About the Book
* A strongly interdisciplinary and wide-ranging survey of the environment of life on Earth: the most authoritative and comprehensive source on environmental science to be collected together in a single volume. * Unique in presenting both a basic overview and detailed information on environmental topics. * Entries are arranged in an encyclopedic A-Z format and contain extensive cross-references to related entries, as well as references to primary and secondary literature. * Over 370 separate entries prepared by 228 leading experts from 25 countries. * Incorporates 25 substantial in-depth treatments of key areas and also includes biographies of leading scientists and environmentalists. * Contains a comprehensive subject index and a citation index of all referenced authors. The Encyclopedia of Environmental Science is a multidisciplinary reference work, which crosses many fields of interest and includes a wide variety of scholarly and authoritative articles on mankind's environment. It provides information on the atmosphere, hydrosphere, biosphere and geosphere and is careful to focus on the connections between these realms and the Earth as a whole.
Taken as a whole, the Encyclopedia surveys basic environmental science and applied areas of study, and is drawn from the physical sciences, life sciences and social sciences. The 228 authors from 25 different countries, many of whom are the leading authorities in their field, include biologists, ecologists, geographers, geologists, political scientists, soil scientists, hydrologists, climatologists, and representatives of many other disciplines and academic specialties. The work, which is amply referenced and cross-referenced, consists of substantial essays on major topics, medium-sized entries and short definitional entries. The shorter entries include useful biographies of leading scientists and environmentalists. The Encyclopedia will be invaluable to all readers interested in the environment of life on Earth, its past, present and future, and its physical and social dimensions. The text provides a source of well-classified basic information as well as covering the leading theories and important debates in the environmental sciences.
In addition, the book also includes assessments of the future prospects for the Earth's environment in the face of pollution, population increases and the accelerating transformation of land, air, water and vegetational systems. The Encyclopedia is unique in presenting both a basic overview and detailed information on environmental topics and is suitable for the general scientific reader and the specialized environmental scientist in academic institutions, research laboratories or private practice.
Table of Contents:
Acid Corrosion (of Stone and Metal). Acidity. Acidic Precipitation, Sources to Effects. Acid Lakes and Rivers. Aerosols. Agricultural Impact on Environment. Agroforestry. Air Pollution. Albedo. Algal Pollution of Seas and Beaches. Alkalinity. Alluvium. Ambient Air and Water Standards. Anaerobic Conditions. Anaxagorus (c. 500-428). Antarctic Environment, Preservation. Anthropogenic Transformation. Aquatic Ecosystem. Aquifer. Arctic Environments. Arid Zone Management and Problems. Aristotle (Aristoteles, 382-322). Arsenic Pollution and Toxicity. Atmosphere. Audubon, John James (1785-1851). Bacteria. Barrier Beaches and Barrier Islands. Beaches. Bennett, Hugh Hammond (1881-1960). Benthos. Bioaccumulation, Bioconcentration, Biomagnification. Bioassay. Biocentrism, Anthropocentrism, Technocentrism. Biochemical Oxygen Demand. Biogeography. Biological diversity (biodiversity). Biome. Bioregionalism. Bioremediation. Biosphere. Biosphere Reserve Management Concept. Biotechnology, Environmental Impact. Boreal Forest (Taiga). Budgets, Energy and Mass. Cadmium Pollution and Toxicity. Carbon Cycle. Carbon. 14 Dating. Carnivore. Carrying Capacity. Carson, Rachel Louise (1907-64). Catastrophism. Cave Environments. Chaparral (Maquis). Childe, Vere Gordon (1892-1957). Chlorofluorocarbons (CFCs). Climate Change. Climatic Modeling. Cloud Seeding. Coastal Erosion and Protection. Combustion. Conservation of Natural Resources. Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species (CITES). Conventions for Environmental Protection. Coral Reef Ecosystem. Cost-Benefit Analysis. Critical Load. Cumulative Environmental Impacts. Cycles, Climatic. Cycles, Geochemical. Dams and Their Reservoirs. Darwin, Charles Robert (1807-1882). Debt-for-Nature Swap. Deforestation. Demography, Ecological. Demography, Demographic Growth (Human Systems). Dendrochronology. Derelict Land. Desalination. Desertification. Deserts. Dioxin. Disaster. Drainage Basins. Drought, Impacts and Management. Earth, Planet (Global Perspective). Earthquake Prediction. Earthquakes, Damage and Its Mitigation. Earth Resources. Eco-labelling. Ecological Engineering. Ecological Modelling. Ecological Modelling in Forestry. Ecological Regions (Ecoregions). Ecological Stress. Ecology, Ecosystem. Economic Geology. Ecosystem-Based Land Use Planning. Ecosystem Health. Ecosystem Metabolism. Ecotone. Ecotourism. Edaphology. Effluent Standards. El Nino-Southern Oscillation (ENSO). Emission Standards. Endangered Species. Energetics, Ecological (Bioenergetics). Energy. Environment and Environmentalism. Environmental Aesthetics. Environmental Audit. Environmental Determinism. Environmental Economics. Environmental Education. Environmental Ethics. Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA), Statement (EIS). Environmental and Ecological Planning.Environmental Law. Environmental Litigation. Environmental Perception. Environmental Policy. Environmental Protection Agencies. Environmental Psychology. Environmental Science. Environmental Security. Environmental Stability. Environmental Statistics. Environmental Toxicology. Estuaries. Eutrophication. Evaporation, Evapotranspiration. Evolution, Natural Selection. Expert Systems and the Environment. Extinction. Fertilizer. Fisheries Management. Floods, Flood Mitigation. Food Webs and Chains. Forest Management. Fossil Fuels. Francis of Assisi, Saint (1181-1226). Fuelwood. Fungi, Fungicides. Gaia Hypothesis. Gases, Industrial. Gases, Volcanic. Geddes, Patrick (1854-1932). Genetic Resources. Geoarcheology and Ancient Environments. Geochemistry, Low-Temperature. Geographic Information System (GIS). Geologic Hazards. Geologic Time Scale. Geomorphology. Geothermal Energy Resources. Gilbert, Grove Karl (1843-1918). Glaciers, Glaciology. Global Change. Global Climatic Change Modeling and Monitoring. Gradualism. Grass, Grassland, Savanna. Greenhouse Effect. Groundwater. Guilds. Habitat, Habitat Destruction. Hazardous Materials Transportation and Accidents. Hazardous Waste. Health Hazards, Environmental. Heavy Metal Pollutants. Herbicides, Defoliants. Herbivores. Herpetology. Highways, Environmental Impact. Holocene Epoch. Homosphere. Hudson, William Henry (1841-1922). Human Ecology (Cultural Ecology). Hunger and Food Supply. Huxley, Julian Sorell (1887-1975). Huxley, Thomas Henry (1825-1895). Hydroelectric Developments, Environmental Impact. Hydrogeology. Hydrological Cycle. Hydrophyte. Hydrosphere. Ice Ages. Incineration of Waste Products. Information Technology and the Internet. International Organizations. Irrigation. Island Biogeography. Karst Terrain and Hazards. Lakes, Lacustrine Processes, Limnology. Lamarck, Chevalier de Jean Baptiste Pierre Antoine de Monet (1744-1829). Landfill; Leachates, Landfill Gases. Land Drainage. Land Evaluation, Suitability Analysis. Land Reclamation, Polders. Landscape Ecology. Landslides. Land Subsidence.Land Tenure. Lead Poisoning. Lentic and Lotic Ecosystems. Leonardo Da Vinci (1452-1519). Leopold, Aldo (1887-1948). Lesley, Joseph Peter (1819-1903). Lichens, Lichenometry. Life Zone. Linnaeus, Carl (1707-78). Lysenko, Trofim Denisovich (1898-1976). Malthus, Thomas Robert (1766-1834). Malthusian Doctrine. Mangroves. Marine Pollution. Marsh, George Perkins (1801-1882). Marsh Gas (Methane). Medical Geography. Mercury in the Environment. Metal Toxicity. Meteorology. Microclimate. Microorganisms. Miller, Hugh (1802-1856). Mines, Mining Hazards, Mine Drainage. Mine Wastes. Mountain Environments. Muir, John (1838-1914). National Parks and Preserves. Natural Hazards. Natural Resources. Nature Conservation. Nitrates. Nitrogen Cycle. Nonrenewable Resources. Nuclear