Our Changing Planet: The View from Space

Cambridge University Press, 10/25/2007
EAN 9780521828703, ISBN10: 0521828708

Hardcover, 400 pages, 31.7 x 25.8 x 3.5 cm
Language: English

For over 40 years, satellites have been orbiting the Earth quietly monitoring the state of our planet. Unseen by most of us, they are providing information on the many changes taking place, from movements in the land and volcanic eruptions, to human-caused changes such as the growth of cities, deforestation and the spread of pollutants in the atmosphere and oceans. Led by four editors with support from a production team at NASA Goddard Space Flight Center, many of the world's top remote sensing scientists showcase some spectacular and beautiful satellite imagery along with informed essays on the science behind these images and the implications of what is shown. This is a stunningly attractive and informative book for anyone interested in environmental issues and the beauty of our home planet, providing inspiration for students, teachers, environmentalists and the general public alike.

Foreword
Preface
Introduction
Part I. Dynamic Atmosphere
1. The dynamic atmosphere
introduction
2. Clouds
are the shutters of the Earth changing?
3. Cloud optical and microphysical properties
4. Clouds and the Earth's radiation budget
5. Water vapour
6. A world of rain
7. Hurricanes
connections with climate change
8. Lightning
9. Warming and cooling of the atmosphere
10. Dust in the wind
11. Atmospheric pollution
a global problem
12. Ship tracks
13. Airplane contrails
14. Weekly cycle of nitrogen dioxide pollution from space
15. The ozone hole
16. The chlorine threat to Earth's ozone shield
Part II
Vital Land
17. The vital land
introduction
18. The San Andreas Fault
adjustments in the Earth's crust
19. Mount Pinatubo
an enduring volcanic hazard
20. Extreme floods
21. Satellite monitoring of Ebola virus hemorrhagic fever epidemics
22. Snow cover
the most dynamic feature on the Earth's surface
23. Glaciers
scribes of climate
harbingers of change
24. Boreal forests
a lengthening growing season
25. Soil moisture
a critical underlying role
26. The sunlit Earth
27. Temperature of the land surface
Part III. The Restless Ocean
28. The restless ocean
introduction
29. Ocean bathymetry and plate tectonics
30. Ocean surface topography and circulation
31. Heat in the ocean
32. Sea level rise
33. Tides
34. Winds over ocean
35. The stormy Atlantic
36. The ocean biosphere
37. Coccolithophores and the 'Sea of Milk'
38. Coral bleaching
39. Hunting red tides from space
40. Marine sediments
41. Tsunamis
Part IV. The Frozen Caps
42. The frozen caps
introduction
43. Antarctica
a continent revealed
44. Ice sheets on the move
45. Ice sheets and the threat to global sea level
46. The great white ocean
the Arctic's changing sea ice cover
47. Bound together
Arctic sea ice, ocean and atmosphere
48. Sea ice
the shifting crust of the southern ocean
49. Antarctic polynyas
ventilation, bottom water, and high productivity for the world's oceans
Part V. Evidence of our Tenure
50. Evidence of our tenure
introduction
51. Mapping the ancient Maya landscape from space
52. Global land use changes
53. The changing role of fire on Earth
54. The tropical rain forest
threatened powerhouse of the biosphere
55. The green wave
56. Monitoring urban areas globally and locally
57. Gray wave of the great transformation
58. Urban heat islands
59. Urbanization in China
The Pearl River Delta example
60. Water issues in the fertile crescent
irrigation in south-eastern Turkey
61. Chronicling the destruction of Eden
the draining of the Iraqi marshes
62. Destruction of the Aral Sea
63. The desiccation of Lake Chad
64. Industrial pollution in the Russian Arctic
65. Oil spills at sea
Epilogue
Glossary
Appendix A
Appendix B
Appendix C
Index.

'... an awe-inspiring collection of images of the Earth from space. This wonderful volume provides a masterful association of imagery and explanation. You will have difficulty closing it once opened. I give it my highest recommendation.' Sir Ranulph Fiennes, Internationally renowned explorer and adventurer