The Global Carbon Cycle (ebook)

Argumento de The Global Carbon Cycle (ebook)

"An easily readable format, this lightweight book is an excellent companion to those who need a quick on-the-go reference or for those who need a compendium for their office or lab. . . . The Global Carbon Cycle is an authoritative book with numerous examples explaining scientific phenomena associated the global carbon cycle. The Global Carbon Cycle book also contains a glossary of terms along with an excellent bibliography for further reading."--Gabriel Thoumi, Mongabay.com

Second Place in the 2012 Book Series in the Professional Scholarly Series category, New York Book Show

"Fossil-fuel carbon is our dangerous treasure. David Archer brilliantly and lucidly provides the essential background on Earth's carbon cycle that we need to make wise decisions about future use."--Richard B. Alley, Pennsylvania State University

"David Archer is one of the world's leading experts advancing our understanding of the consequences of carbon dioxide emissions in the context of geologic time. Archer's book explains how the consequences of our fossil-fuel economy will outlast even our nuclear waste. This book is essential reading--it wakes us up to the long-term consequences of our fossil-fuel folly."--Ken Caldeira, Carnegie Institution for Science

"Archer has written a well-constructed text that explores the major factors regulating atmospheric CO2 across different geological time scales up to and including the current human-driven trends from fossil-fuel burning and deforestation. He explains clearly and in an engaging fashion a number of difficult concepts associated with various feedback mechanisms between Earth's climate and the carbon cycle. The science is first-rate."--Scott C. Doney, Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution

"This book will serve both students and researchers seeking to understand this critical component of the Earth system. Until now, there hasn't been a text that clearly discusses the carbon cycle across time scales and that connects the often-confusing dots to elucidate its role in climate change."--Galen A. McKinley, University of Wisconsin--Madison

"Archer's book is a must read for specialists and graduate students in geochemistry, palaeoclimatology, and modem climate change. This is an essential source of fresh information on carbon cycling on the Earth."--Dmitry A. Ruban, Palaeontologie allgemein

"If you want to understand why scientists can't seem to find consensus on climate change, then this book, through its honest acknowledgement of how much we don't know and what we can't completely predict, will help."--Pat Thomas, Geographical

"Archer's book, The Global Carbon Cycle, one of the Princeton Primers in Climate, is a detailed, but readable look at the science behind the way the Earth reacts to carbon and other factors that relate to global climate. He discusses changes in the Earth's temperature throughout history and the reasons behind. Such factors as the gradual warming of the sun and changes in the Earth's orbit are examined. Without some understanding of the science that goes beyond parroting what we hear in the form of sound bites on the evening news, we cannot have an informed discussion."--Brad Sylvester, Yahoo News

"[David Archer] clearly presents the treatments of changes in the Earth's orbital trajectory, anthropogenic increases in atmospheric carbon dioxide, ocean pH swings, and temperature shifts. Archer's use of three different timescales to clarify Earth's historical climate cycles illustrates his mastery of thermodynamics and chemical equilibria."--Choice0List of Boxes vii
Chapter 1: C arbon on Earth 1
Chapter 2: The Stable Geologic Carbon Cycle 21
Chapter 3: The Unstable Ice Age Carbon Cycle 57
Chapter 4: The Present and Future Carbon Cycle--Stable or Unstable? 103
Chapter 5: Methane 141
Chapter 6: Summary 174
Glossary 179
Bibliography 187
Index 203