Energy. Nuclear Winter, Possible Environmental Effects of. Noosphere. Oceanography. Ocean Waste Disposal. Off-the-Road Vehicles (ORVs), Environmental Impact of. Oil and Gas Deposits, Extraction and Uses. Oil Spills, Containment and Clean-up. Olmstead, Frederick Law (1822-1903). Organic Chemicals. Organic Matter and Composting. Ornithology. Oxygen, Oxidation. Ozone. Paleoecology. Particulate Matter. Pathogen Indicators. Peatlands and Peat. Pedology. Permafrost. Pesticides, Insecticides. Petroleum Production and its Environmental Impacts. Phosphorus, Phosphates. Photosynthesis. Pinchot, Gifford, 1865-1946. Pollution, Nature of. Pollution, Scientific Aspects. Pollution Prevention. Polychlorinated Biphenyls (PCBs). Potable Water. Precautionary Principle. Precipitation. Primary Production. Quickclay, Quicksand. Radiation Balance. Radioisotopes, Radionuclides. Radon Hazards. Ramenski, Leonti Grogor'evich (1884-1953). Ramsar Convention. Raw Materials. Recreation, Ecological Impacts. Regolith. Remote Sensing (Environmental). Renewable Resources. Restoration of Ecosystems and Their Sites. Riparian Zone. Risk Assessment. River Regulation. Rivers and Streams. Runoff. Sahel. Saline (Salt) Flats, Marshes, Waters. Salinization, Salt Seepage. Sand and Gravel Resources. Sand Dunes. Satellites, Earth Resources, Meteorological. Sauer, Carl Ortwin (1889-1975). Scott, Sir Peter Markham (1909-89). Sea-Level Change. Secondary Production. Sediment, Sedimentation. Sediment Pollution. Seismology, Seismic Activity. Selenium Pollution. Semi-arid Climates and Terrain. Septic Tank. Sewage Sludge. Sewage Treatment. Slope. Smog. Soil. Soil Biology and Ecology. Soil Conservation. Soil Erosion. Soil Pollution. Solar Cycle. Solar Energy. Solid Waste. Somerville, Mary (1780-1872). Steppe. Sulfates. Sunspots, Environmental Influence. Surface Mining, Strip Mining, Quarries. Sustainable Development, Global Sustainability. Synthetic Fuels and Biofuels. Systems Analysis. Tansley, Sir Arthur George (1871-1955). Teilhard de Chardin, Pierre (1881-1955). Thermal Pollution. Thermokarst. Tidal and Wave Power. Tragedy of the Commons. Transfrontier Pollution and Its Control. Tropical Environments. Tropical Forests. Tropical Soils. Tundra, Alpine. Tundra, Arctic and Antarctic. Underground Storage and Disposal of Nuclear Wastes. United Nations Conference on Environment and Development (UNCED). United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP). United States, Federal Agencies and Control. Urban Climate. Urban Ecology. Urban Geology. Urbanization, Urban Problems. Vadose Waters. Vegetational Succession, Climax. Vernadsky, Vladimir Ivanovich (1863-1945). Virgil (Publius Vergilius Maro, 70-19). Volcanoes, Impacts on Ecosystems. Volcanoes, Volcanic Hazards and Impacts on Land. Von Humboldt, Alexander (1769-1859). Von Richthofen, Ferdinand, Baron (Freiherr) (1833-1905). Vulnerability. Wadis (Arroyos). Wallace, Alfred Russel (1823-1913). Walton, Izaac (1593-1683). War: Environmental Effects. Ward, Barbara Mary (1914-81). Wastes, Waste Disposal. Water, Water Quality, Water Supply. Water-Borne Diseases. Water Resources. Water Table. Weather Modification. Weathering. Wetlands. White, Gilbert (1720-93). Wilderness. Wildfire, Forest Fire, Grass Fire. Wildlife Conservation. Wind Energy. World Heritage Convention. Xerophyte. Zeuner, Frederick Everard (1905-63). Zones, Climatic. Zoning Regulations. Indices.
About the Author :
David Alexander is in the Department of Geology and Geography at the University of Massachusetts, Amherst Professor Rhodes W. Fairbridge is emeritus Professor of Geology at Columbia University and is now visiting scientist at the Goddard Institute of Space Studies (NASA, NY). He has edited more that two dozen encyclopedias and authored more than three-hundred scientific publications.
Review :
'The Encyclopedia of Environmental Science is very thorough in its presentation of the issues chosen by the editors. As a reference guide, the value is based in the presentation of the material. It is thorough enough to give a good understanding of the topics, complete with crossreferences and bibliographies for most entries. Bruce Hasbrouck in Environmental Practice, 2:3 (2000)
