The Earth Through Time, 11th Edition

602 Pages·2016·51.215 MB·English

by  Harold L. Levin, David T. King Jr.

E L E V E N T H E D I T I O N
The Earth Through Time
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There rolls the deep where grew the tree.
O Earth, what changes hast thou seen!
There where the long street roars, hath been
The stillness of the central sea.
— Alfred, Lord Tennyson, In Memoriam A. H. H. (1849)
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E L E V E N T H E D I T I O N
The Earth
Through Time
H A R O L D L . L E V I N
Professor of Geology
Washington University,
St. Louis, Missouri
D A V I D T . K I N G , J R .
Professor of Geology
Auburn University,
Auburn, Alabama
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VICE PRESIDENT & DIRECTOR Petra Recter
EXECUTIVE EDITOR Jessica Fiorillo
DEVELOPMENT EDITOR Jennifer Yee
ASSISTANT DEVELOPMENT EDITOR Mallory Fryc
SENIOR DIRECTOR Don Fowley
PROJECT MANAGER Gladys Soto
PROJECT SPECIALIST Nichole Urban
PROJECT ASSISTANT Anna Melhorn
SENIOR CONTENT SPECIALIST Nicole Repasky
PRODUCTION EDITOR Abidha Sulaiman
SENIOR PHOTO EDITOR Billy Ray
COVER PHOTO CREDIT Corey Ford/Getty Images, Inc.
This book and cover was set in 10/12 Janson by SPi Global and printed and bound by Quad Graphics Versailles.
This book is printed on acid free paper. ∞
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ISBN: 978-1-119-22834-9 (BRV)
ISBN: 978-1-119-22320-7 (EVALC)
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Names: Levin, Harold L. (Harold Leonard), 1929– author. | King, David T.
(David Thompson), author.
Title: The earth through time / Harold L. Levin, David T. King, Jr.
Description: 11th edition. | Hoboken, NJ : John Wiley & Sons, 2017. |
Includes index.
Identifiers: LCCN 2016010706 (print) | LCCN 2016015080 (ebook) | ISBN
978-1-119-22834-9 (looseleaf) | ISBN 978-1-119-11708-7 (pdf) | ISBN 978-1-119-22801-1 (epub)
Subjects: LCSH: Historical geology—Textbooks.
Classification: LCC QE28.3 .L48 2016 (print) | LCC QE28.3 (ebook) |
DDC 551.7—dc23
LC record available at http://lccn.loc.gov/2016010706
Printing identification and country of origin will either be included on this page and/or the end of the book. In addition, if the ISBN on
this page and the back cover do not match, the ISBN on the back cover should be considered the correct ISBN.
Printed in the United States of America
10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1
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A B O U T T H E A U T H O R S
Harold (“Hal”) Levin began his career as a petroleum geologist
in 1956 after receiving bachelor’s and master’s degrees from the
University of Missouri and a doctorate from Washington
University. His fondness for teaching brought him back to
Washington University in 1962, where he is currently professor
emeritus of geology and paleontology in the Department of Earth
and Planetary Sciences. His writing efforts include authorship of
ten editions of The Earth Through Time; four editions of
Contemporary Physical Geology; Life Through Time; Essentials of Earth
Science; and co‐authorship of Earth: Past and Present, as well as nine
editions of Laboratory Studies in Historical Geology; and Ancient
Invertebrates and Their Living Relatives.
For his courses in physical geology, historical geology, paleontology, sedimentology, and stratigraphy, Hal has
received several awards for excellence in teaching. The accompanying photograph was taken during a lecture on
life of the Cenozoic Era. The horse skull serves to illustrate changes in the teeth and jaws of grazing animals in
response to the spread of prairies and savannahs during Miocene and subsequent epochs.
Dedication: This book is dedicated to my wife Kay, who has cheerfully endured my preoccupation with preparing this
textbook, and to Noah, Lillie, Eli, Mollie, Natalie, Emily, Caitlyn, Hannah, and Candis. May they have the wisdom to
treat the Earth kindly. -Hal Levin
David T. King, Jr. holds the rank of Professor of Geology at
Auburn University. A graduate of the University of Missouri‐
Columbia, David has 35 years of postdoctoral experience in
teaching and research in the fields of sedimentology and
stratigraphy. He has worked on Paleozoic carbonates of Texas and
the U.S. midcontinent, on the Jurassic hydrocarbon basins of
southern Alabama and Mississippi, and on Cretaceous and
Cenozoic strata in the U.S. Gulf Coast and in Belize. Since 1996,
his main area of academic research has been cosmic impact in
marine waters over geological time. Dr. King is a former Commissioner of the North American Commission on
Stratigraphic Nomenclature (1997–2000), and he was a gubernatorial appointee to the Alabama state licensure
board for geologists (2005–2014). He teaches introductory, advanced, and graduate courses in geology on many
aspects of stratigraphy and planetary geology. Photo: At Hawaii Volcanoes National Park, Hawai’i Island;
overlooking the summit caldera of Kilauea volcano.
