| Description |
1 online resource |
| Contents |
Chapter 1. Introduction -- Chapter 2. Discovering Climate -- Chapter 3. The Language of Science -- Chapter 4. Applying Mathematics to Problems -- Chapter 5. Geologic Time -- Chapter 6. Putting Numbers on Geologic Ages -- Chapter 7. Documenting Past Climate Change -- Chapter 8. The Nature of Energy Received From the Sun The Analogies with Water Waves and Sound -- Chapter 9. The Nature of Energy Received From the Sun---Figuring Out What Light Really Is -- Chapter 10. Exploring the Electromagnetic Spectrum -- Chapter 11. The Origins of Climate Science---The Idea Of Energy Balance -- Chapter 12. The Climate System -- Chapter 13. Whats At The Bottom of Alices Rabbit Hole -- Chapter 14. Energy from the Sun---Long-Term Variations -- Chapter 15. Solar Variability and Cosmic Rays -- Chapter 16. Albedo -- Chapter 17. Air -- Chapter 18. HOH---The Keystone Of Earths Climate -- Chapter 19. The Atmosphere -- Chapter 20. Oxygen and Ozone---Products and Protectors of Life -- Chapter 21. Water Vapor---The Major Greenhouse Gas -- Chapter 22. Carbon Dioxide -- Chapter 23. Other Greenhouse Gases -- Chapter 24. The Earth Is a Sphere and Rotates -- Chapter 25. The Coriolis Effect -- Chapter 26. The Circulation of Earths Atmosphere -- Chapter 27. The Circulation of Earths Oceans -- Chapter 28. The Biological Interactions -- Chapter 29. Sea Level -- Chapter 30. Global Climate Change---The Geologically Immediate Past -- Chapter 31. Human Impacts on the Environment and Climate -- Chapter 32. Predictions of the Future of Humanity -- Chapter 33. Is there an Analog for the Future Climate -- Chapter 34. The Instrumental Temperature Record -- Chapter 35. The Changing Climate of the Polar Regions -- Chapter 36. Global, Regional and Local Effects of Our Changing Climate -- Chapter 37. Final Thoughts |
| Summary |
This book is a thorough introduction to climate science and global change. The author is a geologist who has spent much of his life investigating the climate of Earth from a time when it was warm and dinosaurs roamed the land, to today's changing climate. Bill Hay takes you on a journey to understand how the climate system works. He explores how humans are unintentionally conducting a grand uncontrolled experiment which is leading to unanticipated changes. We follow the twisting path of seemingly unrelated discoveries in physics, chemistry, biology, geology, and even mathematics to learn how they led to our present knowledge of how our planet works. He explains why the weather is becoming increasingly chaotic as our planet warms at a rate far faster than at any time in its geologic past. He speculates on possible future outcomes, and suggests that nature itself may make some unexpected course corrections. Although the book is written for the layman with little knowledge of science or mathematics, it includes information from many diverse fields to provide even those actively working in the field of climatology with a broader view of this developing drama. Experimenting on a Small Planet is a must read for anyone having more than a casual interest in global warming and climate change - one of the most important and challenging issues of our time. This new edition includes actual data from climate science into 2021. Numerous Powerpoint slides can be downloaded to allow lecturers and teachers to more effectively use the book as a basis for climate change education |
| Notes |
Includes indexes |
|
Online resource; title from PDF title page (SpringerLink, viewed October 14, 2021) |
| Subject |
Climatology -- Popular works
|
|
Earth sciences -- Popular works
|
|
Climatology
|
|
Earth sciences
|
| Genre/Form |
Popular works
|
| Form |
Electronic book
|
| ISBN |
9783030763398 |
|
3030763390 |
|
