100 pages

English

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The Environment , livre ebook

Québec Amérique - Qa International Collectif

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100 pages

English

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Extrait

Description

The Environment sheds light on the biosphere, the water cycle, erosion, ecosystems and climates. It also delves into environmental threats, including the depletion of the ozone layer, acid rain and deforestation.
The Environment is an excellent family reference book for use at home or school by readers interested in understanding and preserving the world we live in.

Sujets

Environmental disaster

Environment

Ecology

Informations

Publié par	Québec Amérique
Date de parution	05 septembre 2012
Nombre de lectures	12
EAN13	9782764408957
Langue	English
Poids de l'ouvrage	36 Mo

Informations légales : prix de location à la page 0,0550€. Cette information est donnée uniquement à titre indicatif conformément à la législation en vigueur.

Extrait

THE ENVIRNMENT Understanding the Delicate Balance of Life on Earth

QA INTERNATIONAL

THE ENVIRONMENT Underst anding the Delicate Balance of Life on Ear th

QA INTERNATIONAL

Raymond Martin

Kathleen Wynd

Carl Pelletier Anouk Noël

Jocelyn Gardner

Marc Lalumière

Alain Lemire

Émilie Bellemare

Stéphanie Lanctôt

Gilles Vézina

Nathalie Gignac

No part of this book may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, or by any information storage and retrieval system, without permission in writing by QA International.

ISBN : 978-2-7644-0895-7

Environment was created and produced by QA International 329 De la Commune West, 3rd Floor Montreal, Quebec H2Y 2E1 Canada T : 514.499.3000 F : 514.499.3010

www.quebec-amerique.com

PHOTO CREDITS

Editorial DirectorEditor-in-ChiefWritersContent RevisionTranslatorsProofreaderGraphic DesignerProduction Manager

Cover: © François Fortin — U.S. Geological Survey/J. Kauahikaua • p. 11 NASA/GSFC/MITI/ERSDAC/JAROS, and U.S./Japan ASTER Scie nce Team • p. 13 © Royalty-Free/CORBIS• p. 14 OAR/National Undersea Research Program (NURP) • p. 17 F.O.L.P. • p. 25 © Stéphane Batigne — © John Simmons, OnT V — The Geological Society of London• p. 30 Bureau of Land Management by Nick Seifert — © Mélanie Morin — © IDRC/E. George — © Jean-Marc Abel • p. 31 www.claquin. com — F.O.L.P. — © Guido Bauer — © Stéphanie Lanctôt —© Jean-Claude Corbeil • p. 32 www.claquin.com — © Centre d’études nordiques — © François Fortin • p. 33 © Ann Badjura • p. 35 © Hélène Gauthier • p. 37 © Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution • p. 50 © IDRC/D.Marchand — USACE — © IDRC/D. Marchand — DOE/NREL, photo by Roger Taylor — © Craig Nagy — © Magalie L’Abbé • p. 57 © IDRC/D. Marchand• p. 58 USDA/NRCS • p. 59 ORR/NOS/NOAA • p. 64 © Jaxon Klein — NPS Photo Yellowstone • p. 65 © John Walker © Jean-Marc Boutelli er/http://Planetphoto.free.fr © Pierre-Bernard Demoulin © Einar Timdal, Natural History Museum, University of Oslo © The Arboretum of Penn State Behrend — © Tony Miller, Royal Botanic Garden Edinburgh • p. 73 © Marianne Moore• p. 75 © Ministère des Ressources Naturelles du Québec — © Nicholas Ang — NOAA Corps/John Bortniak • p. 76 © IDRC/S. Colvey • p. 79 FEMA News Photo/Photo by Leif Skoogfors• p. 83 USACE/photo by Adr ien Lamarre • p. 84 © J.S. Peterson. USDA NRCS NPDC • p. 85 © Laura I. Kansanen • p. 87 NOAA, NOAA/Te rr y Taylor, Colorado State Patrol• p. 89 Jocelyn Augustino/FEMA • p. 91 U.S. Navy • p. 92 U.S. Geological Survey/Photo by S.R. Brantley — U.S. Geological Survey /Photo by J.D. Griggs — U.S. Geological Survey — © John Simmons, OnTV, The Geological Society of London.

Rielle Lévesque

Jean-Yves Ahern

Illustrators

Sonia Buffot

Manuela Bertoni

Mathieu Douville

François Fortin Stéphane Batigne Marie-Anne Legault Julie Cailliau Martine Podesto Anne Dupuis Johanne Champagne Josée Bourbonnière Nathalie Fredette François Turcotte-Goulet Claire de Guillebon Kathe Roth Donna Vekteris Gordon Martin Veronica Schami Anne Tremblay Odile Perpillou

Graphic Artists

Pascal Goyette

Researchers

6 8 10 12 14 16 18 20 22 24

70 72 76 78

The environment

Biosphere Atmosphere Watercourses Lakes Oceans and seas Coastlines Inside the soil Deserts Cold lands Erosion

