Earth Processes

Cerritos College Earth Science Department On-Line Tutorial Center

The processes which mold the earth can be divided into two broad categories.  Heat escaping from the earth's interior sets in motion processes which operate deep within the body of the earth, and will be referred to here as deep-earth processes.  Other forces are restricted to the earth's surface (and thus are surficial processes), and are driven by the interaction of solar energy with the force of gravity.

Not all of the courses within our department will touch upon each of the processes listed below.  Check with your instructor to determine which of these exercises may be helpful in your course.

Deep-Earth Processes

• Magmatism
• Metamorphism
• Mechanics of Folding and Faulting
• Earthquakes 
  • Click here for the Virtual Earthquake exercise at Cal State Los Angeles
• Plate Tectonics 
  • Click here for the review of the theory of Plate Tectonics provided by Volcano World
  • Click here to view This Dynamic Earth, the Story of Plate Tectonics
  • Dr. Tanya Atwater of the University of California, Santa Barbara has posted several animations which show the evolution of the west coast and Pacific ocean over the last 20 million years.  Go to her web page and click animations for instructions on downloading.

Surficial Processes

• General Information
  • Rita Haberlin at the College of Alameda has constructed an extensive set of on-line reviews and exercises for physical geography which covers most of the topics listed here
  • Click here to visit USA Today's Weather Basics page
• Mass Wasting
• Stream Dynamics
• Groundwater Hydrology
• Glaciation 
  • Click here to visit the All About Glaciers page from the NSIDC
  • Visit the Glacial Geology page at the University of Cincinnati
• Atmospheric Circulation
  • Click here to review Air Masses and Fronts, University of Illinois
• Wind
• Cloud Formation and Precipitation
  • Click here to visit the University of Illinois Cloud and Precipitation page
  • Visit the Cloud Boutique courtesy of the Plymouth State College Meteorology Program
• Storms
  • Severe Storms On-Line Meteorology Guide, University of Illinois
• Waves
  • Pay a visit to the Tsunami Page at the University of Washington
• Ocean Currents
  • Click here for an archive of satellite images of the Gulf Stream from the University of Rhode Island
  • See how a lost cargo of Nikes was used to track ocean circulation in the Pacific
• Coral Reef Development
  • Review Darwin's classification of coral reefs

Other topics of interest

• Click here to visit the review of radioactive decay or here for a review of the uses of radioactive decay as a geological clock
• Estuaries and coastal wetlands

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Earth Science Index | SEM Division | Cerritos College Disclaimer

06/25/0303 Mar 2006 11:59:24 -0800