Earth's Dynamic Geosphere

Ch 1: Volcanoes and Your Community
Global distribution, mid-ocean ridge, magma properties, volcanic flows and explosivity index, igneous rocks, particle types and gases, climate change
Ch 2: Plate Tectonics and Your Community
Lithospheric plate movement and boundaries, thermal conduction, subduction, earthquakes and plate tectonics, paleogeography, paleomagnetism
Ch 3: Earthquakes and Your Community
Seismic waves, earthquake intensity and magnitude, patterns and plate tectonics, isoseismal maps, influence of underlying materials, resonance

Understanding Your Environment

Ch 1: Bedrock Geology and Your Community
Sedimentary, Igneous and metamorphic rocks in your community, rock units, folds, faults, subsidence, superposition, lateral continuity, physiographic regions of the U.S.
Ch 2: River Systems and Your Community
High and low-gradient streams, sediments and particle size and shape, drainage basin and divide, human interactions and urbanization
Ch 3: Land Use Planning and Your Community
Drainage basins and divides, contamination, surface runoff, urban-heat-island effect, ozone, angle of repose, soils, terrain analysis, development constraints

Earth's Fluid Spheres

Ch 1: Oceans and Your Community
Surface and deep ocean circulation, wind and Coriolis forces, convection cells, geostrophic currents, gyres, El Nino, Jet Stream, nutrient cycling
Ch 2: Severe Weather and Your Community
Temperature and air density, weather fronts, stratification, squall lines, supercells, flooding, thunder and lightning, tornadoes, Fujita scale, safety
Ch 3: Cryosphere and Your Community
Atomic structure and heat capacity of water, glacial formation and cycles, effects of glaciers on sea level and landscape, erosion, deposition, catastrophic change in geology

Earth's Natural Resources

Ch 1: Energy Resources and Your Community
Heat transfer processes, power and work, electricity generation, fossil fuels, trends in coal production and consumption, acid rain, greenhouse effect, pros and cons of energy resources
Ch 2: Mineral Resources and Your Community
Materials to make beverage containers, mineral classification and distribution, geochemistry, costs and benefits of mining, processing mineral ores
Ch 3: Water Resources and Your Community
Water cycle, distribution of salt and fresh water, surface and groundwater flow and supply systems, water budget, climatograph, pollution, treatment

Earth System Evolution

Ch 1: Astronomy and Your Community
History and scale of Solar System, Moon, effect of orbits, impact events, Sun and Earth’s energy budget, electromagnetic radiation, Hertzsprung-Russell diagram
Ch 2: Climate Change and Your Community
Factors affecting local and global climate, paleoclimate, orbital variations, ocean circulation, plate tectonics, Pangea, carbon budget, computer simulations
Ch 3: Changing Life and Your Community
Fossils, geologic time scale, biomes and climate change, extinction, biodiversity, evolution