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How the Earth Works

How the Earth Works consists of 48 lectures given by Professor Michael E. Wysession, looking at what went into making our planet - from the big bang, to the formation of the solar system, to the subsequent evolution of Earth. The lectures cover a variety of topics in Earth science: Earth's rocks, minerals, the theory of plate tectonics, volcanoes, earthquakes, why continents move, the formation of mountains, erosion, glaciers, climate changes, humans as an agent of geologic change, and many other geologic phenomena.

01. Geology's Impact on History 25. Anatomy of an Earthquake - Sumatra
02. Geologic History - Dating the Earth 26. History of Plate Motions - Where and Why
03. Earth's Structure - Journey to Earth's Center 27. Assembling North America
04. Earth's Heat - Conduction and Convection 28. The Sun-Driven Hydrologic Cycle
05. The Basics of Plate Tectonics 29. Water on Earth - The Blue Planet
06. Making Matter - The Big Bang and Big Bangs 30. Earth's Atmosphere - Air and Weather
07. Creating Earth - Recipe for a Planet 31. Erosion - Weathering and Land Removal
08. The Rock Cycle - Matter in Motion 32. Jungles and Deserts - Feast or Famine
09. Minerals - The Building Blocks of Rocks 33. Mass Wasting - Rocks Fall Downhill
10. Magma - The Building Mush of Rocks 34. Streams - Shaping the Land
11. Crystallization - The Rock Cycle Starts 35. Ground Water - The Invisible Reservoir
12. Volcanoes - Lava and Ash 36. The Shorelines - Factories of Sedimentary Rocks
13. Folding - Bending Blocks, Flowing Rocks 37. Glaciers - The Power of Ice
14. Earthquakes - Examining Earth's Faults 38. Planetary Wobbles and the Last Ice Age
15. Plate Tectonics - Why Continents Move 39. Long-term Climate Change
16. The Ocean Seafloor - Unseen Lands 40. Short-term Climate Change
17. Rifts and Ridges - The Creation of Plates 41. Climate Change and Human History
18. Transform Faults - Tears of a Crust 42. Plate Tectonics and Natural Resources
19. Subduction Zones - Recycling Oceans 43. Non-renewable Energy Source
20. Continents Collide and Mountains Are Made 44. Renewable Energy Sources
21. Intraplate Volcanoes - Finding the Hot Spots 45. Humans - Dominating Geologic Change
22. Destruction from Volcanoes and Earthquakes 46. History of Life - Complexity and Diversity
23. Predicting Natural Disasters 47. The Solar System - Earth's Neighborhood
24. Anatomy of a Volcano - Mount St. Helens 48. The Lonely Planet - Fermi's Paradox