| Contents Notes |
1. Introduction to earth -- Science and geography -- global environmental change -- the environmental spheres -- The solar system -- The size and shape of Earth -- The geographic grid : latitude and longitude -- Earth-sun relations -- The annual march of the seasons -- Telling time -- 2. Portraying earth -- The nature of maps -- Map scale -- Map essentials -- The role of globes -- Map projections -- Families of map projections -- Isolines -- GPS : the Global Positioning System -- Remote sensing -- Geographic Information Systems (GIS) -- Google Earth -- 3. Introduction to the atmosphere -- Size of Earth's atmosphere -- Composition of the atmosphere -- Vertical structure of the atmosphere -- Human-induced atmospheric change -- Weather and climate -- The UV Index -- 4. Insolation and temperature -- Impact of temperature on the landscape -- Energy, heat, and temperature -- Solar energy -- Basic heating and colling processes in the atmosphere -- The heating of the atmosphere -- Variations in heating by latitude and season -- Land and water contrasts -- Mechanisms of heat transfer -- Vertical temperature patterns -- Global temperature patterns -- Global warming and the Greenhouse Effect -- Solar power -- 5. Atmospheric pressure an wind -- Impact of pressure and wind on the landscape -- Nature of atmospheric pressure -- Nature of wind -- Vertical variations in pressure and wind -- General circulation of the atmosphere -- Modifications of the general circulation -- Monsoons -- Localized wind systems -- Katabatic winds -- Foehn/Chinook winds -- El Niäno : southern oscillation -- La Niäna -- Other multiyear atmospheric and oceanic cycles -- Pacific decadal oscillation -- North Atlantic oscillation and the Arctic oscillation -- Wind power -- 6. Atmospheric moisture -- Impact of atmospheric moisture on the landscape -- Hydrologic Cycle -- Nature of water : commonplace but unique -- Phase changes of water -- Water vapor and evaporation -- Measures of humidity -- Condensation -- Adiabatic processes -- Clouds -- Buoyancy of air -- Precipitation -- Atmospheric lifting and precipitation -- Global distribution of precipitation -- Acid rain -- GOES weather satellites -- Global dimming -- 7. Atmospheric disturbances -- Impact of storms on the landscape -- Air masses -- Fronts -- Atmospheric disturbances -- Midlatitude cyclones -- Midlatitude anticyclones -- Minor tropical disturbances : easterly waves -- Major tropical disturbances : hurricanes -- Localized severe weather -- Thunderstorms -- Tornadoes -- Hurricane Katrina -- Hurricanes and global warming -- NEXRAD -- Vertical Wind Profiler and the Oklahoma Mesonetwork -- 8. Climate and climate change -- Climate classification -- World distribution of major climate types -- Global patterns idealized -- Global climate change -- Climate models -- Current global warming -- Signs of climate change in the Arctic -- Paleoclimatology at Dome C, Antarctica -- Strategies for reducing Greenhouse gas emissions -- 9. The hydrosphere -- Hydrologic cycle -- Oceans -- Movement of ocean waters -- Permanent ice : the cryosphere -- Surface waters -- Underground water -- Great Pacific garbage patch -- Thawing permafrost in Alaska -- Groundwater extraction -- 10. Cycles and patterns in the biosphere -- Impact of plants and animals on the landscape -- Geographic approach to the study of organisms -- Biogeochemical cycles -- Food chains -- Natural distributions -- Environmental relationships -- Biofuels -- Bark beetle killing forest in Western North America -- 11. Terrestrial flora and fauna -- Ecosystems and biomes -- Terrestrial flora -- Terrestrial fauna -- Zoogeographic regions -- Major biomes -- Human modification of natural distribution patterns -- Changing climate affects bird populations -- Rainforest loss in Brazil -- 12. Soils -- Soil and regolith -- Soil-forming factors -- Soil components -- Soil properties -- Soil chemistry -- Soil profiles -- Pedogenic regimes -- Soil classification -- Global distribution of major soils -- Distribution of soils in the United States -- Using soil profiles to decipher past environments -- 13. Introduction to landform study -- The structure of the Earth -- The composition of the Earth -- The study of landforms -- Some critical concepts -- Geomorphic processes -- Uniformitarianism -- Geologic time -- Scale and pattern -- 14. The internal processes -- Impact of internal processes on the landscape -- From rigid Earth to plate tectonics -- Wegener's continental drift -- Plate tectonics -- Volcanism -- Intrusive igneous features -- Tectonism -- Folding -- Faulting -- Earthquakes -- The complexities of crustal configuration -- Eruption of Mount St. Helens -- Earthquake forecasting -- 15. Preliminaries to erosion : weathering and mass wasting -- Denudation -- Impact of weathering and mass wasting on the landscape -- Weathering and rock openings -- Jointing -- Weathering agents -- Mass wasting -- Fall -- Slide -- flow -- Creep -- The La Conchita landslides -- 16. Fluvial processes -- Impact of fluvial processes on the landscape -- Streams and stream systems -- Stream channels -- Structural relationships -- The shaping and reshaping of valleys -- Floodplains -- Stream rejuvenation -- Theories of landform development -- Davis' Geomorphic Cycle -- Penck's Theory of Crustal Change and Slope -- Development -- Equilibrium Theory -- Hydroelectric power -- The changing Mississippi River Delta -- 17. Karst and hydrothermal processes -- Impact of solution processes on the landscape -- Solution and precipitation -- Caverns and related features -- Karst topography -- Hydrothermal features -- Hot springs -- Geysers -- Fumaroles -- Hydrothermal features in Yellowstone -- Geothermal energy -- 18. The topography of arid lands -- A specialized environment -- Deserts -- Running water in waterless regions -- Characteristic desert landscape surfaces -- Erg : a sea of sand -- Reg : stony deserts -- Hamada : barren bedrock -- The work of the wind -- Aeolian erosion -- Aeolian transportation -- Aeolian deposition -- Two representative desert landform assemblages -- Basin and range terrain --- Mesa and scarp terrain -- Desertification -- 19. Glacial modification of terrain -- Impact of glaciers on the landscape -- Types of glaciers-- Glaciations past and present -- Pleistocene glaciation -- Glacier formation and movement -- The effects of glaciers -- Erosion -- Transportation -- Deposition -- Continental ice sheets -- Mountain glaciers -- The periglacial environment -- Causes of the Pleistocene glaciations -- Are we still in an Ice Age? -- Disintegration of Antarctic ice shelves -- Shrinking glaciers -- 20. Coastal processes and terrain Impact of waves and currents on the landscape -- Coastal processes -- Sea level and lake level -- Coastal landforms -- The Sumatra-Andaman earthquake and tsunami of 2004 -- Tidal power -- Imperiled coral reefs -- Appendix I. The International System of Units (SI) -- Appendix II. U.S. Geological Survey topographic maps -- Appendix III.l Meteorological tables -- Appendix IV. The Weather Station Model -- Appendix V. Kèoppen Climate Classification -- Appendix VI. Biological taxonomy -- Appendix VII. THe soil taxonomy. This book fosters a solid understanding of Earth and its physical features and processes. Featuring the clear, approachable writing style of Darrel Hess and a superior art program by renowned geoscience artist Dennis Tasa, the tenth edition incorporates the latest on climate change science, renewable energy resources, and the geographer's technology toolbox. |
