Biogeochemical Cycles: A Computer‐Interactive Study of Earth System Science and Global Change

Abstract

Global biogeochemistry is the discipline that links various aspects of biology, geology, and chemistry to investigate the surface environment of the Earth. The global biogeochemical cycles of the elements lie at the very core of the subject and involve a myriad of processes that transform and transport various substances throughout the Earth's ecosphere, which consists of the atmosphere, hydrosphere, shallow crust (soils, sediments, and crustal rocks), biosphere, and cryosphere. As the authors of Biogeochemical Cycles: A Computer‐Interactive Study of Earth System Science and Global Change say, “anyone interested in understanding the causes of global environmental change and its implications for life would be well‐advised to begin with an investigation of global biogeochemistry.” This small but illuminating book is an attempt to provide a reasonably integrated and comprehensive text dealing with the study of the life‐essential global biogeochemical cycles of carbon, phosphorus, nitrogen, sulfur, and oxygen.