History of Climate Change: From the Earth's Origins to the Anthropocene

ISBN-13: 9781509553938 / Angielski / Twarda / 2023 / 272 str.

Antonello Provenzale

Recenzje

'This is a masterly review of the climate crisis from a richly detailed and widely varied point of view. Provenzale, in a clear and thorough fashion, brings the reader through the physical, chemical, biological, social and political aspects of the problem confronting the human race. The author goes deeply into an explanatory tour de force while outlining the challenges that our species faces that must be met if we are to survive, let alone flourish. It is a book that should be read by everyone concerned about our future and the future of our descendants.'Joseph Pedlosky, Scientist Emeritus, Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution'In this lively exposition of Earth's history, Antonello Provenzale covers the facts of climate change over the age of the Earth, along with explanations of these facts that are both solid and easily understandable. A particularly important feature of the book is that it clearly distinguishes between internal factors that drive the climate's natural variability and external ones, like the recent anthropogenic change in atmospheric composition, which modify this natural variability and could rapidly push the climate to extremes that lie well outside humanity's comfort zone. The latter dangers are given sober and convincing consideration.'Michael Ghil, École Normale Supérieure, Paris, and University of California, Los Angeles

Spis treści

Introduction1. From the Ocean of Magma to the Great Oxygenation2. A World of Fire and Ice3. Light Reflected, Light Re-radiated4. The Explosion that Changed the World5. Between Catastrophes and Opportunities6. The Living Planet7. Winds Up High and Currents in the Deep8. The Big Heat9. Rain, Snow and Clouds: The Planetary Water Cycle10. The Planet Cools11. The Breath of the Ice12. Agitated Ice13. Conquering the Planet14. The Age of Humanity15. Global Warming16. Arctic Sentinels17. The Mountain Heat18. Digital Twins19. Knowing in Order to Anticipate, Anticipating in Order to ActConclusion: The Journey ContinuesBibliographyNotesIndex

O autorze

Antonello Provenzale is Director of the Institute of Geosciences and Earth Resources at the National Research Council of Italy.