Climatechange

The greenhouse effect Global warming Desertification El Niño and La Niña

28 30 32 34 36 38 40 42 44

82 84 86 88 90 92 94

Contents

Living beings

Ecosystems Plant formations Temperate forests Tropical rain forest Life in the desert Life in the ocean In the depths Between land and sea Animals of cold lands

Naturalcatastrophes

Tornadoes Forest fires Hurricanes Floods and landslides Tsunamis Volcanic eruptions Earthquakes

48 52 54 56 60 62 64 66

Threatstotheenvironment

Air pollution The ozone layer Acid rain Water pollution Forests in danger Threatened animals Protected areas Recycling

T H E E N V I R O N M E N T | 4  5

Biosphere Atmosphere Watercourses Lakes Oceans and seas

Coastlines Inside the soil Deserts Cold lands Erosion

T h e e n v i r o n m e n t

Earth is the only planet known to harbor life. Together all of the zones that can be inhabited by living beings are called the biosphere. Water, carbon, oxygen, nitrogen, phosphorus, and all the other chemical elements essential to life circulate through different parts of the biosphere.

Life appeared on Earth about 3.8 billion years ago and first evolved in the water of the oceans; later, it colonized freshwater, land, and the atmosphere. Our planet presents an extraordinary diversity of natural environments, from ocean depths to the highest mountain peaks, including caves, lakes, and coastlines. Life has spread and adapted to all these zones, forming a complex world in which living beings interact constantly with their surroundings.

T H E E N V I R O N M E N T | 6  7

Biosphere Although there are all sorts of hypotheses, none of which has been confirmed by scientific evidence, Earth is still the only planet known to support life. Living organisms exist in many and varied environments, but their distribution is concentrated within a thin layer of earth, water, and air called the biosphere. This habitable part of Earth constitutes a complex community, where animal and plant species live in a close relationship with their surroundings by transmitting matter and energy to each other.

BETWEEN EARTH, SEA, AND AIR The biosphere exists in three main physical environments that constantly interact to preserve, reproduce, and develop life: earth, water, and air (atmosphere). The chemical exchanges that take place between these three elements tend to balance themselves naturally by recycling matter and energy. The earth is the solid outer layer of the planet: continents, islands, and ocean floors. Almost all plant species sink their roots into its rock and soil, while a great number of animal species live in contact with it. Some living beings, such as anaerobic bacteria, develop within the ground, while others need air to live.

Water , which includes both salt water and freshwater, is shared between oceans, rivers, lakes, and underground water. This layer harbors a great variety of living organisms, from microscopic algae to huge sea mammals.

The atmosphere is the layer of air within which life can develop. This environment just above Earth’s surface is very rich in living beings. It also helps to move and disseminate spores, seeds, and microorganisms.

THE BIRTH OF LIFE

ThePrecambrianistheoldestandlongestperiodinthehistoryofEarth.During this period, 4 billion years ago, the terrestrial crust was formed, followed by the continents and oceans. The presence of an oxygen-poor atmosphere resulted in the formation of more and more complex molecules, and led to a remarkable phenomenon: life. The first living beings (algae, bacteria) appeared in the oceans. It took more than 3 billion years for life to emerge onto solid ground, which happened less than 500 million years ago.

Cyanobacteria, commonly called blue-green algae, were the first microorganisms to appear on Earth.

HEIGHT OF THE BIOSPHERE Life is found only within a relatively thin layer: highest bird just a little more than 23,000 m separate flight the lowest point of the biosphere (at the (8,000 m) bottom of the oceans) from the highest limit of plant life point (near the tropopause). (7,000 m)

limit of land-based animal life (6,300 m)

limit of human habitat (5,000 m)

The part of the biosphere between –100 and 2,800 m contains 95% of theliving organismson the planet.

depth limit for fish (-8,400 m)

Invertebrates(sea cucumbers) have been observed at a depth of 10,000 m.

tropopause12,000 m atmosphere

highest mountain (Mount Everest) 8,848 m

earth

sea level 0 m

water

deepest point (Mariana Trench) –11,034 m

T H E E N V I R O N M E N T | 8  9

Atmosphere The atmosphere, defined as the gaseous envelope surrounding Earth, does not have well-defined edges. Half of its air molecules are concentrated in a very thin layer, 5 km thick, but there are still traces of air at more than 1,000 km altitude. Because of their protective function, the different layers of the atmosphere play an essential role in the existence of life on Earth. All of the major meteorological phenomena also occur in the atmosphere.

THE COMPOSITION OF AIR Thecompositionoftheatmosphereremainsstableatallaltitudes: nitrogen and oxygen represent 99% of its volume. Other gases, including argon and neon, are also found in air, but in much smaller quantities. The proportions of water vapor and carbon dioxide in the atmosphere vary, but are always very small.

Theatmosphereand clouds reflect 30% of solar radiation.

nitrogen (78%)

argon (0.93%)

Solar radiation

SOLAR ENERGY

In the Sun’s core, nuclear fusion reactions maintain a temperature of 15,000,000°C. This huge amount of energy, constantly radiated into space in the form of rays, heats Earth’s surface and enables life to develop on the planet.

oxygen (21%)

carbon dioxide (0.03%)