Thermodynamic Foundations of the Earth System
eBook - PDF

Thermodynamic Foundations of the Earth System

  1. English
  2. PDF
  3. Available on iOS & Android
eBook - PDF

Thermodynamic Foundations of the Earth System

About this book

Thermodynamics sets fundamental laws for all physical processes and is central to driving and maintaining planetary dynamics. But how do Earth system processes perform work, where do they derive energy from, and what are the limits? This accessible book describes how the laws of thermodynamics apply to Earth system processes, from solar radiation to motion, geochemical cycling and biotic activity. It presents a novel view of the thermodynamic Earth system explaining how it functions and evolves, how different forms of disequilibrium are being maintained, and how evolutionary trends can be interpreted as thermodynamic trends. It also offers an original perspective on human activity, formulating this in terms of a thermodynamic, Earth system process. This book uses simple conceptual models and basic mathematical treatments to illustrate the application of thermodynamics to Earth system processes, making it ideal for researchers and graduate students across a range of Earth and environmental science disciplines.

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Yes, you can access Thermodynamic Foundations of the Earth System by Axel Kleidon in PDF and/or ePUB format, as well as other popular books in Biological Sciences & Environmental Science. We have over one million books available in our catalogue for you to explore.

Table of contents

  1. Cover
  2. Half-title
  3. Title page
  4. Copyright information
  5. Table of contents
  6. Preface
  7. List of Symbols
  8. 1 Thermodynamics and the Earth system
  9. 2 Energy and entropy
  10. 3 The first and second law of thermodynamics
  11. 4 Thermodynamic limits
  12. 5 Dynamics, structures, and maximization
  13. 6 Radiation
  14. 7 Motion
  15. 8 Hydrologic cycling
  16. 9 Geochemical cycling
  17. 10 Land
  18. 11 Human activity
  19. 12 The thermodynamic Earth system
  20. Glossary
  21. References
  22. Index