Up-to-Date Case Studies Throughout
Featured in every chapter, cases enrich student's understanding of how environmental events affect the news and their lives—and how scientists study those events to make us better prepared for the future.
New! Earth Science and Public Policy Boxes
This feature looks at instances where research on Earth system processes was instrumental in formulating public policy or law to deal with a variety of environmental problems. Topics include:
—Californias Alquist-Priolo Earthquake Fault Zoning Act, which aims to minimize earthquake damage through stringent development requirements
—Bans by most state legislatures of detergent phosphates to protect aquatic ecosystems
—Ordinances enacted by southwestern U.S. cities to conserve dwindling water supplies
Earth Science and Public Policy also addresses the role of special interests and the news media in disseminating misinformation about global climate change.
New! Emerging Research Boxes
Here the authors profile recent and often on-going research projects addressing unresolved issues in environmental geology. Examples include:
—The San Andreas Fault Observatory at Depth an instrumented borehole drilled into the Parkfield section of the fault to study the conditions required for and the characteristics of slip
—Studies of the amount of methane released from melting permafrost as a result of global warming of the Arctic
—Our evolving understanding of the Hawaiian hotspot, which apparently migrates over time, rather than staying fixed (as was assumed in the first edition of this book).
New! Chapter 15. Humans and the Whole Earth System
This revealing new chapter is part of the book's overall expanded emphasis on
human impact and
sustainability.
A Significantly Enhanced Art Program
The new edition features vividly rendered and carefully labeled diagrams of structures and processes, selected tables and graphs, maps, and impressive photographs.