Biogeochemistry
3rd Edition
An Analysis of Global Change
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Description
Biogeochemistry—winner of a 2014 Textbook Excellence Award (Texty) from the Text and Academic Authors Association—considers how the basic chemical conditions of the Earth, from atmosphere to soil to seawater, have been and are being affected by the existence of life. Human activities in particular, from the rapid consumption of resources to the destruction of the rainforests and the expansion of smog-covered cities, are leading to rapid changes in the basic chemistry of the Earth.
This expansive text pulls together the numerous fields of study encompassed by biogeochemistry to analyze the increasing demands of the growing human population on limited resources and the resulting changes in the planet's chemical makeup.
The book helps students extrapolate small-scale examples to the global level, and also discusses the instrumentation being used by NASA and its role in studies of global change. With extensive cross-referencing of chapters, figures and tables, and an interdisciplinary coverage of the topic at hand, this updated edition provides an excellent framework for courses examining global change and environmental chemistry, and is also a useful self-study guide.
Key Features
- Winner of a 2014 Texty Award from the Text and Academic Authors Association
- Calculates and compares the effects of industrial emissions, land clearing, agriculture, and rising population on Earth's chemistry
- Synthesizes the global cycles of carbon, nitrogen, phosphorous, and sulfur, and suggests the best current budgets for atmospheric gases such as ammonia, nitrous oxide, dimethyl sulfide, and carbonyl sulfide
- Includes an extensive review and up-to-date synthesis of the current literature on the Earth's biogeochemistry
Readership
Upper-division undergraduate and graduate students in geochemistry, ecology, earth, and soil sciences, especially those with interest in global change or environmental chemistry.
Table of Contents
Dedication
Preface
Acknowledgments
Part I: Processes and Reactions
Chapter 1. Introduction
What is biogeochemistry?
Understanding the earth as a chemical system
Scales of endeavor
Lovelock’s gaia
Recommended Readings
Chapter 2. Origins
Introduction
Origins of the Elements
Origin of the solar system and the solid earth
Origin of the atmosphere and the oceans
Origin of life
Evolution of metabolic pathways
Comparative planetary history: earth, mars, and venus
Summary
Recommended Readings
Chapter 3. The Atmosphere
Introduction
Structure and Circulation
Atmospheric Composition
Biogeochemical Reactions in the Troposphere
Atmospheric Deposition
Biogeochemical Reactions in the Stratosphere
Models of the Atmosphere and Global Climate
Summary
Recommended Readings
Chapter 4. The Lithosphere
Introduction
Rock weathering
Soil chemical reactions
Soil development
Weathering rates
Summary
Recommended Readings
Chapter 5. The Biosphere: The Carbon Cycle of Terrestrial Ecosystems
Introduction
Photosynthesis
Respiration
Net Primary Production
Net Ecosystem Production and Eddy-Covariance Studies
The Fate of Net Primary Production
Remote Sensing of Primary Production and Biomass
Global Estimates of Net Primary Production and Biomass
Net Primary Production and Global Change
Detritus
Soil Organic Matter and Global Change
Summary
Recommended Readings
Chapter 6. The Biosphere: Biogeochemical Cycling on Land
Introduction
Biogeochemical cycling in land plants
Nutrient allocations and cycling in land vegetation
Biogeochemical cycling in the soil
Calculating landscape mass balance
Human impacts on terrestrial biogeochemistry
Summary
Recommended Readings
Chapter 7. Wetland Ecosystems
Introduction
Types of wetlands
Productivity in wetland ecosystems
Organic matter storage in wetlands
Microbial metabolism in saturated sediments
Anaerobic metabolic pathways
Wetlands and water quality
Wetlands and global change
Summary
Recommended Readings
Chapter 8. Inland Waters
Introduction
Lakes
Rivers
Estuaries
Human impacts on inland waters
SUMMARY
Recommended Readings
Chapter 9. The Oceans
Introduction
Ocean circulation
