Living Physical Geography was written to help instructors teach physical geography more effectively. In addition to emphasizing the interactions between physical geography and people, Living Physical Geography offers the following structural innovations:
Humidity is covered before atmospheric pressure and wind. The release of heat energy through condensation drives many atmospheric phenomena and the winds they produce. The wind generated by hurricanes, for example, is the result of condensation of water vapor into liquid water in the atmosphere. To understand why a hurricane’s winds are so strong, it is necessary to first understand the role of water vapor’s latent heat. In this book, atmospheric weather systems are arranged by their spatial scales, from localized mountain breezes to the continent-
Köppen climate types are covered alongside biomes. In most physical geography textbooks, Köppen climate types and biomes are covered in two separate chapters. Living Physical Geography avoids this redundancy by combining these two compatible topics. In doing so, it establishes the natural link between climate and biomes and illustrates the interconnections of physical geography.
The theory of plate tectonics undergirds all of Part III. Plate tectonics is covered before the topics of mountain building and rock formation, along with geohazards like earthquakes and eruptions, because all these geophysical phenomena are best contextualized within the paradigm of plate tectonics.
Chapter 6, “The Changing Climate,” is devoted to a scientific examination of climate change. Climate change is perhaps the fastest-
Four chapters are devoted to the biosphere. The geography of the biosphere, including life in the oceans, receives extended coverage in Living Physical Geography. The theme of how people have changed the biosphere runs throughout Part II, “The Biosphere and the Geography of Life.”
A full chapter is devoted to the geography of life in the oceans. The physical and biological oceans are highly relevant to physical geography. Recent exploration and discoveries have improved scientific understanding of marine life, but scientists still know relatively little about the oceans. Chapter 10, “The Living Hydrosphere: Ocean Ecosystems,” reflects recent advances in scientific knowledge of marine ecosystems and an awareness of the most pressing marine environmental issues.
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