Digital library
Textbooks, references and open learning resources.
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Introduction to Petrology
Elizabeth Johnson and Juhong Christie Liu · James Madison University
Learn about igneous and metamorphic rocks (and how to analyze them), the fun way! Students learn concepts and practice knowledge by conducting inquiries guided with examples based on videos and interactive diagrams.
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Practical Meteorology
Roland Stull · University of British Columbia
This book is an algebra-based survey of atmospheric science. This book is designed for students and professionals who want to understand and apply basic meteorological concepts, but who do not need to derive equations. The equation and could serve the fields of Atmospheric Science, Meteorology, Environmental Science, Engineering, Air Quality, Climatology, and Geography. The text involves primarily algebra to allow the physical meaning.
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GEL 109: Sediments and Strata (Sumner)
Dawn Sumner · University of California, Davis
My goal for Sediments and Strata is to help you develop the tools that will allow you to observe the important characteristics of sedimentary rocks, understand the processes that produced them, interpret their depositional environments, and recognize the insights they can provide on diverse fields in geology such as tectonics, environmental geology, economic resources, evolution, climate change, etc.
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Geodiversity and Cultural Diversity: Current Public Issues in Physical Science
Likwan Cheng · City Colleges of Chicago
Designed for "PHY SCI 107: Current Public Issues in Physical Science" and presented as excerpts of original scholarly texts, this book's eight learning objects explore ancient human cultural developments in geological contexts through the lens of 21st century discoveries, collectively demonstrating that Earth's geodiversity shaped the world's human cultural diversity.
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GEL 116: Oceanography
Tessa Hill · University of California, Davis
Oceanography is the branch of Earth science that studies the ocean and covers a wide range of topics, including marine organisms and ecosystem dynamics; ocean currents, waves, and geophysical fluid dynamics; plate tectonics and the geology of the sea floor; and fluxes of various chemical substances and physical properties within the ocean and across its boundaries.
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UCD GEL 56- Introduction to Geophysics
Magali Billen · University of California, Davis
Introduction to geophysical topics essential to all aspects of earth and planetary sciences: theory of plate tectonics, gravitational field of planets, diffusion, rheology, seismology, earthquakes and computing.
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Laboratory Manual for Introductory Geology
Bradley Deline; Randa Harris; Karen Tefend · University of North Georgia Press · 2015
This textbook is a comprehensive lab manual for the core curriculum Introductory Geosciences classes with both informational content and laboratory exercises. Topics include basic laws and theories in Geology, the Earth's interior and plate tectonics, water and climate change, igneous rocks and volcanoes, and earthquakes.
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Introduction to Earth Science
Laura Neser · Virginia Tech Publishing · 2025
Introduction to Earth Science, Second Edition is an open textbook designed to provide a comprehensive introduction to Earth Science that can be freely accessed online, read offline, printed, or purchased as a print-on-demand book. It is intended for a typical 1000-level university introductory course in the Geosciences, although its contents could be applied to many other related courses. This text includes various important features designed to enhance the student learning experience in introductory Earth Science courses. These include a multitude of high-quality figures and images within each chapter that help to clarify key concepts. Self-test assessment questions are embedded in each online chapter that help students focus their learning. QR codes are provided for each assessment to allow students using print or PDF versions to easily access the quiz from an internet-capable device of their choice. The sequence of the book differs from mainstream commercial texts. It has been arranged to present elementary or foundational knowledge regarding rocks and minerals prior to discussion of more complex topics in Earth Science. Similar to the layout of the first edition, this book dedicates one chapter to each of the three major rock types, the processes of mass wasting, geological time, Earth history, and the origin of the universe and our Solar System. Additionally, the second edition includes a new chapter on meteorology, and combines the previously separate chapters on deserts and glaciers into a single, comprehensive chapter that explores these extreme environments. The first edition of this book is available at: https://doi.org/10.21061/introearthscience. Instructors reviewing, adopting, or adapting this textbook: please help us understand your use by filling out this form: https://bit.ly/interest_intro_earth_science.
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Historical Geology
Callan Bentley, Karen Layou, Russ Kohrs, Shelley Jaye, Matt Affolter, and Brian Ricketts · LibreTexts
This textbook is intended for undergraduate courses in Earth history. It was written by Callan Bentley, Karen Layou, Russ Kohrs, Shelley Jaye, Matt Affolter, and Brian Ricketts. It is a work in progress.
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Physical Geography
Lumen Learning · LibreTexts
LibreTexts
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Coastal Dynamics
Judith Bosboom & Marcel J.F. Stive · Delft University of Technology
This textbook focuses on the interrelation between physical wave, flow and sediment transport phenomena and the resulting morphodynamics of a wide variety of coastal systems. It is unique in that it explicitly connects the dynamics of open coasts and tidal basins; not only is the interaction between open coasts and tidal basins of basic importance for the evolution of most coastal systems, but describing the similarities between their physical processes is highly instructive as well.
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Living With Earthquakes in The Pacific Northwest
Robert S. Yeats · Oregon State University
In this expanded new edition of Living with Earthquakes, Robert Yeats, a leading authority on earthquakes in California and the Pacific Northwest, describes the threat posed by the Cascadia Subduction Zone, a great earthquake fault which runs for hundreds of miles offshore from British Columbia to northern California. New research reveals subtle movements on the deepest part of this fault every 14-15 months — building up strain toward the next major earthquake.
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Introduction to Ocean Sciences 6e
Douglas A. Segar · American Meteorological Society
Introduction to Ocean Sciences explores the role of the ocean in the Earth system, with special emphasis on the flow of water and energy, the physical and chemical properties of ocean water, ocean circulation, marine life and habitats, interactions between the ocean and the other components of the Earth system, and the human impacts on and responses to those interactions. This book provides the physical, chemical, geological, and biological foundations for understanding Earth's ocean.
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Introduction to Geology
Nancy Ikeda · Fullerton College
LibreTexts
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ATMO 321 python for atmospheric sciences
Andy Dessler · Texas A&M
LibreTexts
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Physical Geography: our Beautiful World
Arnaud Temme, Kansas State University · LibreTexts
LibreTexts
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An Introduction To Geology
Kelly Ruppert · Coastline College
LibreTexts
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Gemology
The Gemology Project · LibreTexts
The Gemology Project is a non-profit gemstone and gem science wiki-style database for anyone interested in gemstones and gemology.
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Fundamentals of Geology
Kimberly Schulte · Columbia Basin College
When you ask the question “What is geology?” most people will initially respond that it is the study of rocks. This is true, but geology is also so much more than that. The truth is that geology is an intricate part of your everyday life.
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Physical Geology - Stevens
Kimberlee Stevens · Sierra College
LibreTexts