Volcanoes: a Very Short Introduction - read free eBook in online reader or directly download on the web page. Select files or add your book in reader. Download and read online ebook Volcanoes: a Very Short Introduction write by Michael J. Branney. This book was released on 2020-11-26. Volcanoes: a Very Short Introduction available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Throughout our planet's history volcanoes have played a large role in shaping landscapes, the climate, and biological evolution. This book explains the fundamental mechanisms of volcanism, considering why volcanoes are essential for life on Earth, and how they interact with the Earth's other physical processes, and with human society.
Volcanoes: A Very Short Introduction
Volcanoes: A Very Short Introduction - read free eBook in online reader or directly download on the web page. Select files or add your book in reader. Download and read online ebook Volcanoes: A Very Short Introduction write by Michael J Branney. This book was released on 2020-11-26. Volcanoes: A Very Short Introduction available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Volcanoes are some of the most dramatic expressions of the powerful tectonic forces at work in the Earth beneath our feet. But volcanism, a profoundly important feature of Earth, and indeed of other planets and moons too, encompasses much more than just volcanoes themselves. On a planetary scale, volcanism is an indispensable heat release mechanism, which on Earth allows the conditions for life. IIt releases gases into the atmosphere and produces enormous volumes of rock, and spectacular landscapes - landscapes which, during major eruptions, can be completely reshaped in a matter of hours. Through geological time volcanism has shaped both climate and biological evolution, and volcanoes can affect human life, too, for both good and ill. Yet, even after much study, some of the fundamental aspects of volcanicity remain mysterious. This Very Short Introduction takes the readers into the inferno of a racing pyroclastic current, and the heart of a moving lava flow, as understood through the latest scientific research. Exploring how volcanologists forensically decipher how volcanoes work, Michael Branney and Jan Zalasiewicz explain what we do (and don't) understood about the fundamental mechanisms of volcanism, and consider how volcanoes interact with other physical processes on the Earth, with life, and with human society. ABOUT THE SERIES: The Very Short Introductions series from Oxford University Press contains hundreds of titles in almost every subject area. These pocket-sized books are the perfect way to get ahead in a new subject quickly. Our expert authors combine facts, analysis, perspective, new ideas, and enthusiasm to make interesting and challenging topics highly readable.
The Earth: A Very Short Introduction
The Earth: A Very Short Introduction - read free eBook in online reader or directly download on the web page. Select files or add your book in reader. Download and read online ebook The Earth: A Very Short Introduction write by Martin Redfern. This book was released on 2003-06-26. The Earth: A Very Short Introduction available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. For generations, the ground beneath the feet of our ancestors seemed solid and unchanging. Around 30 years ago, two things happened that were to revolutionize the understanding of our home planet. First, geologists realized that the continents themselves were drifting across the surface of the globe and that oceans were being created and destroyed. Secondly, pictures of the entire planet were returned from space. As the astronomer Fred Hoyle had predicted, this 'let loose an idea as powerful as any in history'. Suddenly, the Earth began to be viewed as a single entity; a dynamic, interacting whole, controlled by complex processes we scarcely understood. It began to seem less solid. As one astronaut put it, 'a blue jewel on black velvet; small, fragile and touchingly alone'. Geologists at last were able to see the whole as well as the detail; the wood as well as the trees. This book brings their account up to date with the latest understanding of the processes that govern our planet. ABOUT THE SERIES: The Very Short Introductions series from Oxford University Press contains hundreds of titles in almost every subject area. These pocket-sized books are the perfect way to get ahead in a new subject quickly. Our expert authors combine facts, analysis, perspective, new ideas, and enthusiasm to make interesting and challenging topics highly readable.
Rocks: A Very Short Introduction
Rocks: A Very Short Introduction - read free eBook in online reader or directly download on the web page. Select files or add your book in reader. Download and read online ebook Rocks: A Very Short Introduction write by Jan Zalasiewicz. This book was released on 2016-12-01. Rocks: A Very Short Introduction available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Rocks, more than anything else, underpin our lives. They make up the solid structure of the Earth and of other rocky planets, and are present at the cores of gas giant planets. We live on the rocky surface of the planet, grow our food on weathered debris derived from rocks, and we obtain nearly all of the raw materials with which we found our civilization from rocks. From the Earth's crust to building bricks, rocks contain our sense of planetary history, and are a guide to our future. In this Very Short Introduction Jan Zalsiewicz looks at the nature and variety of rocks, and the processes by which they are formed. Starting from the origin of rocks and their key role in the formation of the Earth, he considers what we know about the deep rocks of the mantle and core, and what rocks can tell us about the evolution of the Earth, and looks at those found in outer space and on other planets. ABOUT THE SERIES: The Very Short Introductions series from Oxford University Press contains hundreds of titles in almost every subject area. These pocket-sized books are the perfect way to get ahead in a new subject quickly. Our expert authors combine facts, analysis, perspective, new ideas, and enthusiasm to make interesting and challenging topics highly readable.
Global Catastrophes: A Very Short Introduction
Global Catastrophes: A Very Short Introduction - read free eBook in online reader or directly download on the web page. Select files or add your book in reader. Download and read online ebook Global Catastrophes: A Very Short Introduction write by Bill McGuire. This book was released on 2006-01-26. Global Catastrophes: A Very Short Introduction available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Life on earth will come to an end. It's just a matter of when. Global Catastrophes: A Very Short Introduction focuses on the many potential catastrophes facing our planet and our species in the future, and looks at both the probability of these events happening and our chances of survival. Coverage extends from discussion of the likely consequences of the current global warming to the inevitable destruction of the earth in the far future, when it is enveloped by our giant, bloated sun. In between, other 'end of the world scenarios' will be examined, including the New Ice Age, asteroid and comet impact, supervolcanoes, and mega-tsunami. ABOUT THE SERIES: The Very Short Introductions series from Oxford University Press contains hundreds of titles in almost every subject area. These pocket-sized books are the perfect way to get ahead in a new subject quickly. Our expert authors combine facts, analysis, perspective, new ideas, and enthusiasm to make interesting and challenging topics highly readable.