Dedication: This book is dedicated to my wife, Lucille, who has been with me on so many geological field trips,
explorations, and adventures. Also, I dedicate this book to all my geology students at Auburn University. -David King
v
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P R E F A C E
Students may enroll in an Earth history course for sediments that there was a past episode of cooling of
many reasons. Usually, it is simply to satisfy a college the planet. This leads us to ask why cooling occurred.
science requirement. Those of us who teach the Was it the result of changes in the amount of radiation
course, however, strive to provide a better reason. We received from the Sun, a shift in the Earth’s axis of rota-
hope to instill in our students knowledge about how tion, changes in the composition of the atmosphere, or
our planet became a haven for life; how change has major changes in the distribution of continents? Earth
dominated Earth’s history; and how change will con- scientists test each of these ideas in the laboratory and
tinue to challenge us in the future. In the geological examine rocks of the appropriate age to find the best
past, change has been driven by natural forces. Now answer. That answer is always tentative and subject to
we humans, so widely distributed on Earth and so great new discoveries. Usually, the answer relates to recipro-
in numbers, are an additional driving force of change. cal actions of all the Earth’s systems: the atmosphere,
More often than not, we cause changes that are harm- biosphere, and solid Earth. In this book, students will
ful. These are reasons why our students need to more read about such an integrated approach to answering
fully understand the long history of this small and questions about the geological past in the pages ahead.
fragile planet. They need to learn from its history, its The Earth Through Time is designed for the under-
catastrophes, and its successes. graduate student who has little previous acquaintance
This textbook chronicles the Earth’s story from the with geology. Students exploring the possibility of an
time the Sun began to radiate its light, to the beginning academic major in geology, however, can be confident
of human civilization. It is a history that began about that the text will provide the necessary background for
4,560 million years ago after our planet had gathered advanced courses. We have included basic information
most of its mass from a rotating cloud of dust, gases, and about minerals, igneous, and metamorphic rocks so
meteorites. From that time to the present, the Earth has that the text can be used either for a single, self‐
experienced climatic shifts from widespread warmth to contained first course, or for the second course in a
ice ages. The floors of the oceans have alternately two‐semester sequence of Physical Geology followed
expanded and contracted in area. Continents have by Historical Geology.
drifted thousands of kilometers, coalesced, then splin-
▶
tered apart. Rocks have been thrust skyward to form
THE ELEVENTH EDITION
lofty mountains, and placid landscapes have been dis-
rupted by earthquakes or buried in floods of fiery lava. The goal of The Earth Through Time is to present the
For about the past 3 billion years, life has existed on history of the Earth, and the science behind that his-
our planet. Fossil remains of that life attest to biological tory, as simply and clearly as possible. We have strived
achievements and failures in coping with changing con- to make the narrative more engaging, to convey the
ditions. There are lessons to be learned from our planet’s unique perspective and value of historical geology, and
biological history—lessons that will help us anticipate to improve the presentation so as to stimulate interest
and act wisely to dangers we may face in the future. and enhance the student’s ability to retain essential
Learning what has happened on Earth in the past is concepts, hopefully, long after the final exam.
sufficient reason to study Earth history. A course in In this eleventh edition, we have revised numerous
Historical Geology, however, has value in many other figures and updated large passages of text to include
ways as well. As a science, it informs us about a way to the newest developments in the ever‐changing field of
answer questions, how discoveries are made, and how the geological history of the Earth. For example, new
to tell the difference between valid and faulty assump- dis coveries about the history of growth and development
tions. All of this comes by way of the scientific method. of supercontinents, especially during Prote rozoic, and
The term “scientific method” may sound a bit formida- the temporal and spatial distribution of ice ages
ble to students, but it is really the rational way we ask and related expansion of glacial ice sheets through
questions, make educated assumptions about the time have been added to this edition. This textbook
answers, and test those answers by observation or includes new discoveries regarding cosmic impact
experimentation. As one example, we might infer from events on Earth, as well as new findings about the
the widespread occurrence of same‐aged glacial causes and effects of Earth’s great mass extinctions.
vi
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Preface ◀ vii
▶
HOW DOES THE EARTH THROUGH to end‐of‐chapter questions as well. Instructional
TIME HELP STUDENTS LEARN? resources may be provided to those adopters quali-
fied under our adoption policy. Please contact your
The Earth Through Time has several features within each
local Wiley sales representative directly or through
chapter to engage the student and promote learning.
our website (www.wiley.com/college).
● Questions for Review allows students to test their
▶
understanding of material in a chapter and to fur-
STUDENT RESOURCES
ther process what they have learned.
