Abbott P.L. Natural Disasters

8th edition, McGraw-Hill, 2012, 540 pages, ISBN: 0073369373Natural Disasters, 8th edition, is marked by major changes in organization and expanded coverage of weather and climate. The discussion of natural disasters is based on 4 main energy flows: 1) Earth's internal energy flow underlies earthquakes and volcanoes, 2) the external energy flow from the Sun fuels weather and climate including tornadoes, hurricanes, floods, wildfires, 3) gravity acts to pull down mass movements of earth and snow, and 4) impacts with asteroids and comets can have major effects on life. The book focuses on the Earth's natural processes and the disasters that occur when the Earth concentrates its energy and releases it to causing death and destruction. Throughout the book, certain themes are maintained:energy sources underlying disasters
plate tectonics and climate change;
earth processes operating in rock, water, and atmosphere;
significance of geologic time;
complexities of multiple variables operating simultaneously;
detailed and readable case studies.Prologue: Energy Flows
Natural Disasters and the Human Population
Internal Energy and Plate Tectonics
Earthquake Geology and Seismology
Plate Tectonics and Earthquakes
Earthquake Lessons and Regional Settings
Volcanic Eruptions: Plate Tectonics and Magmas
Volcano Case Histories: Killer Events
Tsunami Versus Wind-Caused Waves
External Energy Fuels Weather and Climate
Tornadoes, Lightning, Heat, and Cold
Hurricanes
Climate Change
Floods
Fire
Mass Movements
Impacts with Space Objects
Epilogue: Mass Extinctions