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The Earth System, 2/E
Lee R. Kump, Pennsylvania State University
James F. Kasting, Pennsylvania State University
Robert G. Crane, Pennsylvania State University

ISBN-10: 0131420593
ISBN-13: 9780131420595

Publisher: Prentice Hall
Copyright: 2004
Format: Paper; 432 pp
Published: 08/06/2003

Suggested retail price: $112.00
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For courses in Earth Systems Science offered in departments of Geology, Earth Science, Geography and Environmental Science.

The first textbook of its kind that addresses the issues of global change from a true Earth systems perspective, The Earth System offers a solid emphasis on lessons from Earth's history that may guide decision-making in the future. The text is more quantitative than the standard Earth science book, but the authors have remained sensitive to the needs of non-science majors.

  • NEW - Two new chapters—“Modeling the Atmosphere—Ocean System” and “Focus on the Biota: Metabolism, Ecosystems and Biodiversity.”

    • Explains climate prediction and highlights the role of life in the Earth System.

  • NEW - Significantly revised chapters—Contains updated material in all chapters.

    • Enables students to have a clearer picture of the Earth as a system; the new reorganization emphasizes the changes that continue to occur.

  • NEW - Revised problems—Poses review and critical thinking questions.

    • Motivates students' interest by giving them the opportunity for thought-provoking discussions.

  • NEW - “A Closer Look,” “Useful Concepts,” and “Thinking Quantitatively” boxes—Featured throughout the text; these address topical issues related to the material presented.

    • Provides students with appealing visual and highlighted aids and isolates advanced, quantitative treatments for higher-level courses.

  • NEW - Instructor's Resource Guide and Instructor's Resource CD-ROM—Are standard instructor supplements.

    • Provides instructors with valuable course and lecture support.

  • Systems theory approach—Approaches Earth science from the perspective of systems theory, with a focus on global processes.

    • Teaches students the interconnectedness of natural processes, and how this leads to unexpected consequences.

  • Emphasis on global change—Addresses such modern issues as global warming, ozone depletion, and biodiversity loss.

    • Shows students how humans affect global scale features of the environment, and provides additional motivation to learn relevance.

  • A thorough treatment of Earth history—Provides a framework for developing a deep understanding of global problems while it explores analogous situations in Earth history.

    • Provides students with a discussion of Earth history that enables them to understand modern global change issues.

  • Extensive pedagogy—Included in each chapter are thought questions, a summary of important points, a list of important terms, and recommended general and advanced readings.

    • Enables students to fully develop their understanding of each chapter.

  • Two new chapters—“Modeling the Atmosphere—Ocean System” and “Focus on the Biota: Metabolism, Ecosystems and Biodiversity.”

    • Explains climate prediction and highlights the role of life in the Earth System.

  • Significantly revised chapters—Contains updated material in all chapters.

    • Enables students to have a clearer picture of the Earth as a system; the new reorganization emphasizes the changes that continue to occur.

  • Revised problems—Poses review and critical thinking questions.

    • Motivates students' interest by giving them the opportunity for thought-provoking discussions.

  • “A Closer Look,” “Useful Concepts,” and “Thinking Quantitatively” boxes—Featured throughout the text; these address topical issues related to the material presented.

    • Provides students with appealing visual and highlighted aids and isolates advanced, quantitative treatments for higher-level courses.

  • Instructor's Resource Guide and Instructor's Resource CD-ROM—Are standard instructor supplements.

    • Provides instructors with valuable course and lecture support.



 1. Global Change.


 2. Daisyworld: An Introduction to Systems.


 3. Global Energy Balance: The Greenhouse Effect.


 4. The Atmospheric Circulation System.


 5. The Circulation of the Oceans.


 6. Modeling the Atmosphere-Ocean System.


 7. Circulation of the Solid Earth: Plate Tectonics.


 8. Recycling of the Elements: The Carbon Cycle.


 9. Focus on the Biota: Metabolism, EcoSystems and Biodiversity.


10. Origin of the Earth and of Life.


11. Effect of Life on the Atmosphere: The Rise of Oxygen and Ozone.


12. Long-Term Climate Regulation.


13. Biodiversity Through Earth History.


14. Pleistocene Glaciations.


15. Short-Term Climate Variability.


16. Global Warming.


17. Ozone Depletion.


18. Human Threats to Biodiversity.


19. Climate Stability on Earth and Earth-Like Planets.


Appendix A: Units and Unit Conversions.


Appendix B: Temperature Conversions.


Appendix C: Periodic Table.


Appendix D: Useful Facts.


Glossary.


Index.

Lee R. KumpGeology and is now editor of the Virtual Journal of Geobiology and associate editor of Geochimica et Cosmochimica Acta. He is a fellow of the Geological Society of America, and received the Distinguished Service Medal from the Geological Society of America in 2000. Dr. Kump's research interests include the behavior of nutrient and trace elements in natural environments, the evolution of ocean and atmosphere composition on geologic time scales, biogeochemical cycling in aquatic environments, and environmental change during extreme events (mass extinctions, extreme warm periods, glaciations) in Earth history.

