An Introduction to the Earth-Life System

Dise, Nancy, Edwards, Neil, Harris, Nigel, Corfield, Richard, Cockell, Charles

ISBN 10: 052172953X / ISBN 13: 9780521729536

Published by Cambridge University Press, 2008

About this Item

Former library copy. Pages intact with possible writing/highlighting. Binding strong with minor wear. Dust jackets/supplements may not be included. Includes library markings. Stock photo provided. Product includes identifying sticker. Better World Books: Buy Books. Do Good.

Seller Inventory # GRP82748503

Bibliographic Details

• Title: An Introduction to the Earth-Life System
• Publisher: Cambridge University Press
• Publication Date: 2008
• Language: English
• ISBN 10: 052172953X
• ISBN 13: 9780521729536
• Binding: Soft cover
• Condition: Very Good
• Weight: 2.374 pounds

About this title

Synopsis

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.

About the Author

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).