Biogeochemistry

Biogeochemistry: An Analysis of Global Change deals with changes in the biogeochemistry of the Earth's surface. The book covers the basics about the effect of life on the chemistry of the Earth, with emphasis on the microbial and chemical reactions that occur on land, in the sea, and in the atmosphere. Computer models are used to help understand elemental cycling and ecosystem function. This book is divided into two sections and comprised of 14 chapters. The discussion begins with an overview of the chemical processes controlling the environment in which we live. A simple model for the biogeochemistry of the Earth's surface is described. The chapters that follow examine models that astrophysicists suggest for the origin of chemical elements, as well as models for the formation of the solar system and the planets. The biogeochemical reactions in the atmosphere, lithosphere, and terrestrial biosphere are also described, along with rock weathering on land and the processes that drive the weathering reactions. The reader is introduced to biogeochemical cycling on land; biogeochemistry in freshwater wetlands and lakes, rivers and estuaries, and the sea; and the global water, carbon, sulfur, nitrogen, and phosphorus cycles. The book concludes with the argument that human population growth is the basis of every major environmental issue facing the world today. This book is intended as a textbook for college-level and graduate students who are interested in global change.