● Chapter Summaries. Each chapter ends with a To help students understand, retain, and appreciate
summary of essential concepts, affording students a the information in their Historical Geology textbook,
condensed overview of the chapter. If the summary The Earth Through Time is accompanied by an exten-
statement is not fully understood, it is a clue to sive set of supporting materials.
revisit the topic in the chapter. The Book Companion Site (www.wiley.com
/college/levin) features simple‐to‐use and highly
● Key terms are printed in boldface the first time
effective study tools prepared by David King, which
they are used. A list of Key Terms is provided at the
will help students isolate and retain key information
end of each chapter, along with the page number on
from the text, prepare efficiently for exams. The
which they are defined. The student can see the key
website includes:
terms defined again in the book’s Glossary.
● So that students can anticipate what lies ahead, each ● Student Study Guide, which prepares students for
chapter begins with a list of Key Chapter tests and quizzes by providing a concise chapter
Concepts. summary, key terms, and self‐quiz with answer key.
Answers to figure‐caption questions are in this guide
● Caption questions occur beneath many text fig-
as well.
ures. These draw attention to the figure content and
how it relates to the figure’s chapter content. ● Chapter Quizzes, which provides immediate
results on completion of each quiz.
● Appendices, which can be found on the Book
Companion Site on the Internet, include a Clas- ● Web Links, which allows students to explore external
sification of Living Things that helps students resources for topics examined in each chapter.
place fossils described in the text in the text within ● Appendix to the textbook, which contains a
their taxonomic group. The appendices also helpful set of reference materials that are useful
include a map of the Physiographic Provinces of for students and is available at the Book Com-
the United States, a Periodic Table and Symbols panion Site, which is online.
for Chemical Elements (useful as as a reference
▶
when reading the sections on mineral composition
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
and radioactive elements), Convenient Con-
version Factors, Notes on Exponential Scientific
Some of the changes in this edition resulted from
Notation, Rock Symbols, and a simplified
the suggestions of an insightful and diligent group of
Bedrock Geology of North America.
thoughtful and dedicated professors who reviewed
● Most chapters include one or two special sections the text in anticipation of this new edition. Other
that expound on the geological features in well‐ changes are based on research by David King. In
known parks. Titled HISTORICAL GEOLOGY particular, our sincere thanks must go to those at
IN PARKS, these special sections show readers John Wiley and Sons who encouraged this new
examples of where they can see geological features edition.
that are discussed in that chapter. The geology of Ryan Flahive provided the stimulus and encourage-
these selected parks is strongly connected with the ment to move this new edition forward. Others at
topic of the chapter where they occur. Wiley who played key roles in producing this new edi-
tion include Nichole Urban, Leslie Lahr, Ruth Pepper,
▶
Lisa Passmore, and Billy Ray. And in Chennai, there
INSTRUCTOR RESOURCES
was Abidha Sulaiman and her copyediting staff and art
Instructor resources include Instructor’s Manual, team. We thank all of you so much for your help and
Test Bank, and Lecture PowerPoints, which were patience. Finally, the authors are grateful for the
prepared by David King. The Instructor’s Manual opportunity to work with such an outstanding pub-
contains many useful features and includes answers lisher as John Wiley and Sons, Inc.
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C O N T E N T S
C H A P T E R 1 Common Rock‐Forming Minerals 56
The Science of Historical Geology 3 Earth’s Three Families of Rock and How They
Form 61
Why Study Earth History? 4
Igneous Rocks: From Magma to Stone 62
Geology Lives in the Present and the Past 4
Sedimentary Rocks: Layered Pages of
A Way to Solve Problems: The Scientific Method 5
History 70
Three Great Themes in Earth History 8
Metamorphic Rocks: Changed without
What Lies Ahead? 10
Melting 76
C H A P T E R 2
Early Geologists Tackle History’s C H A P T E R 5
Mysteries 1 5 The Sedimentary Archives 8 5
Tectonic Setting is the Greatest Factor in Sediment
The Intrigue of Fossils 16
Deposition 86
An Early Scientist Discovers Some Basic Rules 17
Environments where Deposition Occurs 87
English and European Researchers Unravel the
