Fundamentals of the Physical Environment

This third edition of this textbook for students of physical geography and environmental sciences has been extensively revised to incorporate current thinking and knowledge in the area of physical geography and the environment whilst retaining its basic structure. A new example - Upper Wharfdale - has been taken as the theme of Chapter 1 to illustrate new ideas and concepts that can be used in the study of the environment. A systems approach is taken to demonstrate how the various factors operating in the landscape can interact and how it can be used for us to decipher them. The nature of Earth and its oceans, the main processes of geomorphology and elements of ecosystems (soils and vegetation) are all explained. Since the second edition was published, uncertainties about the nature and extent of global climate and environmental change have become clarified.