Aardrijkskunde algemeen

Rivers have played an extraordinarily important role in creating the world in which we live. They create landscapes and provide water to people, plants and animals, nourishing both town and country. The flow of rivers has enthused poets and painters, explorers and pilgrims. Rivers have acted as cradles for civilization and agents of disaster; a river may be a barrier or a highway, it can bear trade and sediment, culture and conflict. A river may inspire or it may terrify. This Very Short Introduction is a celebration of rivers in all their diversity. Nick Middleton covers a wide and eclectic range of river-based themes, from physical geography to mythology, to industrial history and literary criticism. Worshipped and revered, respected and feared, rivers reflect both the natural and social history of our planet. ABOUT THE SERIES: The Very Short Introductions series from Oxford University Press contains hundreds of titles in almost every subject area. These pocket-sized books are the perfect way to get ahead in a new subject quickly. Our expert authors combine facts, analysis, perspective, new ideas, and enthusiasm to make interesting and challenging topics highly readable.

The 1960s revealed a new and revolutionary idea in geological thought: that the continents drift with respect to one another. After having been dismissed for decades as absurd, the concept gradually became part of geology's basic principles. We now know that the Earth's crust and upper mantle consist of a small number of rigid plates that move, and there are significant boundaries between pairs of plates, usually known as earthquake belts.

Plate tectonics now explains much of the structure and phenomena we see today: how oceans form, widen, and disappear; why earthquakes and volcanoes are found in distinct zones which follow plate boundaries; how the great mountain ranges of the world were built. The impact of plate tectonics is studied closely as these processes continue: the Himalaya continues to grow, the Atlantic is widening, and new oceans are forming. In this Very Short Introduction Peter Molnar provides a succinct and authoritative account of the nature and mechanisms of plate tectonics and its impact on our understanding of Earth.

ABOUT THE SERIES:
The Very Short Introductions series from Oxford University Press contains hundreds of titles in almost every subject area. These pocket-sized books are the perfect way to get ahead in a new subject quickly. Our expert authors combine facts, analysis, perspective, new ideas, and enthusiasm to make interesting and challenging topics highly readable.

The importance of the oceans to life on Earth cannot be overstated. Liquid water covers more than 70% of our planet's surface and, in past geological time, has spread over 85%. Life on Earth began in the oceans over 3.5 billion years ago and remained there for the great majority of that time. Today the seas still provide 99% of habitable living space, the largest repository of biomass, and holds the greatest number of undiscovered species on the planet. Our oceans are vital for the regulation of climate, and with global warming and decreasing land area, they have become increasingly important as the source of food, energy in the form of oil and gas, and for their mineral wealth. Oceans also form a key part of the biogeochemical cycles of carbon, nitrogen, and other elements critical to life. Nutrients in upwelling areas are spread by ocean currents, and the plankton of the seas supports a wealth of wildlife.

In this Very Short Introduction Dorrik Stow analyses these most important components of our blue planet and considers their relationship with, and exploitation by, humans. He shows how the oceans are an essential resource to our overpopulated world, and discusses why exploration and greater scientific understanding of the oceans, their chemistry, and their mineral wealth are now a high priority. Stow also explores what we know of how oceans originate, and evolve and change; the shape of the seafloor and nature of its cover; the physical processes that stir the waters and mix such a rich chemical broth; and the inseparable link between oceans and climate. As polar ice melts and sea-levels rise, countless millions who have made their homes on low-lying lands close to the sea are threatened. As scientific exploration of the seas gathers pace, the new knowledge gained of the ocean-Earth systems and their interaction with the human environment is vital to our understanding of how we can preserve these ultimately fragile environments.

ABOUT THE SERIES: The Very Short Introductions series from Oxford University Press contains hundreds of titles in almost every subject area. These pocket-sized books are the perfect way to get ahead in a new subject quickly. Our expert authors combine facts, analysis, perspective, new ideas, and enthusiasm to make interesting and challenging topics highly readable.

Wetenschappelijke informatie gelardeerd met geschiedkundige verhalen en artistieke impressies. Orkanen hebben in de laatste vijftig jaar wereldwijd meer mensen gedood dan welke andere natuurramp ook. Orkaan Andrew uit 1992 was de duurste natuurlijke ramp in de geschiedenis. De orkaan die New Orleans van de kaart veegde - Katrina uit 2005- staat nog vers in het geheugen. De auteur van dit boek, Kerry Emanuel, is verbonden aan het M.I.T. in Boston. Hij maakte naam toen hij, twee weken voor Katrina toesloeg, in Nature een artikel publiceerde waarin hij op statistische gronden bewees dat de opwarming van de oceanen ervoor zorgt dat de kracht van orkanen toeneemt. In dit boek probeert hij niet alleen de gevaarlijke kant van orkanen te laten zien, maar ook de schoonheid ervan. 'Een luipaard is een prachtig dier. Maar als je hem uit zijn kooi haalt, vliegt hij je naar de keel. Iedereen begrijpt dat noch een luipaard, noch een orkaan een moedwillige moordenaar is.

The paperback of the Sunday Times bestseller that reveals how the earth became the shape it is today. This book will change the way you see the world - permanently.

The face of the earth, criss-crossed by chains of mountains like the scars of old wounds, has changed constantly over billions of years. Its shape records a remote past of earthquakes, volcanos and continental drift, and the ongoing subtle shifts that bring our planet alive.

Richard Fortey introduces us to the earth's distinct character, revealing the life that it leads when humans aren't watching. He follows the continual movement of seabeds, valleys, mountain ranges and ice caps and shows how everything - our culture, natural history, even the formation of our cities - has its roots in geology. In Richard Fortey's hands, geology becomes vital and exhilarating and unmistakably informs our lives in the most intimate way.

Italy: A Short History succeeds and replaces the long-established and highly successful Short History of Italy, edited by Professors Hearder and D. P. Waley. It presents a clear and concise account of the principal developments in Italian history from the Ice Age to the present day, intended both for student of Italian history and culture and the general reader with an interest in Italian affairs. Professor Hearder's account centres on the main political developments, placed in their appropriate economic and social context, and shows how these were related to the great moments of artistic and cultural endeavour. Professor Hearder traces the prehistoric and classical history of the peninsula, the growth and decline of the Roman Empire and the expansion in power and authority of the medieval papacy. He shows how the remarkable cultural achievements of the Renaissance emerged from the horror of the Plague, and how the spread of humanism and the development of printing made Italy the cultural heart of Europe. There then followed, however, a long period of domination from without, culminating in the brief episode of Napoleonic rule. This was only ended with the emergence of the great nineteenth-century movement for national renewal, inspired by the contrasting figures of Mazzini, Cavour and Garibaldi. The newly-democratic Italian kingdom survived the First World War, only to be taken over by the Fascist regime of Benito Mussolini. Professor Hearder examines the travails and contradictions of the Fascist period, and concludes his account with an optimistic assessment of the future prospects of the Republic, capable of contributing much to the rejuvenated Europe of 1992 and beyond.

Met een brief van de auteur.