The Blue Planet: An Introduction to Earth System Sciences, 3rd Edition is an innovative text for the earth systems science course. It treats earth science from a systems perspective, now showing the five spheres and how they are interrelated. There are many photos and figures in the text to develop a strong understanding of the material presented. This along with the new media for instructors makes this a strong text for any earth systems science course.
Table of Contents:
Part 1. The Earth System: Our Place in Space
1. The Earth System 5
What is Earth Syste, Science? 6
Earth System Reservoirs 14
Dynamic Intercations Among Reservoirs 16
How Science Works: Hypothesis and Theory 22
2. Energy 31
What is Energy? 32
External Energy Sources 35
Internal Energy Sources 42
Earth's Energy Cycle 43
Energy and Society 46
3. Matter 53
Earth's Materials 54
Organic Matter 59
Composition and Internal Structure of Earth 61
Minerals 64
Rocks 71
Regolith 74
How Matter Moves Through the Earth System 76
4. Space and Time 81
The Sun: An Ordinary Star 82
The Solar System 85
Other Suns and Planetary Systems 96
Time and Change 101
Part 2. The Geosphere: Earth Beneath Our Feet 109
5. The Tectonic Cycle 111
Plate Tectonics: A Unifying Theory 113
Plate Motion and the Driving Force 120
Plate Interactions and Earth's Landscapes 125
Building the Continents 132
6. Earthquakes and Volcanoes 143
Earthquakes: When Rocks Shift 144
Earthquake Hazard and Risk 150
Earthquakes and Earth's Interior 156
Volcanoes: When Rocks Melt 161
Volcanic Disasters 173
Magma Underground 176
The Tectonic Connection: Origin and Distribution of Magmas and Volcanoes 177
7. The Rock Cycle 185
From Rock to Regolith 186
From Regolith to Rock 195
New Rock to Old 202
From Rock to Magma and Back Again 209
The Rock Cycle. The Tectonic Cycle, and Earth's Landscapes 212
Part 3. The Hydrosphere: Earth's Blanket of Water and Ice 221
8. The Hydrologic Cycle 223
Water and the Hydrologic Cycle 224
Water on the Ground 228
Water Under the Ground 241
Water and Society 247
9. The Cryosphere 257
Earth's Cover of Snow and Ice 258
Glaciers 260
Glaciation 270
Sea Ice 277
Ice in the Earth System 279
10. The World Ocean
Ocean Basins and Ocean Water 288
Ocean Circulation 295
Ocean Waves 301
Ocean Tides 306
Where Land and Ocean Meet 307
Changing Sea Levels 311
Part 4. The Atmosphere: Earth's Gaseous Envelope 319
11. The Atmosphere 321
The Habitable Planet 322
Composition and Structure of Our Atmosphere 325
Moisture in the Atmosphere 335
The Atmosphere in the Earth System 343
12. Wind and Weather Systems
Why Air Moves 350
Global Air Circulation 355
Regional Wind and Weather Systems 360
Local WInd and Weather Systems 364
Severe Weather 365
Weather and the Earth System 373
13. the Climate System 379
Earth's Climate System 380
Evidence of Climate Change 381
Earth's Past CLimates 392
Why Climates CHange 400
Feedbacks and Complexity in Earth's Climate System 408
Part 5. The Biosphere: Life on Earth
14. Life, Death and Evolution 417
What is Life? An Overview of Basic Biological Processes 418
Life: A Planetary Perspective 424
Evolution: the History of Life 431
Extinction: The History of Death 442
15. Ecosystems, Biomes, and Cycles of Life 449
Energy and Matter in Ecosystems 450
Global Cycles of Life 459
Earth's Major Ecosystems 474
16. Populations, Communities, and Change 487
Populations 488
Communities 492
Biodiversity 502
Part 6. The Anthroposphere: Humans and the Earth System 517
17. The Resource Cycle 519
Resources from the Earth System 520
Renewable Resources: Seeking Balance 526
Limits to Growth 537
18. Mineral and Energy Resources 541
Nonrenewable Resources: Closing the Cycle 542
Mineral Resources 542
Energy Resources 551
19. The Changing Earth System 473
Understanding Anthropogenic Change 574
Human Impacts on the Earth System 577
Anthropogenic Role in Global Climate Change 592
Anthroposphere: Humans and Earth System Change 599
About the Author :
Brian Skinner was born and raised in Australia, studied at the University of Adelaide in South Australia, worked in the mining industry in Tasmania, and in 1951 entered the Graduate School of Arts and Sciences, Harvard University, from which he obtained his Ph.D. in 1954. Following a period as a research scientist in the United States Geological Survey in Washington D.C., he joined the faculty at Yale in 1966, where he continues his teaching and research as the Eugene Higgins Professor of Geology and Geophysics. Brian Skinner has been president of the Geochemical Society, the Geological Society of America, and the Society of Economic Geologists, He holds an honorary Doctor of Science from Toronto University, and an honorary Doctor of Engineering from the Colorado School of Mines.
Barbara Murck is a geologist and senior lecturer in environmental science at the University of Toronto Mississauga. She completed her undergraduate degree in Geological and Geophysical Sciences at Princeton University and then spent two years in the Peace Corps in West Africa, before returning to Ph.D. studies at the University of Toronto. Her subsequent teaching and research has involved an interesting combination of geology, natural hazards, environmental science, and environmental issues in the developing world, primarily in Africa and Asia. She also carries out practical research on pedagogy. She is an award-winning lecturer who has co-authored a number of books, including several with Brian Skinner.