What Rock Color Tells Us 93
Succession of Strata 19
What Rock Texture Tells Us 95
Neptunists and Plutonists Clash 20
What Sedimentary Structures Tell Us 98
An Eighteenth‐Century Naturalist Recognizes that
the Present is the Key to the Past 20 What Four Sandstone Types Reveal about Tectonic
Setting 102
The Principle of Fossil Succession 22
Limestones and How they Form 103
The Great Uniformitarianism–Catastrophism
Controversy 23 Organizing Strata to Solve Geological Problems 107
The Principle of Cross‐Cutting Relationships 24 Sea‐Level Change Means Great Environmental
Change 110
Evolution: How Organisms Change Through Time 26
Stratigraphy and the Correlation of Rock Bodies 111
Geological History—North America 27
Unconformities: Something is Missing 113
C H A P T E R 3 Depicting the Past 116
Time and Geology 3 3 HISTORICAL GEOLOGY IN PARKS
Grand Canyon National Park, Arizona 122
Finding the Age of Rocks: Relative Versus Absolute
Dating 34
A Scale of Geological Time 34 C H A P T E R 6
Life on Earth: What Do Fossils
Absolute Geological Time: Clocks in the Rocks 39
Reveal? 1 2 9
Radioactivity Provides a Way to Date Rocks 40
What Occurs when Atoms Decay? 41 Fossils: Surviving Records of Past Life 130
The Principal Radioactive Timekeepers 44 Figuring Out How Life is Organized 135
How Old is Earth? 48 Evolution: Continuous Changes in Life 136
Evidence of Evolution 145
C H A P T E R 4
Fossils and Stratigraphy 148
Rocks and Minerals: Documents That
Fossils Indicate Past Environments 153
Record Earth’s History 5 3
How Fossils Indicate Paleogeography 157
Minerals as Evidence of Earth History 54 How Fossils Indicate Past Climates 160
Minerals and Their Properties 54 An Overview of the History of Life 162
viii
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Contents ◀ ix
C H A P T E R 7 C H A P T E R 1 0
Plate Tectonics Underlies Early Paleozoic Events 2 7 5
All Earth History 1 6 9
Dance of the Continents 277
Earthquake Waves Reveal Earth’s Mysterious Some Regions Tranquil, Others Active 277
Interior 170 Identifying the Cambrian Base 281
Earth’s Internal Zones 171 Early Paleozoic Events 281
Earth’s Two Types of Crust 174 Cratonic Sequences: Seas Come In,
Plate Tectonics Ties it all Together 175 Seas Go Out 283
Drifting Continents 178 Sauk and Tippecanoe Sequences 283
Evidence for Continental Drift 179 Way out West: Events in the Cordillera 287
Paleomagnetism: Ancient Magnetism Locked into Deposition in the Far North 290
Rocks 181 Dynamic Events in the East 290
Today’s Plate Tectonics Theory 184 HISTORICAL GEOLOGY IN PARKS
What Happens at Plate Margins? 188 Jasper National Park 291
What Drives Plate Tectonics? 195 The Caledonian Orogenic Belt 295
Verifying Plate Tectonics Theory 196 Aspects of Early Paleozoic Climate 297
Thermal Plumes, Hotspots, and Hawaii 200
Exotic Terranes 202 C H A P T E R 1 1
Broken, Squeezed, or Stretched Rocks Produce Late Paleozoic Events 3 0 3
Geological Structures 204
Seas Come in and Seas Go Out 304
HISTORICAL GEOLOGY IN PARKS
Unrest Along the Western Margin of the
Hawaii Volcanoes National Park 209
Craton 312
C H A P T E R 8 To the East, A Clash of Continents 315
The Earth’s Formative Stages Sedimentation and Orogeny in the West 324
and the Archean Eon 2 1 5 Europe During Late Paleozoic 326
Gondwana During Late Paleozoic 327
Earth in Context: A Little Astronomy 216
Climates of Late Paleozoic 328
A Solar System Tour, From Center to Fringe 221
Mineral Wealth in Upper Paleozoic Rocks 329
Following Accretion, Earth Differentiates 227
HISTORICAL GEOLOGY IN PARKS
The Primitive Atmosphere—Virtually No
Acadia National Park 330
Oxygen 229
The Primitive Ocean and the Hydrologic Cycle 230
C H A P T E R 1 2
Origin of Precambrian “Basement” Rocks 231
Paleozoic Life 3 3 5
The Origin of Life 237
HISTORICAL GEOLOGY IN PARKS Animals with Shells Proliferate—and So Does
Voyageurs National Park 245 Preservation 336
In Retrospect 246 Cambrian Explosion of Life: Amazing Fossil Sites in
Canada and China 336
C H A P T E R 9 The Great Ordovician Biodiversification
Proterozoic: Dawn Event 343
of a More Modern World 2 5 1 A Variety of Living Strategies 343
Protistans: Creatures of a Single Cell 344
Highlights of Paleoproterozoic (2.5 to 1.6 billion
Marine Invertebrates Populate the Seas 345
years ago) 252
Advent of the Vertebrates 359
Highlights of Mesoproterozoic (1.6 to 1.0 billion
years ago) 258 The Rise of Fishes 361
Highlights of Neoproterozoic (1.0 to 541 million Conodonts: Valuable but Enigmatic Fossils 369
years ago) 259 Advent of Tetrapods 369
Proterozoic Rocks of the United States 261 Paleozoic Plants 373
Proterozoic Life 262 Mass Extinctions 375
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