Introducing physical geography / Alan Strahler, Boston University.

Includes index.

Introduction -- Physical Geography And The Tools Geographers Use: -- Introducing geography: -- Human and physical geography -- Spheres, systems, and cycles: -- Spheres-four great earth realms -- Scale, pattern, and process -- Systems in physical geography -- Time cycles -- Physical geography, environment, and global change: -- Global climate change -- Carbon cycle -- Biodiversity -- Pollution -- Extreme events -- Tools in physical geography: -- Maps and cartography: -- Map projections -- Scales of globes and maps -- Small-scale and large-scale maps -- Conformal and equal-area maps -- Information content of maps -- Map symbols -- Presenting numerical data on thematic maps -- Global positioning system: -- Geographic information systems: -- Spatial objects in geographic information systems -- Key elements of A GIS -- Remote sensing for physical geography: -- Colors and spectral signatures -- Thermal infrared sensing -- Active sensing-radar and lidar -- Digital imaging -- Satellite orbits -- Landsat, modis, and the earth observing system -- Earth visualization tools: -- Google earth -- Other earth visualization tools -- Look ahead: -- Earth As A Rotating Planet: -- Shape of the earth: -- Earth's rotation: -- Environmental effects of the earth's rotation -- Geographic grid -- Parallels and meridians -- Latitude and longitude -- Map projections: -- Polar projection -- Mercator projection -- Conformal and equal-area maps -- Winkel tripel projection -- Global time: -- Standard time -- World time zones -- International date line -- Daylight saving time -- Precise timekeeping -- Earth's revolution: -- Around the sun: -- Motions of the moon -- Tilt of the earth's axis -- Four seasons -- Equinox conditions -- Solstice conditions -- Look ahead: -- Earth's Global Energy Balance: -- Eye on global change: the ozone layer-shield to life: -- Electromagnetic radiation: -- Radiation and temperature -- Solar radiation -- Characteristics of solar energy -- Longwave radiation from the earth -- Global radiation balance -- Insolation over the globe: -- Daily insolation through the year -- Annual insolation by latitude -- World latitude zones -- Composition of the atmosphere: -- Energy transfer: -- Sensible and latent heat -- Global energy system: -- Solar energy losses in the atmosphere -- Albedo -- Counterradiation and the greenhouse effect -- Global energy budgets of the atmosphere and surface -- Climate and global change -- Net radiation, latitude, and the energy balance: -- Focus on remote sensing: -- CERES-Clouds and the earth's radiant energy system -- Look ahead: -- Air Temperature: -- Eye on global change: carbon dioxide-on the increase: -- Surface and air temperature: -- Surface temperature -- Air temperature -- Temperatures close to the ground -- Environmental contrasts: urban and rural temperatures -- Urban heat island -- High-mountain environments -- Temperature inversion -- Temperature indexes -- Temperature structure of the atmosphere: -- Troposphere -- Stratosphere and upper layers -- Daily and annual cycles of air temperature: -- Land and water contrasts -- Annual net radiation and temperature cycles -- World patterns of air temperature: -- Factors controlling air temperature patterns -- World air temperature patterns for January and July -- Temperature record and global warming: -- Temperature record -- Global warming -- Consequences of global warming -- Look ahead: -- Atmospheric Moisture And Precipitation: -- Eye on global change: acid deposition: -- Water in the environment: -- Properties of water -- Three states of water -- Hydrosphere -- Hydrologic cycle -- Humidity: -- Specific humidity -- Dew-point temperature -- Relative humidity -- Adiabatic processes: -- Dry adiabatic lapse rate -- Moist adiabatic lapse rate -- Clouds and fog: -- Cloud formation -- Cloud forms -- Fog -- Focus on remote sensing: -- Observing clouds from GOES -- Precipitation: -- Formation of precipitation -- Precipitation processes -- Orographic precipitation -- Convective precipitation -- Unstable air -- Types of precipitation: -- Rain -- Snow -- Sleet and freezing rain -- Hail -- Measuring precipitation -- Thunderstorms: -- Air-mass thunderstorms -- Lighting -- Severe thunderstorms -- Microbursts -- Mesoscale convective systems -- Tornadoes: -- Tornado characteristics -- Tornado development -- Tornado destruction -- Air quality: -- Air pollutants -- Fallout and washout -- Smog and haze -- Inversion and smog -- Look ahead: --

