Earth now is dominated by both biogeophysical and anthropogenic processes, as represented in these two images from a simulation of aerosols. Dust (red) from the Sahara sweeps west across the Atlantic Ocean. Sea salt (blue) rises into the atmosphere from winds over the North Atlantic and from a tropical cyclone in the Indian Ocean. Organic and black carbon (green) from biomass burning is notable over the Amazon and Southeast Asia. Plumes of sulfate (white) from fossil fuel burning are parti...

Plants have profoundly moulded the Earth's climate and the evolutionary trajectory of life. Far from being 'silent witnesses to the passage of time', plants are dynamic components of our world, shaping the environment throughout history as much as that environment has shaped them. In The Emerald Planet, David Beerling puts plants centre stage, revealing the crucial role they have played in driving global changes in the environment, in recording hidden facets of Earth's history, an...

The fourth edition of Soil Microbiology, Ecology and Biochemistry updates this widely used reference as the study and understanding of soil biota, their function, and the dynamics of soil organic matter has been revolutionized by molecular and instrumental techniques, and information technology. Knowledge of soil microbiology, ecology and biochemistry is central to our understanding of organisms and their processes and interactions with their environment. In a time of great global change a...

The science behind global warming, and its history: how scientists learned to understand the atmosphere, to measure it, to trace its past, and to model its future.Global warming skeptics often fall back on the argument that the scientific case for global warming is all model predictions, nothing but simulation; they warn us that we need to wait for real data, “sound science.” In A Vast Machine Paul Edwards has news for these skeptics: without models, there...

"It's impossible to grasp the whole planet or integrate all the descriptions of it. But because we live here, we have to try. This is not just an artistic compulsion or an existential yearning, still less an academic exercise. It's a survival issue. This is the only planet we have. We're stuck here, and we don't own the place—it would be the height of arrogance to assume that we do. We're tenants here, not owners, but we're tenants with hope for a long-term tenancy. We want to extend our l...

The ancient art of alchemy, secrets hidden in the bible, the fountain of youth, the formation of crystals within the earths crust, journey across time and explore these ancient mysteries and more which are illuminated like never before in this exciting book.

In this text, after a brief description of the general characteristics of our planet, we focus on its dynamic training through the various geologic eras to arrive, then, the emergence and evolution of life in its many forms, with particular reference to the human species. Finally may try to understand the great events that could lead to the end of life on Earth.

This is the first complete account of the physics of the creep and fracture of ice, and their interconnectivity. It investigates the deformation of low-pressure ice, which is fundamental to glaciers, polar ice sheets and the uppermost region of icy moons of the outer Solar System. The book discusses ice structure and its defects, and describes the relationship between structure and mechanical properties. It reviews observations and measurements, and then interprets them in terms of physica...

This book tells you where beach sand comes from, how waves are formed and how they break and move sand down the coast, how “works of man” have blocked this movement and caused beach erosion, and what can be done to save the beaches for future generations of Americans. A three-part prescription for healthy beaches is proposed: “backing off”, “bypassing sand”, and “beach nourishment”. So if you love waves and beaches, and care about the future of your favorite beach spot, then read this book...

This book assembles, identifies and highlights the most recent developments in Rehabilitation and retrofitting of historical and heritage structures. This is an issue of paramount importance in countries with great built cultural heritage that also suffer from high seismicity, such as the countries of the eastern Mediterranean basin. Heritage structures range from traditional residential constructions to monumental structures, ancient temples, towers, castles, etc. It is generally recogniz...

Coastal Lowlands by virtue of their position across the boundary of land and sea belong to the earth's most dynamic systems. This is true in the physical, i. e. geological and biological, as much as in the cultural and social sense. Although the nearness to the sea was and still is fraught with danger coastal lowlands have always attracted human interest, providing challenging opportunity, holding the promise of profitable enterprise. Coastal lowlands, especially where rivers enter the reg...

There are incentive indications that the growth of human population, the increasing use and abuse of natural resources combined with climate changes (probably due to anthropic pollution, to some extent) exert a considerable stress on closed (or semi-enclosed) seas and lakes. In many regions of the world, marine and lacustrine hydrosystems are (or have been) the object of severe or fatal alterations, from changes in regional hydrological regimes and/or modifications of the quantity or the q...