Earth & Environmental Sciences Guide

This leading dictionary - now in its third edition - offers wide-ranging and authoritative coverage of the earth sciences and related topics in 6,250+ clear and accessible entries. Coverage includes geology, oceanography, paleontology, minerology, volcanology, and planetary science as well asclimatology, geochemistry and petrology. It is an essential reference for students of geography, geology, and earth sciences and in related disciplines.The third edition is fully updated and includes additional coverage of process geomorphology and physical geography, plus more than 50 new line drawings to accompany descriptions of forms and processes. The new edition also includes entry-level web links, accessed via a regularly updated companionwebsite to ensure that links do not go out of date.The appendices include a revised geological timel scale, an updated bibliography, stratigraphic units, lunar and Martian time scales, wind-strenght scales, and SI units.

Anyone interested in collecting fossils or in learning more about the previous life of these animals and plants will find a wealth of information in this lavishly illustrated guide. Here Helmut Mayr brings together over five hundred color photographs with concise and lively descriptions of both common and unusual fossils. Intended to aid amateurs in specimen identification and classification, this book offers an encyclopedic breadth of coverage that many specialists too will find useful.

This encyclopedia presents physics by emphasising the sports and not the science, with scientific information being interwoven with sports facts and stories. Aimed at students with an interest in sports and an aversion to science it introduces them to physical, biological, medical and scientific principles.

Inland aquatic habitats occur world-wide at all scales from marshes, swamps and temporary puddles, to ponds, lakes and inland seas; from streams and creeks to rolling rivers. Vital for biological diversity, ecosystem function and as resources for human life, commerce and leisure, inland waters are a vital component of life on Earth. The Encyclopedia of Inland Waters describes and explains all the basic features of the subject, from water chemistry and physics, to the biology of aquatic creatures and the complex function and balance of aquatic ecosystems of varying size and complexity. Used and abused as an essential resource, it is vital that we understand and manage them as much as we appreciate and enjoy them. This extraordinary reference brings together the very best research to provide the basic and advanced information necessary for scientists to understand these ecosystems - and for water resource managers and consultants to manage and protect them for future generations.

Islands have captured the imagination of scientists and the public for centuries--unique and rare environments, their isolation makes them natural laboratories for ecology and evolution. This authoritative, alphabetically arranged reference, featuring more than 200 succinct articles by leading scientists from around the world, provides broad coverage of all the island sciences. But what exactly is an island? The volume editors define it here as any discrete habitat isolated from other habitats by inhospitable surroundings. The Encyclopedia of Islands examines many such insular settings--oceanic and continental islands as well as places such as caves, mountaintops, and whale falls at the bottom of the ocean. This essential, one-stop resource, extensively illustrated with color photographs, clear maps, and graphics will introduce island science to a wide audience and spur further research on some of the planet's most fascinating habitats.

The Encyclopedia of Paleontology is designed to address the shortage of general reference works on both vertebrate and invertebrate paleontology and to serve the needs of students and lay persons interested in the field. As the encyclopedia aims to provide basic information, the majority of the 350 entries are devoted to explanations of paleontological concepts and techniques, examinations of the evolutionary development of particular organisms and biological features, profiles of major discoveries, and biographies of leading scientists. Each entry includes an essay and a further reading list. An international team of 200 leading experts in the field has prepared the illustrations and the essays, which range from concise descriptions to comprehensive discussions.

CRC Practical Handbooks are a series of single-volume bench manuals that feature a synthesis of the most frequently used, basic reference information. These highly abridged versions of existing CRC multi-volume Handbooks contain largely tabular and graphic data. They provide extensive coverage in a scientific discipline and enable quick, convenient access to the most practical reference information...on the spot! Leading professionals in their respective fields collaborated to provide individuals and institutions with an economical and easy-to-use source of classic reference information. The CRC Practical Handbook of PHYSICAL PROPERTIES of ROCKS and MINERALS, prepared by leaders in their specialties, has been constructed to serve as a convenient, compact, yet comprehensive source of basic information. The technical data have been compiled and selectively edited to provide an organized and definitive presentation of the physical properties of rocks and their constituent minerals. The format is primarily tabular and graphical, for easy reference and comparisons. There is also instructive textual material to present, explain, and clarify the data. This edited and abridged version of the CRC Handbook of Physical Properties of Rocks, published in three volumes in 1982 - 1984, will serve as an easy-to-use source of current and useful reference information.

The oceans cover 70% of the Earth's surface, and are critical components of Earth's climate system. This new edition of Encyclopedia of Ocean Sciences summarizes the breadth of knowledge about them, providing revised, up to date entries as well coverage of new topics in the field. New and expanded sections include microbial ecology, high latitude systems and the cryosphere, climate and climate change, hydrothermal and cold seep systems. The structure of the work provides a modern presentation of the field, reflecting the input and different perspective of chemical, physical and biological oceanography, the specialized area of expertise of each of the three Editors-in-Chief. In this framework maximum attention has been devoted to making this an organic and unified reference. Represents a one-stop. organic information resource on the breadth of ocean science researchReflects the input and different perspective of chemical, physical and biological oceanography, the specialized area of expertise of each of the three Editors-in-ChiefNew and expanded sections include microbial ecology, high latitude systems and climate changeProvides scientifically reliable information at a foundational level, making this work a resource for students as well as active researches

The Oxford Companion to the Earth is a unique reference work, offering unrivalled coverage of the Earth Sciences, from volcanoes to flood plains, diamonds to meteors, deserts to deep seas. All aspects of geology, including climatology, mineralogy, and oceanography, are covered. In addition, there are many eclectic entries, for example on dinosaur hunters, and fossils and folklore, as well as biographies of the key figures involved.

This extensively updated new edition of the widely acclaimed Treatise on Geochemistry has increased its coverage beyond the wide range of geochemical subject areas in the first edition, with five new volumes which include: the history of the atmosphere, geochemistry of mineral deposits, archaeology and anthropology, organic geochemistry and analytical geochemistry. In addition, the original Volume 1 on "Meteorites, Comets, and Planets" was expanded into two separate volumes dealing with meteorites and planets, respectively. These additions increased the number of volumes in the Treatise from 9 to 15 with the index/appendices volume remaining as the last volume (Volume 16). Each of the original volumes was scrutinized by the appropriate volume editors, with respect to necessary revisions as well as additions and deletions. As a result, 27% were republished without major changes, 66% were revised and 126 new chapters were added.

There is little dispute within the scientific community that humans are changing Earth's climate on a decadal to century time-scale. By the end of this century, without a reduction in emissions, atmospheric CO2 is projected to increase to levels that Earth has not experienced for more than 30 million years. As greenhouse gas emissions propel Earth toward a warmer climate state, an improved understanding of climate dynamics in warm environments is needed to inform public policy decisions. In Understanding Earth's Deep Past, the National Research Council reports that rocks and sediments that are millions of years old hold clues to how the Earth's future climate would respond in an environment with high levels of atmospheric greenhouse gases.