Winds And Global Circulation: -- Eye on global change: El Nino atmospheric pressure: -- Measuring air pressure -- Air pressure and altitude -- Wind: -- Pressure gradients -- Local winds -- Wind power -- Cyclones and anticyclones: -- Coriolis effect -- Frictional force -- Cyclones and anticyclones -- Global wind and pressure patterns: -- Subtropical high-pressure belts -- Itcz and the monsoon circulation -- Wind and pressure features of higher latitudes -- Winds aloft: -- Geostrophic wind -- Global circulation at upper levels -- Jet streams and the polar front -- Disturbances in the jet stream -- Ocean circulation: -- Temperature layers of the ocean -- Surface currents -- El Nino and enso -- Pacific decadal oscillation -- North Atlantic oscillation -- Deep currents and thermohaline circulation -- Look ahead: -- Weather Systems: -- Eye on global change: cloud cover, precipitation and global warming air masses and fronts: -- Types of fronts -- Midlatitude anticyclones and cyclones: -- Anticyclones -- Cyclones -- Midlatitude cyclones -- Midlatitude cyclones and upper-air disturbances -- Cyclones tracks and cyclone families -- Cold-air outbreaks -- Tropic and equatorial weather systems: -- Tropical cyclones -- Tropical cyclone development -- Tropical cyclone tracks -- Impacts of tropical cyclones -- Focus on remote sensing: -- Tropical rainfall monitoring mission -- Impacts on coastal communities -- Poleward transport of energy and moisture: -- Look ahead: -- Global Climates And Climate Change: -- Eye on global change: drought in the African Sahel: -- Keys to climate: -- Global monthly temperature patterns -- Global precipitation patterns -- Global monthly precipitation patterns -- Climate classification: -- Climate classification systems -- Climate groups -- Dry, moist, and wet-dry climates -- Highland climates -- Low-latitude climates (group 1): -- Wet equatorial climate -- Monsoon and trade-wind coastal climate -- Wet-dry tropical climate -- Dry tropical climate -- Midlatitude climates (group 2): -- Dry subtropical climate -- Moist subtropical climate -- Mediterranean climate -- Marine west-coast climate -- Dry midlatitude climate -- Moist continental climate -- High-latitude climates (group 3): -- Boreal forest climate -- Tundra climate -- Ice sheet climate -- Climate change: -- Shifting climate characteristics -- Weather variability -- Future challenges and adaptations -- Look ahead: -- Special supplement: the Koppen Climate System: -- Biogeographic Processes: -- Eye on global change: human impact on the carbon cycle: -- Energy and matter flow in ecosystems: -- Food web -- Photosynthesis and respiration -- Net primary production -- Biogeochemical cycles -- Ecological biogeography: -- Water need -- Temperature -- Other climatic factors -- Geomorphic factors -- Edaphic factors -- Disturbance -- Interactions among species -- Ecological succession: -- Succession, change, and equilibrium -- Focus on remote sensing: -- Remote sensing of fires -- Historical biogeography: -- Evolution -- Speciation -- Extinction -- Dispersal -- Distribution patterns -- Biogeographic regions -- Biodiversity: -- Look ahead: -- Global Biogeography: -- Eye on global change: exploitation of the low-latitude rainforest ecosystem: -- Natural vegetation: -- Structure and life-form of plants -- Terrestrial ecosystems-the biomes: -- Biomes, formation classes, and climate -- Forest biome: -- Low-latitude rainforest -- Monsoon forest -- Subtropical evergreen forest -- Midlatitude deciduous forest -- Needleleaf forest -- Sclerophyll forest -- Deforestation -- Savanna and grassland biomes: -- Savanna biome -- Grassland biome -- Desert and tundra biomes: -- Desert biome -- Tundra biome -- Focus on remote sensing: -- Mapping global and cover by satellite -- Climate and altitude gradients: -- Climate gradients and biome types -- Altitude gradients -- Look ahead: -- Global soils: -- Eye on global change: global change and agriculture: -- Nature of the soil: -- Introducing the soil -- Soil color and texture -- Soil structure -- Soil chemistry: -- Acidity and alkalinity -- Soil colloids -- Mineral alteration -- Soil moisture: -- Soil-water storage -- Soil-water balance -- Soil development: -- Soil horizons -- Soil-forming processes -- Factors or soil formation -- Global scope of soils: -- Soils characterized by maturity -- Soils characterized by climate -- Soils characterized by parent materials -- Soils high in organic matter -- Look ahead: --

