Carbon in the Geobiosphere: - Earth's Outer Shell - / Edition 1

by Fred T. Mackenzie, Abraham Lerman

Overview

Carbon and carbon dioxide always played an important role in the geobiosphere that is part of the Earth’s outer shell and surface environment. The book’s eleven chapters cover the fundamentals of the biogeochemical behavior of carbon near the Earth’s surface, in the atmosphere, minerals, waters, air-sea exchange, and inorganic and biological processes fractionating the carbon isotopes, and its role in the evolution of inorganic and biogenic sediments, ocean water, the coupling to nutrient nitrogen and phosphorus cycles, and the future of the carbon cycle in the Anthropocene.

This book is mainly a reference text for Earth and environmental scientists; it presents an overview of the origins and behavior of the carbon cycle and atmospheric carbon dioxide, and the human effects on them. The book can also be used for a one-semester course at an intermediate to advanced level addressing the behavior of the carbon and related cycles.

"By thoroughly researching the fundamental principles of the biogeochemical cycling of carbon, Mackenzie and Lerman have been able to illustrate with clarity the profound impact of humans, as a biogeological agent, are having on the global carbon cycle. Never before has there been a more pressing need to understand the intricacies of the geobiosphere with respect to the cycling of planetary carbon, and this text provides the most thoroughly researched, authoritative, and definite text of the global carbon cycle that exists to date. This book is a contemporary appraisal of knowledge on the global carbon cycle and should become the standard scientific reference manual for all those involved in the fight against climate change. It is difficult to think of a more important book for one of the greatest issues facing humanity in the 21^st century." Review published in J. Environm. Qual. 36: 1546 (2007, by Dr. Jeffrey P. Obbard, Division of Environmental Sciences & Engineering, Tropical Marine Science Inst. National Univ. of Singapore

"Mackenzie and Lerman's book is the culmination of two splendid careers dedicated to understanding the carbon cycle. It’s everything you always wanted to know about carbon biogeochemistry past, present, and future." Lee R. Kump, Dept. of Geosciences, Pennsylvania State University, USA

"Majestic in scope; this text builds from fundamentals to front-line research, showing the pivotal role of the carbon cycle in earth system science." Rob Raiswell, University of Leeds, UK

"Using skills honed from decades of leadership in the field, Mackenzie and Lerman ably guide us along the pathways of carbon cycling in Earth’s outer layers. This is an essential journey for anyone interested in the origin and evolution of life and its fate under human influence." Tim Lyons, University of California, Riverside, USA

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781402040443
Publisher:	Springer Netherlands
Publication date:	10/19/2006
Series:	Topics in Geobiology , #25
Edition description:	2006
Pages:	402
Product dimensions:	6.30(w) x 9.45(h) x 0.04(d)

