An Introduction to the Environmental Physics of Soil, Water and Watersheds

"This introductory textbook describes the nature of the Earth's environment and its physical processes so as to highlight environmental concerns arising from human use and misuse of soil and water resources. The book provides the basic knowledge required to understand how land and water resources can be used sustainably through action at the scale of watersheds or catchments. Whilst the book provides an understanding of physical and some chemical environmental precesses, no prior knowledge of the physical sciences or calculus is assumed." "Topics considered include the development of soil at the Earth's surface and the environmentally significant issues that arise from its interactions with water, salt and other contaminants. This is followed by a description of how water moves over the Earth's surface, enters beneath it and moves within the soil. The factors governing the exchange of water and energy between the Earth's surface and the atmosphere are considered, and the main causes of soil and water degradation, both on land and in rivers, are discussed in the context of what can be done to mitigate such environmental effects." "The author provides a thorough introduction to the basic issues regarding the sustainable, productive use of land resources that is vital in maintaining healthy rivers and good groundwater qualities. The book is intended to inform and develop the capacity to take a quantitative approach to studying these growing environmental concerns involving land and water quality. The straightforward writing style, lack of prerequisite knowledge and copious illustrations make this textbooks suitable for introductory university courses, as well as a useful primer for research and management staff in environmental and resource management organisations. Each chapter ends with a set of student exercises for which full solutions are available on the Internet at http://publishing.cambridge.org/resources/0521536790"--Jacket.