Global Carbon Cycle

David Archer is professor of geophysical sciences at the University of Chicago. He is the author of "The Long Thaw: How Humans Are Changing the Next 100,000 Years of Earth's Climate" and "Global Warming: Understanding the Forecast", and the coauthor of "The Climate Crisis: An Introductory Guide to Climate Change".

Second Place in the 2012 Book Series in the Professional Scholarly Series category, New York Book Show "Archer's book, The Global Carbon Cycle, one of the Princeton Primers in Climate, is a detailed, but readable look at the science behind the way the Earth reacts to carbon and other factors that relate to global climate. He discusses changes in the Earth's temperature throughout history and the reasons behind. Such factors as the gradual warming of the sun and changes in the Earth's orbit are examined. Without some understanding of the science that goes beyond parroting what we hear in the form of sound bites on the evening news, we cannot have an informed discussion."--Brad Sylvester, Yahoo News "[David Archer] clearly presents the treatments of changes in the Earth's orbital trajectory, anthropogenic increases in atmospheric carbon dioxide, ocean pH swings, and temperature shifts. Archer's use of three different timescales to clarify Earth's historical climate cycles illustrates his mastery of thermodynamics and chemical equilibria."--Choice "If you want to understand why scientists can't seem to find consensus on climate change, then this book, through its honest acknowledgement of how much we don't know and what we can't completely predict, will help."--Pat Thomas, Geographical "An easily readable format, this lightweight book is an excellent companion to those who need a quick on-the-go reference or for those who need a compendium for their office or lab... The Global Carbon Cycle is an authoritative book with numerous examples explaining scientific phenomena associated the global carbon cycle. The Global Carbon Cycle book also contains a glossary of terms along with an excellent bibliography for further reading."--Gabriel Thoumi, Mongabay.com "Archer's book is a must read for specialists and graduate students in geochemistry, palaeoclimatology, and modem climate change. This is an essential source of fresh information on carbon cycling on the Earth."--Dmitry A. Ruban, Palaeontologie allgemein

• List of Boxes vii Chapter 1: C arbon on Earth 1 Chapter 2: The Stable Geologic Carbon Cycle 21 Chapter 3: The Unstable Ice Age Carbon Cycle 57 Chapter 4: The Present and Future Carbon Cycle--Stable or Unstable? 103 Chapter 5: Methane 141 Chapter 6: Summary 174 Glossary 179 Bibliography 187 Index 203