An Introduction to Physical Geography and the Environment

About this book

This highly respected and best-selling textbook provides an engaging and comprehensive introduction to the major topics within physical geography. It focuses on understanding the inter-linkages between processes, places and environments and is fully illustrated to demonstrate how the physical environment works.

"An Introduction to Physical Geography and the Environment" is accompanied by a rich and extensive range of electronic support resources including updated weblinks relevant for each chapter, multiple choice questions, fieldwork exercises, interactive models and video clips.

Contents

PART I - The role of physical geography
Chapter 1: Approaching physical geography

PART II - Continents and oceans
Chapter 2: Earth geology and tectonics
Chapter 3: Oceans

PART III - Climate and weather
Chapter 4: Atmospheric processes
Chapter 5: Global climate and weather
Chapter 6: Regional and local climates

PART IV - Geomorphology and Hydrology
Chapter 7: Weathering and geochemistry
Chapter 8: Hillslopes and landform evolution
Chapter 9: Sediments and sedimentation
Chapter 10: Soils
Chapter 11: Catchment hydrology
Chapter 12: Fluvial geomorphology and river management
Chapter 13: Solutes
Chapter 14: Dryland processes and environments
Chapter 15: Coasts
Chapter 16: Glaciers and ice sheets
Chapter 17: Permafrost and periglaciation

PART V - Biogeography and ecology
Chapter 18: The biosphere
Chapter 19: Biogeographical concepts
Chapter 20: Ecological processes
Chapter 21: Freshwater ecology

PART VI - Environmental change
Chapter 22: The Pleistocene
Chapter 23: The Holocene
Chapter 24: Contemporary climate change: an unprecedented environmental challenge
Chapter 25: Vegetation and environmental change
Chapter 26: Remote sensing of environmental change
Chapter 27: Managing environmental change

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Biography

Joseph Holden is Professor of Physical Geography and Director of Research at the School of Geography, University of Leeds.