Environmental site investigation and characterization is a complex process that often includes a large number of variables, a limited number of resources, and not nearly enough time to complete properly. The investigation of a site is, however, potentially the most important part of an environmental project. Site investigation is so important because nearly all other aspects of the project, from financial decisions to engineering designs and construction...

Examines the origin and geological evolution of the earth, focusing on the various cataclysmic transformations that occurred through time.

In this book Bill Bryson explores the most intriguing and consequential questions that science seeks to answer and attempts to understand everything that has transpired from the Big Bang to the rise of civilization. To that end, Bill Bryson apprenticed himself to a host of the world's most profound scientific minds, living and dead. His challenge is to take subjects like geology, chemistry, paleontology, astronomy, and particle physics and see if...

The study of nature is a complex science involving many different fields from geology and meteorology to biology, zoology, and botany. This complexity indicates nature's broad scope of impact. It is at once beautiful and dangerous, displaying power beyond human control. An understanding of the basic principles and concepts of the study of nature is therefore both enriching and practical. In The Handbook of Nature, authors Frank R. Spellman and Joni...

"Utah" dinosaurs are presented here as part of the Mesozoic terrestrial ecosystems that evolved in the Colorado Plateau region and are discussed in the context of the changing landscapes, environments, and biota recorded in the geological record.

"An exhilarating, time-traveling journey to the solar system's strangest and most awe-inspiring volcanoes. Volcanoes are capable of acts of pyrotechnical prowess verging on magic: they spout black magma more fluid than water, create shimmering cities of glass at the bottom of the ocean and frozen lakes of lava on the moon, and can even tip entire planets over. Despite their reputation for destruction, volcanoes are inseparable from the creation of...

"With wonder, wit, and flair--and in record time and space--geophysicist David Bercovici explains how everything came to be everywhere, from the creation of stars and galaxies to the formation of Earth's atmosphere and oceans, to the origin of life and human civilization."--