The Blue Planet

Part 1. The Earth System: Our Place in Space 1. The Earth System 5 What is Earth Syste, Science? 6 Earth System Reservoirs 14 Dynamic Intercations Among Reservoirs 16 How Science Works: Hypothesis and Theory 22 2. Energy 31 What is Energy? 32 External Energy Sources 35 Internal Energy Sources 42 Earth's Energy Cycle 43 Energy and Society 46 3. Matter 53 Earth's Materials 54 Organic Matter 59 Composition and Internal Structure of Earth 61 Minerals 64 Rocks 71 Regolith 74 How Matter Moves Through the Earth System 76 4. Space and Time 81 The Sun: An Ordinary Star 82 The Solar System 85 Other Suns and Planetary Systems 96 Time and Change 101 Part 2. The Geosphere: Earth Beneath Our Feet 109 5. The Tectonic Cycle 111 Plate Tectonics: A Unifying Theory 113 Plate Motion and the Driving Force 120 Plate Interactions and Earth's Landscapes 125 Building the Continents 132 6. Earthquakes and Volcanoes 143 Earthquakes: When Rocks Shift 144 Earthquake Hazard and Risk 150 Earthquakes and Earth's Interior 156 Volcanoes: When Rocks Melt 161 Volcanic Disasters 173 Magma Underground 176 The Tectonic Connection: Origin and Distribution of Magmas and Volcanoes 177 7. The Rock Cycle 185 From Rock to Regolith 186 From Regolith to Rock 195 New Rock to Old 202 From Rock to Magma and Back Again 209 The Rock Cycle. The Tectonic Cycle, and Earth's Landscapes 212 Part 3. The Hydrosphere: Earth's Blanket of Water and Ice 221 8. The Hydrologic Cycle 223 Water and the Hydrologic Cycle 224 Water on the Ground 228 Water Under the Ground 241 Water and Society 247 9. The Cryosphere 257 Earth's Cover of Snow and Ice 258 Glaciers 260 Glaciation 270 Sea Ice 277 Ice in the Earth System 279 10. The World Ocean Ocean Basins and Ocean Water 288 Ocean Circulation 295 Ocean Waves 301 Ocean Tides 306 Where Land and Ocean Meet 307 Changing Sea Levels 311 Part 4. The Atmosphere: Earth's Gaseous Envelope 319 11. The Atmosphere 321 The Habitable Planet 322 Composition and Structure of Our Atmosphere 325 Moisture in the Atmosphere 335 The Atmosphere in the Earth System 343 12. Wind and Weather Systems Why Air Moves 350 Global Air Circulation 355 Regional Wind and Weather Systems 360 Local WInd and Weather Systems 364 Severe Weather 365 Weather and the Earth System 373 13. the Climate System 379 Earth's Climate System 380 Evidence of Climate Change 381 Earth's Past CLimates 392 Why Climates CHange 400 Feedbacks and Complexity in Earth's Climate System 408 Part 5. The Biosphere: Life on Earth 14. Life, Death and Evolution 417 What is Life? An Overview of Basic Biological Processes 418 Life: A Planetary Perspective 424 Evolution: the History of Life 431 Extinction: The History of Death 442 15. Ecosystems, Biomes, and Cycles of Life 449 Energy and Matter in Ecosystems 450 Global Cycles of Life 459 Earth's Major Ecosystems 474 16. Populations, Communities, and Change 487 Populations 488 Communities 492 Biodiversity 502 Part 6. The Anthroposphere: Humans and the Earth System 517 17. The Resource Cycle 519 Resources from the Earth System 520 Renewable Resources: Seeking Balance 526 Limits to Growth 537 18. Mineral and Energy Resources 541 Nonrenewable Resources: Closing the Cycle 542 Mineral Resources 542 Energy Resources 551 19. The Changing Earth System 473 Understanding Anthropogenic Change 574 Human Impacts on the Earth System 577 Anthropogenic Role in Global Climate Change 592 Anthroposphere: Humans and Earth System Change 599