Physical Geography: The Global Environment

Well known for its flexibility, clarity of presentation, and graphic excellence, Physical Geography: The Global Environment, Fifth Edition, provides a thorough, scientifically authoritative, accessible, and geographic view of Earth's physical systems.

Table of Contents:
UNIT 1 Introducing Physical Geography PART ONE A Planetary Perspective UNIT 2 The Planet Earth UNIT 3 Mapping Earth's Surface UNIT 4 Earth-Sun Relationships UNIT 5 Radiation and the Heat Balance of Planet Earth PART TWO Atmospheric and Oceanic Processes UNIT 6 Composition and Structure of the Atmosphere UNIT 7 Temperatures of the Lower Atmosphere UNIT 8 Air Pressure and Winds UNIT 9 Circulation Patterns of the Atmosphere UNIT 10 Circulation of the World Ocean UNIT 11 Atmospheric Moisture and the Water Balance UNIT 12 Precipitation, Air Masses, and Fronts UNIT 13 Weather Systems PART THREE Climate and Climate Change UNIT 14 Climate Classification and Regionalization UNIT 15 Tropical (A) and Arid (B) Climate UNIT 16 Mild Midlatitude (C) Climates UNIT 17 Higher Latitude (D, E) and High-Altitude (H) Climates UNIT 18 Natural Climate Change UNIT 19 Human Impacts on Climate PART FOUR The Biosphere UNIT 20 Biogeochemical Cycles UNIT 21 Formation of Soils UNIT 22 Properties of Soil UNIT 23 Classification and Mapping of Soils UNIT 24 Biogeographic Processes UNIT 25 The Global Distribution of Plants UNIT 26 Zoogeography: Spatial Aspects of Animal Populations PART FIVE The Restless Crust UNIT 27 Minerals and Igneous Rocks UNIT 28 Sedimentary and Metamorphic Rocks UNIT 29 Planet Earth in Profile: The Layered Interior UNIT 30 Plates of the Lithosphere UNIT 31 Plate Movement: Causes and Effects UNIT 32 Volcanism and Its Landforms UNIT 33 Earthquakes and Landscapes UNIT 34 Faults, Folds, and Landscapes PART SIX Sculpting the Surface: Weathering, Mass Movements, and Flowing Water UNIT 35 The Formation of Landforms and Landscapes UNIT 36 Weathering Processes UNIT 37 Mass Movements UNIT 38 Water in the Lithosphere UNIT 39 Slopes and Streams UNIT 40 Landscapes Shaped by Stream Erosion UNIT 41 Landforms of the Fluvial System UNIT 42 Karst Processes and Landforms PART SEVEN Sculpting the Surface: Ice, Wind, and Coastal Processes UNIT 43 Glacial Erosion and Deposition UNIT 44 Landforms and Landscapes of Continental Glaciation UNIT 45 Landforms and Landscapes of Mountain Glaciers UNIT 46 Periglacial Environments and Landscapes UNIT 47 Wind as a Geomorphic Agent UNIT 48 Coastal Processes UNIT 49 Coastal Landforms and Landscapes

About the Author :
Joseph A. Mason Professor of Geography, University of Wisconsin-Madison Joseph A. Mason has published dozens of publications and reports both as a faculty member and as a member of Nebraska's Conservation and Survey Division. An active teacher, he has taught a broad array of courses at the college and graduate level. Dr. Mason's research centers on eolian and hillslope geomorphology; loess stratigraphy/ sedimentology; pedology and soil geomorphology; paleopedology; Quaternary landscape evolution; and geomorphic response to Quaternary climate change, with a geographic focus on the Great Plains, northern China, the central Rocky Mountains, and the Upper Mississippi Valley. James E. Burt Professor of Geography, University of Wisconsin-Madison The author of two textbooks--Understanding Weather and Climate, Sixth Edition (2012), and Elementary Statistics for Geographers, Third Edition (2009)--James E. Burt is the recipient of numerous awards for excellence in teaching, textbook authorship, and courseware development. Dr. Burt's graduate training was in climatology and quantitative spatial analysis, and he has long had research interests located at the intersection of physical geography and geographic information science. His current research projects revolve around expert systems modeling of the physical environment and knowledge discovery methods for geospatial data. Peter O. Muller Professor of Geography and Regional Studies, University of Miami Peter O. Muller's many works include The World Today: Concepts and Regions in Geography, Sixth Edition (2012); Geography: Realms, Regions, and Concepts, Fifteenth Edition (2011); and Economic Geography, Third Edition (1998). Dr. Muller's articles have appeared in numerous journals including The Professional Geographer, The Annals of the American Academy of Political and Social Science, and American Quarterly. His research interests focus on the changing geography of the United States, particularly new forms of suburbanization. He is coeditor of the journal Urban Geography, and has also served as academic production consultant for the original Annenberg/Corporation of Public Broadcasting video series, The Power of Place. H. J. de Blij (deceased) John A. Hannah Professor of Geography, Michigan State University An undergraduate course in physical geography was Harm de Blij's eye-opener. As a graduate student, he conducted field research in the Swaziland (Africa) Lowveld, working on the hypothesis that this 120-kilometer-long, steep-sided valley might be a southern spur of the great East African rift valley system (PhD, Northwestern University). Since then he has addressed topics ranging from continental drift to climate change and from heat summation in viticulture to rogue waves in oceans. His more than thirty books include technical, text, and trade titles and have been translated into Chinese, Russian, Italian, and other languages. In the media he vigorously promoted geography as indispensable to education, decision-making, and domestic and foreign policy formulation.