Customer Reviews

Earth System, The (2nd Edition)

5 star:		(5)
4 star:		(4)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

Earth System Science is a new field, one that evolves much more quickly than textbooks can be revised. This one is as current as you can expect, and it approaches the field of science in a much better way than any other textbook I have seen. In particular, most earth system texts approach the field by morphing from a traditional discipline. Usually, it's a geology textbook revised to include atmospheric, oceanic, and climatic studies. But earth system science requires an interdisciplinary approach from the start, a problem based approach. Our global environmental problems need this approach, and this book covers them in a reasonably detailed and accurate manner.

I used this book for an introductory environmental studies course. The book is full of information I had never before discovered. The chapters clearly describe how smaller cycles and feedback mechanisms relate the health of the earth as a whole.

If you are curious about global warming this book has great factual information to start an understanding of the concept.

I used this book for my Environmental Geology class. Overall I think it's an ok text. It's not as readily understandable an reader friendly as some of the other introductory geology texts on the market that I have read--it's somewhat obsecure at times. I think that it's rather overpriced as well for a black and white paperback textbook.

It does however cover a large selection of material in a succint manner, yet with enough detail to satisfy the curiosity of the interested student. Some of the stuff in this textbook is not common to geology texts--principally the aspects that have to do with the biosphere.

Overall, it's a reasonable textbook, besides the cost, which I think is inflated. Textbook prices are inflated in general in any case!

Kump has worked with James Lovelock of 'Gaia' fame on modelling Daisyworld. I'll let the reviewer discover what that means in this title.(But also see REVENGE OF GAIA, 2006, for Lovelock's predictions for our heating planet).
This is the best book for geoscientists and geographers in training who have an interest in climate past, present, and future. An excellent college level scientific supplement to popular works on climate change and earth systems science.

I'm a prof at a small liberal arts college, and I love using this text in my upper level course on global change. It works well with non-science majors, as well as with the more advanced science students. It does a superb job with climate change science, which is one of the major focii in my course. It doesn't hesitate to use real physics, math, and chemistry, yet at the same time is accessible to the non-science folks. Lee Kump is one of the premiere geoscientists in the field, and he has lent his broad understanding to this excellent text. It might also be fun to simply read the book if you are not a student.

I read this book outside of a class context. I am not well-versed in chemistry or geology (both are very important in earth science), but I was able to understand a majority of The Earth System. The book is lucidly written and provides a fine analysis of the dynamics of both small and large-scale planetary change.

I bought and read The Earth System with the goal of understanding the science behind global warming: little did I know what a tall order that was! Global climate is enormously complex and contains far more variables than the layman would imagine. Scientists do not and probably will not understand global warming in the same way that they understand less complex phenomena.

The climate system is Chaotic. The best we can do is understand the causal relations that exist within it, plug observed data into computers, and hope that the predictions based on computer modeling will be accurate.

Current modeling technology will predict today's climate by running simulations on what we know of conditions on Earth 150 years ago. The agreement between a variety of simulations that predict future climate based on current conditions is the basis of the scientific consensus that global warming will occur.

The "Earth as a System" approach is one of my favorite aspects of being Geoscience major. However, the book presents information at more of a high school level rather than a college level. Additionally, the content is somewhat dry at time, when this could really be an interesting topic. Even with all the faults of the book, the price is pretty good and the information presented is solid. I realize there is now a 3rd edition, that has probably improved many of the faults, but if you are interested in the Earth System theory and approach and would like an intro book, this is the book for you!

A good textbook if you are unlucky enough to need one. Quite possibly to find a comfy spot, sit down and read large sections of this book at a time.

I utilized this text first in an introductory climate science course; it was fabulous, accessible, detailed, and meshed well with everything my professor was lecturing about. Furthermore, in the many years since I first began such learning, I've returned to this text time and time again to refer its clear, easy to find charts, illustrations and definitions. I've used it for probably three or four different courses, even though it was only one professor who asked me to buy it.

A good compilation on climate science. basic to understand and learn from. Useful at times.