Notice bibliographique
- Notice
Type(s) de contenu et mode(s) de consultation : Texte noté : électronique
Auteur(s) : Hay, William W. (1934-....)
Titre(s) : Experimenting on a small planet [Texte électronique] : a scholarly entertainment / William W. Hay
Publication : Heidelberg [Germany] ; New York : Springer, cop. 2013
Description matérielle : 1 ressource dématérialisée
Note(s) : Includes bibliographical references and indexes
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. -- Book cover
Sujet(s) : Climatologie
Changements climatiques
Sciences de la Terre
Indice(s) Dewey :
551.6 (23e éd.) = Climatologie et temps
Identifiants, prix et caractéristiques : ISBN 9783642285608
Identifiant de la notice : ark:/12148/cb44704071q
Notice n° :
FRBNF44704071
(notice reprise d'un réservoir extérieur)
Table des matières : Introduction ; The language of science ; Geologic time ; Putting numbers on geologic
ages ; Documenting past climate change ; The nature of energy received from the
sun : the analogies with water waves and sound ; The nature of energy received from
the sun : figuring out what light really is ; Exploring the electromagnetic spectrum
; The origins of climate science : the idea of energy balance ; The climate system
; What's at the bottom of Alice's rabbit hole ; Energy from the sun : long-term
variations ; Solar variability and cosmic rays ; Albedo ; Air ; HOH : the keystone
of earth's climate ; The atmosphere ; Oxygen and ozone : products and protectors
of life ; Water vapor : the major greenhouse gas ; Carbon dioxide ; Other greenhouse
gases ; The circulation of earth's atmosphere and ocean ; The biological interactions
; Sea level ; Global climate change : the (geologically) immediate past ; Is there
an analog for the future climate? ; The instrumental tem