The Blue Planet: An Introduction to Earth System Science, 2nd Edition

by Brian J. Skinner (Yale Univ.); Stephen C. Porter (Univ. of Washington); Daniel B. Botkin (The Center for the Study of the Environment, George Mason Univ.)

• ISBN13: 9780471161141
• ISBN10: 0471161144
• Edition: 2nd
• Format: Hardcover
• Copyright: 1999-02-01
• Publisher: Wiley

Summary

This innovative text has helped pave the way for the earth systems science course. It treats earth science from a systems perspective, showing how the four spheres (lithosphere, hydrosphere, atmosphere, biosphere) are interrelated. The course is one semester in length and is offered in geology, earth science, environmental science, and biology departments. It is often taken to fulfill a science requirement.

Author Biography

Brian Skinner, Yale University
Stephen Porter, University of Washington
Daniel Botkin, George Mason University

Table of Contents

PART ONE THE EARTH IN SPACE	1	(64)
1. The Earth System	1	(22)
2. Fellow Travelers in Space: Earth's Nearest Neighbors	23	(20)
3. The Sun, Giver of Life	43	(22)
PART TWO THE EARTH BENEATH OUR FEET	65	(124)
4. Plate Tectonics	65	(26)
5. Earthquakes and the Earth's Interior	91	(20)
6. Minerals and Rocks	111	(24)
7. The Heat Within: Magmas and Volcanoes	135	(22)
8. The Earth's Evolving Crust	157	(32)
PART THREE THE EARTH'S BLANKET OF WATER AND ICE	189	(82)
9. Water on the Land	189	(26)
10. The World of Snow and Ice	215	(26)
11. The World Ocean	241	(30)
PART FOUR THE EARTH'S GASEOUS ENVELOPE	271	(72)
12. Composition and Structure of the Atmosphere	271	(22)
13. Winds, Weather, and Deserts	293	(22)
14. The Earth's Changing Climate	315	(28)
PART FIVE THE DYNAMICS OF LIFE ON EARTH	343	(76)
15. A Planetary Perspective on Life	343	(20)
16. Geochemistry and Life	363	(24)
17. Biological Evolution and the History of the Biosphere	387	(32)
PART SIX LIVING ON THE EARTH	419	(72)
18. Resources from the Earth	419	(24)
19. The Changing Face of the Land	443	(20)
20. Global Change: A Planet Under Stress	463	(28)
Appendices	491	(24)
Glossary	515	(12)
Credits	527	(4)
Index	531