The Dynamic Earth: Introduction to Geology and Climate Change
Edition: 1
Copyright: 2024
Pages: 304
Edition: 1
Copyright: 2024
Pages: 304
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The Dynamic Earth: Introduction to Geology and Climate Change explores a range of challenges our world is beset with, such as sustainable management of and population pressures on various natural resources, climate mitigation and adaption, development of contingency plans for handling natural hazards, etc. To reach these goals, the book unveils the ways that Earth’s physical structure and mineralogical composition influence the availability and distribution of energy resources both conventional and unconventional and their impact on a changing climate. “The Dynamic Earth” will be a precious guide to students who are searching for a firm understanding of the operation of earth system, including climate, within a scientifically sound framework.
PART I: The Earth System
Chapter 1: Earth System Science
Chapter 2: Science and the Scientific Method
Chapter 3: Solid Earth Materials (Minerals and Rocks)
Chapter 4: Weathering and Soils
Chapter 5: Earthquakes, Internal Structure of the Earth and Plate Tectonics
Chapter 6: Time Scales of Geological and Global Environmental Change Processes
Chapter 7: Origins of the Universe, the Solar System and the Earth
Chapter 8: Overview of the History and Evolution of the Earth
Chapter 9: Origin of Life
Chapter 10: The Atmosphere and Atmospheric Circulation System
Chapter 11: The Hydrosphere
Chapter 12: Global Energy Balance, the Greenhouse Effect and Global Warming
Chapter 13: The Earth’s Climate System, Climate Variability, and Climate Change
Chapter 14: Biogeochemical Cycles: the Engines of Life on Earth
PART II: Humans and the Earth System
Chapter 15: Anthopogenic Influence on Geologic Change
Chapter 16: The Anthropocene or the Meghalayan?
Chapter 17: On Chickens and Eggs, Temperatures and Co2 and Causal Links in Contemporary Climate Processes
Chapter 18: Energy and Change in the Earth’s System
Chapter 19: The True Cost of Solar and Eolian Electricity
Chapter 20: Questions about Climate Change from an AI Chatbot
Chapter 21: Taking Sides: Climate Change Debate
Chapter 22: Four Essential Myths of Climate Change: Edenic, Apocalyptic, Babelian, and Themisian
Chapter 23: Climate Change Isn’t Everything
Appendix A: Will New York Be a “Baked Apple”? Using Data Sets to Explore Climate Change
Appendix B: Table of the Elements
Index
Constantin Cranganu is a professor of geophysics and hydrogeology at the Graduate Center and Brooklyn College of the City University of New York. He earned an MS in geophysics from the University of Bucharest, Romania, and a PhD in geology from the University of Oklahoma, USA. With a wealth of experience, Professor Cranganu has been a prolific author, co-author, and editor, contributing to numerous books, book chapters, and peer-reviewed articles published in the USA, Great Britain, Germany and Romania. Since 2004, he has dedicated his efforts to lecturing, researching, and producing works addressing various aspects of geology and climate change. Notably, he co-authored “Exploring the Earth System”, three editions (2013, 2015, 2017), “Climate Change, Torn between Myth and Fact” (2021), “Reflecting on our Changing Climate, from Fear to Facts – A Voice in the Wilderness” (2024), and “A Changing Climate – From Fear to Reality” (2024, in Romanian).
Professor Cranganu has been honored with two Visiting Scientist Fulbright Fellowships, one in 1993 and another in 2018.