This title includes a number of Open Access chapters.



Earth science is a broad field of study that encompasses many different disciplines, including meteorology, climatology, and geology. The importance of the earth sciences—in predicting weather and climate, tracking pollution, drilling for petroleum, evaluating soil, and monitoring ground water—is paramount in modern society. This new work covers a broad selection of topics, including use of satellite remote sensing to track pollution and weather patterns, monitoring for pre-earthquake signals, using earthquakes to uncover new information about the earth, desalination of ground water, predicting deforestation, and much more.