The composition of seawater
Net primary production
Sediment diagenesis
The biological pump: a model of carbon cycling in the ocean
Nutrient cycling in the ocean
Biogeochemistry of hydrothermal vent communities
The marine sulfur cycle
The sedimentary record of biogeochemistry
Summary
Recommended Readings
Part II: Global Cycles
Chapter 10. The Global Water Cycle
Introduction
The global water cycle
Models of the hydrologic cycle
The history of the water cycle
The water cycle and climate change
Summary
Recommended Readings
Chapter 11. The Global Carbon Cycle
Introduction
The modern carbon cycle
Temporal perspectives on the carbon cycle
Atmospheric methane
Carbon monoxide
Synthesis: linking the carbon and oxygen cycles
Summary
Recommended Readings
Chapter 12. The Global Cycles of Nitrogen and Phosphorus
Introduction
The global nitrogen cycle
Temporal variations in the global nitrogen cycle
Nitrous oxide
The global phosphorus cycle
Linking global biogeochemical cycles
Summary
Recommended Readings
Chapter 13. The Global Cycles of Sulfur and Mercury
Introduction
The global sulfur cycle
The global mercury cycle
Summary
Recommended Reading
Chapter 14. Perspectives
Recommended Reading
References
Index
Details
- No. of pages:
- 688
- Language:
- English
- Copyright:
- © Academic Press 2013
- Published:
- 11th January 2013
- Imprint:
- Academic Press
- eBook ISBN:
- 9780123858757
- Paperback ISBN:
- 9780123858740
About the Author
W.H. Schlesinger
Dr. Schlesinger is one of the nation’s leading ecologists and earth scientists and a passionate advocate for translating science for lay audiences. A member of the National Academy of Sciences, he has served as dean of the Nicholas School of the Environment at Duke and president of the Cary Institute of Ecosystem Studies. He lives in Down East Maine and Durham, N.C. and continues to analyze the impacts of humans on the chemistry of our natural environment.
Affiliations and Expertise
Duke University, Durham, NC, USA
Emily Bernhardt
Dr. Emily S. Bernhardt is Assistant Professor at Duke University in the Department of Biology. She currently teaches biogeochemistry. A graduate of University of North Carolina Chapel Hill (B.S) and Cornell University (PhD.) and her areas of interest include biogeochemistry, ecosystem ecology, stream and wetland ecology, urban ecology, and restoration ecology.
Affiliations and Expertise
Department of Biology, Duke University, Durham, NC, USA
Awards
2014 Textbook Excellence Award – 2nd or Later Edition, Text and Academic Authors Association
Reviews
"Biogeochemistry is a multidisciplinary field that studies the interactions, over both human and geological timescales, of living things and the earth's chemical cycles…Throughout the book there is a focus on the ways in which humans have intervened in these cycles in recent times."--Reference & Research Book News, October 2013
"[The third edition of] the now classic text by Bill Schlesinger not only updates, but expands upon the earlier editions. This is a must read, ‘one stop shop’ for a basic, yet detailed text on contemporary biogeochemical cycles, writ large. While the author does describe basic cycles in an historical context, the primary focus is on contemporary cycles, their interactions, and the effects of humans on them. A tour de force that will be referred to often, the book is a must-read for anyone working in the general area of biogeochemistry."--Paul Falkowski, Rutgers University
"A comprehensive treatment of the field of Biogeochemistry, which is both expanding rapidly and becoming increasingly important for helping identify sustainability. We can’t all be specialists on all of these topics, but this book will quickly bring you up to speed on a full range of biogeochemical processes and cycles. A read and reference for every serious Earth Systems scientist and student."--Eric Davidson, The Woods Hole Research Center
"The new edition of William Schlesinger’s Biogeochemistry offers a clearly written, well-documented introduction to what every person should know if we are to navigate successfully to a sustainable future for our planet."--Michael McElroy, Harvard University