James F. Kasting is a Professor at Penn State University, where he holds joint appointments in the Departments of Geosciences and Meteorology and is an affiliate of the NASA Astrobiology Institute and Penn State's ESSC. He received his undergraduate degree from Harvard University in Chemistry and Physics and did his PhD in Atmospheric Sciences at the University of Michigan. Prior to coming to Penn State in 1988, he spent 7 year§ in the Space Science Division at NASA Ames Research Center. Dr. Kasting is a Fellow of the American Association for the Advancement of Science and of the International Society for the Study of the Origin of Life. His research focuses on the evolution of planetary atmospheres, particularly the question of why the atmospheres of Mars and Venus are so different from that of Earth. Dr. Kasting is also interested in the question of whether habitable planets exist around other stars and how we might look for signatures of life by doing spectroscopy on their atmospheres.

Robert G. Crane received his PhD in Geography from the University of Colorado, Boulder. After working as a Research Associate in the National Snow and Ice Data Center and the World Data Center-A for Glaciology in Boulder, he spent a year teaching at the University of Saskatchewan before moving to Penn State in 1985. Dr. Crane's research has been on microwave remote sensing of sea ice, ice-climate interactions, and, more recently, regional-scale climate change, climate downscaling techniques, and climate change and variability in southern Africa. He is coeditor of a text on the applications of artificial neural networks in geography. Currently Dr. Crane holds the position of Professor in the Department of Geography and an affiliate of the ESSC. He also serves as the Associate Dean for Education in the College of Earth and Mineral Sciences at Penn State.

The Earth System, Second Edition employs a systems-based approach to examine Earth science at the global level. This text explores how:

  • Earth's processes have connections to the past and to each other
  • Seemingly small-scale changes to Earth can have large-scale effects
  • Processes that are occurring now are molding the course of the future

The second edition incorporates two new chapters:

  • Modeling the Atmosphere-Ocean System—A discussion of why numerical models are necessary, how they are used, what they can tell us about past and future climates, and what their limitations are.
  • A Focus on the Biota: Ecosystems and Biodiversity—Focuses on life's role in the Earth system, how ecosystems function, what biodiversity is, and whether or not biological diversity enhances the stability of ecosystems.

Three categories of boxed text are included and offer a deeper study of the topics presented.

  • A Closer Look—Includes more advanced concepts, results from current research, and explanations of interesting phenomena.
  • Important Concepts—In-depth presentations of fundamental concepts from the natural sciences essential to our understanding of the Earth system.
  • Thinking Quantitatively—Demonstrates how simple mathematics can be used to better understand the workings of the Earth system.

View a Sample Chapter PDF:

  • Instructor's Resource CD-ROM, 2/E
    Kump
    © 2004 | Prentice Hall | Software | Instock
    ISBN-10: 0131420623 | ISBN-13: 9780131420625

    Instructor's Resource CD-ROM, 2/E
    Kump
    © 2004 | Prentice Hall | Software | Instock
    ISBN-10: 0131420623 | ISBN-13: 9780131420625

    Downloadable files:

    • Instructor's Manual (zip) (16.4MB | zip file | Type: Manuals/Guides)
      The complete Instructor's Manual in Microsoft Word


    • Chapter 1 Images (zip) (1.5MB | zip file | Type: Presentations)
      All of the images from chapter 1 in JPEG form.


    • Chapter 2 Images (zip) (2.0MB | zip file | Type: Presentations)
      All of the images from chapter 2 in JPEG form.


    • Chapter 3 Images (zip) (3.7MB | zip file | Type: Presentations)
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    • Chapter 4 Images (zip) (11.3MB | zip file | Type: Presentations)
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    • Chapter 5 Images (zip) (4.3MB | zip file | Type: Presentations)
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    • Chapter 6 Images (zip) (1.5MB | zip file | Type: Presentations)
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    • Chapter 7 Images (zip) (8.0MB | zip file | Type: Presentations)
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    • Ch 8 Images (zip) (4.4MB | zip file | Type: Presentations)
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    • Ch 14 Images (zip) (3.9MB | zip file | Type: Presentations)
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    • Ch 15 Images (zip) (3.9MB | zip file | Type: Presentations)
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    • Ch 16 Images (zip) (2.4MB | zip file | Type: Presentations)
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    • Ch 17 Images (zip) (4.0MB | zip file | Type: Presentations)
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    • Chapter 18 Images (zip) (2.0MB | zip file | Type: Presentations)
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    • Chapter 19 Images (zip) (1.2MB | zip file | Type: Presentations)
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    • Set of 15 Animations (zip) (7.4MB | zip file | Type: Presentations)
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