Earth's Critical Zone

Catalog description

The Earth's near surface environment (the 'critical zone') supports most life and is the dynamic interface between the solid Earth and its fluid envelopes where much of the geologic record is produced. We now know that we face rapid climate change and the consequences of changes in land use, water resources, and ecosystems. Critical to planning a response to, or mitigation of, environmental change is understanding how the Earth surface works. Focuses on how changes to the environment manifest themselves in the critical zone--in the form and function of the Earth's surface (landforms, water resources, soils, ecosystems). Offers a quantitative introduction to the form and function of the processes impacting the Earth's critical zone to build an understanding of the interactions of physical, chemical and biotic processes in shaping the surface and determining fluid, solute and sediment fluxes.