The Physical Geography of the Mediterranean

Erscheinungsjahr 2009
ISBN: 978-0-19-926803-0
Verlag: Oxford University Press

Buch, Englisch, 704 Seiten, Format (B × H): 195 mm x 252 mm, Gewicht: 1585 g

This volume explores the climates, landscapes, ecosystems and hazards that comprise the Mediterranean world. It traces the development of the Mediterranean landscape over very long timescales and examines modern processes and key environmental issues in a wide range of settings. The Mediterranean is the only region on Earth where three continents meet and this interaction has produced a very distinctive Physical Geography. This book examines the landscapes and processes at the margins of these continents and the distinctive marine environment between them. Catastrophic earthquakes, explosive volcanic eruptions and devastating storms and floods are intimately bound up within the history and mythology of the Mediterranean world. This is a key region for the study of natural hazards because it offers unrivalled access to long records of hazard occurrence and impact through documentary, archaeological and geological archives. The Mediterranean is also a biodiversity hotspot; it has been a meeting place for plants, animals and humans from three continents throughout much of its history. The Quaternary records of these interactions are more varied and better preserved than in any other part of the world. These records have provided important new insights into the tempo of climate, landscape and ecosystem change in the Mediterranean region and beyond. The region is unique because of the very early and widespread impact of humans in landscape and ecosystem change - and the richness of the archaeological and geological archives that chronicle this impact. This book examines this history and these interactions and places current environmental issues in long term context. Contributors: Ramadan Husain Abu-Zied Harriet Allen Jacques Blondel Maria-Carmen Llasat James Casford Marc Castellnou Andrew Goudie Andrew Harding Angela Hayes Tom Holt Babette Hoogakker Philip Hughes Jos Lelieveld John Lewin Francisco Lloret Francisco Lopez-Bermudez Mark Macklin Jean Margat Anne Mather Frédéric Médail Christophe Morhange Clive Oppenheimer Jean Palutikof Gerassimos Papadopoulos Josep Piñol David Pyle Jane Reed Neil Roberts Eelco Rohling Iain Stewart Stathis Stiros John Thornes Chronis Tzedakis John Wainwright

Autoren/Hrsg.

Woodward, Jamie

Fachgebiete

• Geowissenschaften Geographie | Raumplanung Physische Geographie und Topographie
• Geowissenschaften Geographie | Raumplanung Trockengebiete und Wüsten

Inhaltsverzeichnis

- PART 1: THE PHYSICAL AND BIOLOGICAL FRAMEWORK

- Editorial Introduction

- 1: Anne Mather: Tectonic setting and landscape development

- 2: Eelco Rohling, Ramadan Abu-Zied, James Casford, Angela Hayes and Babette Hoogakker: The marine environment: present and past

- 3: Andrew Harding, Jean Palutikof, and Tom Holt: The climate system

- 4: Chronis Tzedakis: Cenozoic climate and vegetation change

- 5: Jacques Blondel: The nature and origin of the vertebrate fauna

- PART 2: PROCESS AND CHANGE IN SPECIFIC ENVIRONMENTS

- Editorial Introduction

- 6: John Wainwright: Weathering, soils and slope processes

- 7: Harriet Allen: Vegetation and ecosystem dynamics

- 8: John Thornes, Francisco Lopez-Bermudez and Jamie Woodward: Hydrology, river regimes and sediment yield

- 9: Neil Roberts and Jane Reed: Lakes, wetlands and Holocene environmental change

- 10: John Lewin and Jamie Woodward: Karst geomorphology

- 11: Mark Macklin and Jamie Woodward: River systems and environmental change

- 12: Philip Hughes and Jamie Woodward: Glacial and periglacial environments

- 13: Iain Stewart and Christophe Morhange: Coastal geomorphology and sea-level change

- 14: Andrew Goudie: Aeolian processes and landforms

- PART 3: HAZARDS

- Editorial Introduction

- 15: Clive Oppenheimer and David Pyle: Volcanoes

- 16: Stathis Stiros: Earthquakes

- 17: Gerassimos Papadopoulos: Tsunamis

- 18: Maria-Carmen Llasat: Storms and floods

- 19: Francisco Lloret, Josep Pinol and Marc Castellnou: Wildfires

- PART 4: ENVIRONMENTAL ISSUES IN THE 21ST CENTURY

- Editorial Introduction

- 20: John Thornes: Land degradation

- 21: Jean Margat: Water resources

- 22: Jos Lelieveld: Air pollution and climate

- 23: Jacques Blondel and Frederic Medail: Biodiversity and conservation

Über Autor(innen)

Jamie Woodward is Professor of Physical Geography at The University of Manchester. He has worked on the geomorphology and Quaternary history of the Mediterranean region for over two decades. He is especially interested in fluvial, glacial and karst sediment systems. A good deal of this research takes place in collaboration with archaeologists and Jamie is interested in human-environment interactions across a range of timescales. He is the Co-Editor of Geoarchaeology: An International Journal and he is the Quaternary Science and Geomorphology Editor for the Journal of the Geological Society of London.