Earth materials And Plate Tectonics: -- Changing Earth: -- Timescale for geologic change -- Forces of geologic change -- Structure of the earth: -- Core -- Mantle -- Crust and lithosphere -- Earth materials and the cycle of rock change: -- Igneous rocks -- Sediments and sedimentary rocks -- Metamorphic rocks -- Cycle of rock change -- Global topography: -- Relief features of the continents -- Focus on remote sensing: -- Mapping the earth's topography from space -- Relief features of the ocean basins -- Configuration of the continents -- Plate tectonics: -- Extension and compression -- Plates and boundaries -- Continental rupture and new ocean basins -- Island arcs and collision of oceanic lithospheric plates -- ARC-continent collision -- Continent-continent collision -- Wilson cycle and supercontinents -- Power source for plate movements -- Look ahead: -- Tectonic And Volcanic Landforms: -- Eye on global change: the great Tohoku earthquake of 2011: -- Tectonic landforms: -- Rock structures of converging boundaries -- Plate interiors -- Coastal plains -- Faults and fault landforms -- Earthquakes: -- Epicenter and focus -- Magnitude -- Tectonic environments of earthquakes -- Subduction-zone earthquakes -- Transform boundaries -- Volcanic activity and landforms: -- Tectonic environments of volcanoes -- Volcanic eruptions -- Types of volcanoes -- Focus on remote sensing: -- Remote sensing of volcanoes -- Hot springs, geysers, and geothermal power -- Look ahead: -- Weathering And Mass Wasting: -- Eye on global change: the Madison slide: -- Weathering: -- Physical weathering -- Chemical weathering -- Slopes and slope processes -- Slopes -- Slope stability -- Mass wasting: -- Creep -- Rockfalls and talus -- Slides -- Flows -- Induced mass wasting -- Look ahead: -- Freshwater Of The Continents: -- Eye on global change: the Aral sea: -- Freshwater and the hydrologic cycle -- Paths of precipitation -- Groundwater: -- Water table -- Aquifers -- Limestone solution by groundwater -- Groundwater use and management: -- Groundwater withdrawal subsidence -- Pollution of groundwater -- Surface water and streamflow: -- Overland flow -- Drainage systems -- Stream channels and discharge -- Flooding: -- Floodplains -- Flood profiles -- Urbanization and streamflow -- Lakes: -- Great Lakes -- Saline lakes and salt flats -- Desert irrigation -- Freshwater as a natural resource: -- Water access and supply -- Pollution of surface water -- Look ahead: -- Landforms Made By Running Water: -- Erosion, transportation, and deposition: -- Slope erosion -- Sediment yield -- Stream erosion -- Stream transportation -- Deposition -- Stream gradation and evolution: -- Stream gradation -- Evolution of stream valleys -- Focus on remote sensing: -- Canyons from space -- Stream rejuvenation -- Theories of landscape evolution -- Fluvial landforms: -- Meandering streams and floodplains braided streams -- Deltas -- Fluvial processes in a Arid climate: -- Alluvial fans -- Mountainous deserts -- Look ahead: -- Landforms Made By Waves And Wind: -- Eye on global change: global change and coastal environments: -- Work of waves and tides: -- Waves -- Littoral drift -- Wave refraction -- Tides -- Tsunamis -- Coastal landforms: -- Erosional coastal landforms -- Depositional coastal landforms -- Coastlines of submergence -- Coral reefs -- Coastal engineering -- Wind action: -- Erosion by wind -- Transportation by wind -- Eolian landforms: -- Sand dunes -- Types of dunes -- Loess -- Look ahead: -- Glacial And Periglacial Landforms: -- Eye on global change: ice sheets, sea ice, and global warming: -- Types of glaciers: -- Alpine glaciers -- Ice sheets -- Ice shelves, sea ice, and icebergs -- Glacial processes: -- Formation of glaciers -- Movement of glaciers -- Glacial erosion and deposition -- Glacial landforms: -- Landforms made by alpine glaciers -- Focus on remote sensing: -- Remote sensing of glaciers -- Landforms made by ice sheets -- Human use of glacial landforms -- Periglacial processes and landforms: -- Permafrost -- Ground ice and periglacial landforms -- Human interactions with periglacial environments -- Global climate and glaciation: -- History of glaciation -- Holocene epoch -- Triggering the ice age -- Cycles of glaciation -- Glaciation and global warming -- Look ahead: -- Appendix 1: Climate definitions and boundaries -- Appendix 2: Conversion factors -- Appendix 3: Topographic map symbols -- Glossary -- Illustration credits -- Index.

Overview: The 6th edition of Introducing Physical Geography is known for its clear writing, distinctive photos and illustrations and a strong supplements program. The text continues its tradition as a great book to help non-science readers visualize and understand earth processes and learn the basic language of physical geography. The new edition features a strengthened "Eye on Global Change" coverage and coverage of the geographer's tool box.