Table of Contents

Chapter 1: Brief Overview of Carbon on Earth 1. An unusual look at Earth’s shells 2. Global carbon cycle 3. Fundamental equation of a cycle and carbon flows 4. Carbon in Fossil Fuels 5. Feedbacks in the carbon cycle Chapter 2: Earth’s Volatile Beginnings 1. The Major Volatiles 2. Primordial Atmosphere-Ocean System 3. Carbon Dioxide 4. Summary and Speculations 5. An Early Biosphere Chapter 3: Heat Balance of the Atmosphere and Carbon Dioxide 1. Heat Sources at the Earth’s Surface 2. Solar Heating and Radiation Balance 3. Greenhouse Effect 4. Temperature of a Prebiotic Atmosphere 5. CO2 and Climate Change Chapter 4: Mineralogy, Chemistry, and Reaction Kinetics of the Major Carbonate Phases 1. Carbonate Minerals 2. Calcites 3. Dolomite 4. Aragonite 5. Carbonate Dissolution and Precipitation Kinetics 6. Carbonate Precipitation and Dissolution in Marine Ecosystems 7. Some Geological Considerations Chapter 5: Carbon Dioxide in Natural Waters 1. Dissolution and Dissociation of CO2 in Water 2. CO2 Transfer from Atmosphere to Water 3. Calcite and Aragonite in Natural Waters 4. Degree of Saturation With Respect to Carbonate Minerals 5. CO2 Phases: Gas, Liquid, Hydrate, Ice 6. Air-Sea CO2 Exchange due to Carbonate and Organic Carbon Formation Chapter 6: Isotopic Fractionation of Carbon: Inorganic and Biological Processes 1. Isotopic species and their abundance 2. Isotopic concentration units and mixing 3. Fractionation in inorganic systems 4. Photosynthesis and plant physiological responses to CO2 5. Biological fractionationand 13C cycle 6. Long-term trends Chapter 7: Sedimentary Rock Record and Oceanic and Atmospheric Carbon 1. Geologic Time Scale and Sedimentary Record 2. The Beginnings of Sedimentary Cycling 3. Broad Patterns of Sediment Lithologies 4. Differential Cycling of the Sedimentary Mass and Carbonates 5. Sedimentary Carbonate System 6. Evaporites and Fluid Inclusions 7. Isotopic Trends 8. Summary of the Phanerozoic Rock Record in Terms of Ocean Composition Chapter 8: Weathering and Consumption of CO2 1. Weathering Source: Sedimentary and Crystalline Lithosphere 2. Dissolution at the Earth’s Surface 3. Mineral-CO2 Reactions in Weathering 4. CO2 Consumption from Mineral-Precipitation Model 5. CO2 Consumption from Mineral-Dissolution Model 6. Environmental Acid Forcing Chapter 9: Carbon in the Oceanic Coastal Margin 1. The Global Coastal Zone 2. Carbon Cycle in the Coastal Ocean 3. Inorganic and Organic Carbon 4. Marine Calcifying Organisms and Ecosystems 5. Present and Future of Coastal Carbon System Chapter 10: Natural Global Carbon Cycle through Time 1. The Hadean to Archaean 2. The Archaean to Proterozoic 3. The Phanerozoic 4. Pleistocene to Holocene Environmental Change Chapter 11: The Carbon Cycle in the Anthropocene 1. Characteristics of the Anthropocene 2. Major Perturbations in the Carbon Cycle: 1850 to the Early 21st Century 3. Partitioning of Carbon, Nitrogen and Phosphorus Fluxes 4. The Fundamental Carbon Problem of the Future

Editorial Reviews

From the reviews:

"Mackenzie and Lerman's book is the culmination of two splendid careers dedicated to understanding the carbon cycle. It’s everything you always wanted to know about carbon biogeochemistry past, present, and future." Lee R. Kump, Dept. of Geosciences, Pennsylvania State University, USA

"Majestic in scope; this text builds from fundamentals to front-line research, showing the pivotal role of the carbon cycle in earth system science." Rob Raiswell, University of Leeds, UK

"Using skills honed from decades of leadership in the field, Mackenzie and Lerman ably guide us along the pathways of carbon cycling in Earth’s outer layers. This is an essential journey for anyone interested in the origin and evolution of life and its fate under human influence." Tim Lyons, University of California, Riverside, USA

"This text is one in a series of books from Springer on ‘Topics in Geobiology’-the broad discipline that covers the history of life on Earth. … aimed at upper-undergraduate or graduate level, this book is a contemporary appraisal of knowledge on the global carbon cycle and should become the standard reference manual for all those involved in the fight against climate change. It is difficult to think of a more important book for one of the greatest issues facing humanity in the 21st century." Dr. Jeffrey P. Obbard, Journal of Environmental Quality, Vol. 35 (5), 2007

"Research and other professional groups concerned with Earth’s carbon budget will welcome this nearly encyclopedic review by two experienced, widely respected geochemists. The depth of the discussion is highly professional, grounded in more than 700 bibliographic references. Recommended. Upper-division undergraduates through faculty." T. R. Blackburn, CHOICE, Vol. 44 (10), 2007

"This is an excellent and up-to-date source information on the stated Carbon in the Geobiosphere. It is well produced and carefully edited" J.W. Morse, Department of Oceanography, Texas A&M University, USA, Aquatic Geochemistry, Vol. 13, 2007

"Mackenzie & Lerman … book is a good reference for many questions on the carbon geochemistry. Eleven chapters examine a number of aspects of carbon geochemistry, namely its complete cycle, fractionation and anthropogenic impact. All chapters present numerous and various information. … The book is ended with a good subject index. Illustrations in this book are numerous and all are helpful." (Zentralblatt für Geologie und Paläontologie Teil II, Vol. 3-4, 2007)

From the Publisher