Earth’s oceans are vital for sustaining life on our planet. Oceanography is an intrinsically multidisciplinary science that explores how the ocean does this. The author uses plankton as a focus for the book, drawing together the physics of the ocean circulation, the chemistry of nutrients and carbon, and the biology of the plankton.The book begins by describing the major ocean currents and tides, and the importance of stratification, or layers, in the ocean. It explains how microsc...

In this exciting and innovative textbook, two leading oceanographers bring together the fundamental physics and biology of the coastal ocean in a quantitative but accessible way for undergraduate and graduate students. Shelf sea processes are comprehensively explained from first principles using an integrated approach to oceanography that helps build a clear understanding of how shelf sea physics underpins key biological processes in these environmentally sensitive regions. Using many obse...

A classic introduction to the story of Earth's origin and evolution—revised and expanded for the twenty-first centurySince its first publication more than twenty-five years ago, How to Build a Habitable Planet has established a legendary reputation as an accessible yet scientifically impeccable introduction to the origin and evolution of Earth, from the Big Bang through the rise of human civilization. This classic account of how our habitable planet was as...

A Short Introduction to Climate Change provides a clear, balanced and well documented account of one of the most important issues of our time. It covers developments in climate science over the past 250 years and shows that recent climate change is more than the result of natural variability. It explains the difference between weather and climate by examining changes in temperature, rainfall, Arctic ice and ocean currents. It also considers the consequences of our use of fossil fuels and d...

This modern climatology textbook explains those climates formed near the ground in terms of the cycling of energy and mass through systems.

Tectonic geomorphology is the study of the interplay between tectonic and surface processes that shape the landscape in regions of active deformation and at time scales ranging from days to millions of years. Over the past decade, recent advances in the quantification of both rates and the physical basis of tectonic and surface processes have underpinned an explosion of new research in the field of tectonic geomorphology. Modern tectonic geomorphology is an exceptionally integrative field ...

Animal Eyes provides a comparative account of all known types of eye in the animal kingdom, outlining their structure and function with an emphasis on the nature of the optical systems and the physical principles involved in image formation. A universal theme throughout the book is the evolution and taxonomic distribution of each type of eye, and the roles of different eye types in the behaviour and ecology of the animals that possess them. In comparing the specific capabilities o...

Global warming and human-induced climate change are perhaps the most important scientific issues of our time. These issues continue to be debated in the scientific community and in the media without true consensus about the role of greenhouse gas emissions as a contributing factor. Evidence-Based Climate Science: Data opposing CO2 emissions as the primary source of global warming objectively gathers and analyzes scientific data concerning patterns of past climate changes, influences of cha...

This concise introduction to modern climatology covers the key topics for intermediate undergraduate students on one-semester courses. The treatment of topics is non-mathematical wherever possible, instead focusing on physical processes to allow students to grasp concepts more easily. Full-color illustrations support the text and supplementary topics are covered in boxes, enabling students to further increase their knowledge and awareness. A historical perspective of climatology is woven t...

The second edition of The Biomarker Guide is a fully updated and expanded version of this essential reference. Now in two volumes, it provides a comprehensive account of the role that biomarker technology plays both in petroleum exploration and in understanding Earth history and processes. Biomarkers and Isotopes in the Environment and Human History details the origins of biomarkers and introduces basic chemical principles relevant to their study. It discusses analytical techniques, and ap...

Marine Geochemistry offers a fully comprehensive and integrated treatment of the chemistry of the oceans, their sediments and biota. The first edition of the book received strong critical acclaim and was described as ‘a standard text for years to come.’ This third edition of Marine Geochemistry has been written at a time when the role of the oceans in the Earth System is becoming increasingly apparent.Following the successful format adopted previously, th...

Igneous and metamorphic petrology has over the last twenty years expanded rapidly into a broad, multifaceted and increasingly quantitative science. Advances in geochemistry, geochronology, and geophysics, as well as the appearance of new analytical tools, have all contributed to new ways of thinking about the origin and evolution of magmas, and the processes driving metamorphism.This book is designed to give students a balanced and comprehensive coverage of these new advances, as w...