4 Corroboration of seafloor spreading. .35 2.4 Continental Margins and Plate Boundaries: Features and Behavior .......37 2.4.1 Types of margins .............................................37 2.4.2 Tectonic features of Earth’s surface ............................37 2.4.3 Types of plate boundaries .....................................40 2.5 Orogenesis .........................................................45 2.5.1 Types of orogenesis ..........................................45 2.5.2 Rocks and sediments associated with orogenesis ................46 2.6 Isostasy ............................................................48 2.7 Tectonic Cycle .......................................................48 2.8 Tectonic Cycle and Scientific Method ..................................51 v © Jones & Bartlett Learning, LLC, an Ascend Learning Company. NOT FOR SALE OR DISTRIBUTION 9781284457162_FMxx_00i_xxii.indd 5 07/11/16 1:46 pm CHAPTER 3 Earth Systems: Processes and Interactions ....................56 3.1 The Solid Earth System: Components and Processes ....................57 3.2 Rock Cycle ..........................................................57 3.2.1 Igneous rocks ................................................57 3.2.2 Sedimentary rocks ...........................................63 3.2.3 Metamorphic rocks ...........................................63 3.3 Atmosphere and Its Circulation .......................................66 3.4 The Hydrosphere ....................................................69 3.4.1 Hydrologic cycle .............................................69 3.4.2 Ocean circulation ............................................73 3.5 The Biosphere .......................................................76 3.5.1 Biogeography: distribution of plants and animals over