An Introduction to the Earth-Life System
Published on 28. February 2008
Book
Hardback
328 pages
978-0-521-49391-8 (ISBN)
Description
This concise undergraduate textbook brings together Earth and biological sciences to explore the co-evolution of the Earth and life over geological time. Written for a one-semester course, it explores the Earth system at and above the surface of the Earth by examining the interactions and feedback processes between the geosphere, atmosphere, hydrosphere and biosphere. It also explains how the Earth's surface environment involves a complex interplay between these systems. Through a wealth of features and student questioning, the book allows students to understand how physical controls make our planet hospitable for life, investigate the processes of global change that operate on a range of timescales, understand important cross-disciplinary connections and explore how the whole Earth system has evolved. Finally, it assesses how and why the climate of the Earth has varied over geological time, and considers whether life itself is passive or an active agent for change.
Reviews / Votes
'This innovative Earth science textbook provides a thoroughly new way to look at the history of Earth and life. The pedagogic aspects are particularly well thought through and current research case studies, engaging questions, and practical examples will be beneficial to both students and instructors.' Mike Benton, University of Bristol '... this textbook will be suitable for geoscience educators as well as for students as a stimulating reading or an invitation to more profound thinking. ... Nature amateurs and professional geoscientists may find this book a good source of information on selected subjects like the carbon cycle or the influences of the mountain growth on climate.' Palaeontologie Allgemeine '... well illustrated ... very accessible ...' The Geographical JournalMore details
Language
English
Place of publication
Cambridge
United Kingdom
Target group
College/higher education
Product notice
sewn/stitched
Cloth over boards
Illustrations
220 Line drawings, color
Dimensions
Height: 259 mm
Width: 206 mm
Thickness: 25 mm
Weight
1238 gr
ISBN-13
978-0-521-49391-8 (9780521493918)
Copyright in bibliographic data and cover images is held by Nielsen Book Services Limited or by the publishers or by their respective licensors: all rights reserved.
Schweitzer Classification
Other editions
Additional editions
Charles Cockell | Richard Corfield | Nancy Dise
An Introduction to the Earth-Life System
Book
02/2008
Cambridge University Press
€109.50
No shipping information available
Persons
Charles Cockell is Professor of Microbiology at The Open University, Milton Keynes, UK. His academic interests lie in geomicrobiology, astrobiology and space exploration and he has undertaken expeditions to the Arctic and Antarctic, among other places, to study life in extreme environments. Professor Cockell has written and edited six other books including Impossible Extinction (Cambridge University Press, 2003).
Content
1. A habitable planet; 2. The emergence and persistence of life; 3. The carbon cycle; 4. Plate tectonics, climate and life; 5. Mountains and climate change; 6. Life in the Phanerozoic; 7. The Earth at extremes; 8. Summary; Answers to questions; Appendices; Further reading; Glossary; Index.